Chapter 10: The Werehog

By the time Sonic woke up, it was morning. He sat up and stretched, but something felt different. He felt hot, hotter than usual anyway, which was strange. Looking down at himself, Sonic stared at all the extra fur he now had.

"What the hell?"

He rushed over and looked into a mirror. He definitely looked different, and it wasn't just the extra fur. He was bigger, for one. More muscular in his arms. With claws. Smaller ears, longer tail... Sonic grimaced at his reflection and added sharp teeth - not just his canines - to the list. This was odd. Maybe he should talk to Shadow.

"Shadow," Sonic called, "Is this that werehog form you were talking about?"

The ghost appeared and nodded. "Yes, it is."

"How do I get back to normal?"

"Just think about your normal form. You can change between forms at will and can stay in your Werehog form as long as you want."

"Cool. Do I have to wait at all before I can switch?"

"I don't know. You're immortal now also."

"Awesome. That'll be really helpful."

Shadow grinned. "Just the perks of being a Dracula."

"And I'm going to take full advantage of it. Once I can get back to normal."

"Take advantage of what? Your Werehog form, or immortality?"

"My immortality," Sonic told him.

Shadow chuckled. "Going to do something reckless?"

"I usually am, but I'm thinking about doing something stupid."

"Really?" The ghost gave a worried frown. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go use my natural speed when I really shouldn't and do really extreme sports." Sonic took a breath. "I haven't went out and had fun in a while, and this immortality is giving me some great ideas."

"What kind of ideas?"

"Really stupid ones that I'm bound to get hurt doing. Like testing my speed and reflexes. Running places I really shouldn't. Some extreme sports taken just a little too far."

"If you want to do that, go ahead," the ghost said. "Just don't get hurt."

Sonic grinned. "I won't," he said, flexing his wrist and examining the muscles on his arms. "Not sure I like how big this is," he muttered. Sonic looked at Shadow. "Are the werehog forms always so big?"

"Yes, they are."

"That sucks. I'll get used to it eventually." He smiled at Shadow again, opened his mouth, then shook his head. "Never mind. I'll figure out what this form can do on my own."

Sonic walked out of the room and headed outside. He saw Silver as a statue again and walked up to it. After a quick check to make sure Silver was okay, he put distance between them and stretched. If he was going to test what this body could do, he was going to make sure it was prepared.

"Let's see...what should I test first?"

Speed was important.

Sonic started at a walk, quickly getting faster until he couldn't speed up anymore. At a speed that was not where he wanted to be. He frowned and slowed to a stop. That was disappointing, no matter how much he expected it.

"Why can't I run as fast as usual in this form?" He asked himself.

He started running again, this time going onto all fours. That was faster, but still not as fast as usual. Sonic growled and pouted. He should've known being bigger meant he couldn't go as fast. Deciding to test how strong he was now, Sonic went into the forest. He saw a boulder and walked up to it. He drew back his hand, then punched it. The bolder shattered immediately.

Sonic looked at his arm, impressed.

Lack of speed made up for in strength. Typical, but still pretty awesome. Chances were, this body was more durable than his normal as well... Not that it mattered, being immortal. The Werehog grinned, and decided to get some exercise. He dropped onto all fours and ran further into the forest, keeping a long stride. Sonic stopped minutes later and stood up. He saw Mephiles in the distance, along with another wolf. Sonic walked up to them.

"Hey, Mephiles," he said.

"Hello, Sonic."

Sonic blinked. "You recognize me like this?"

Mephiles nodded. "Your appearance hasn't changed so drastically that I can't see it's you."

The Werehog grinned, showing sharp fangs. "Who's the other wolf?" He asked, motioning to Gadget.

"His name is Gadget," Mephiles said.

"It's nice to meet you, Gadget." The wolf nodded, as he obviously couldn't speak. Sonic looked at Mephiles. "I know he's a normal wolf, but can he use telepathy like you can?"

"Unfortunately not."

"How'd you find him?"

"He was in my home. Apparently, his pack banished him after he lost the right of Alpha."

"What? That's terrible. I hope he's doing well."

Gadget looked at Mephiles. How are you two talking to each other? He barked.

I... Mephiles paused, unsure of how to respond. It's a long story.

The red wolf looked confused. What do you mean?

I'll tell you later.

Gadget nodded, and looked at Sonic. He had a wolf-like scent, which was odd.

Is he a wolf? Gadget asked Mephiles.

Mephiles nodded. Of a sort. How much do you know about this castle?

Not much. Us wolves haven't paid much attention to it.

Sonic looked between the two wolves. All he heard were barks.

"I'm going to get back to my testing," Sonic said.

Sonic waved and walked away before stopping not far from the two wolves. He looked back at them and laughed as Gadget suddenly pounced on Mephiles, initiating a playful fight as the black wolf obliged. The Werehog looked at his claws, impressed with how sharp they were. He saw a tree and an idea came to him. Sonic got down on all fours before dashing at the tree, slashing at its trunk with his claws. The attack left long gashes across the tree trunk. Sonic grinned before doing the same to another tree. Soon enough, he got tired of that and sat down.

"This is a good form," he said, flexing his wrists. Sonic lay down, looking up at the sky.

This body wasn't so bad, now that he'd gotten used to it. Helpful if he needed more strength, even if it wasn't fast. He looked back and saw the two wolves watching him.

"Hey guys," Sonic said with a wave. The wolves barked a reply. "You can join me if you want."

They walked over to him.

"You look like you're having fun," Mephiles told him.

Sonic smiled at him. "I am."

"That form you have is a lot like a wolf. How did you acquire it?"

"I turned eighteen." Sonic shrugged. "It's some kind of family thing."

Mephiles nodded. "I remember when I got my powers at that age."

"What was it like for you?"

"Intriguing. My power was shapeshifting."

"So... How did that affect this transformation?"

"When Fiona permanently changed me into the form of a wolf, she also took away my ability to shapeshift."

"She has that much power?"

Mephiles nodded. "She gained power when she made a deal with Dark Gaia."

"Sounds... Annoying."

"It is."

Sonic frowned. He already didn't like her for what she did to Silver, but the more he learned the more she sounded like his least favorite sort of person. "So... Fiona's a power hungry witch who turned on her family because she felt like it."

The black wolf growled, the sound rumbling deep in his throat. "The Draculs are a royal family of the highest respect. When she betrayed us, we lost more than just our honor. Word began to spread. We lost our home, land, and the trust of our allies all because of that fucking bitch."

"That sucks."

"I'm going to kill her..."

"As long as she reverses the curse she put on Silver first, I won't stop you."

Soon, Gadget walked over to them. What are you talking about? He barked.

Family stuff, Mephiles told him.

I'm going to go hunt, Gadget told the other wolf. Do you want to come, Mephiles?

The black wolf nodded. Mephiles and Sonic watched him walk deeper into the forest. Sonic was confused as to what they said as he didn't understand wolf language. "Where's he off to?"

"To hunt," Mephiles told Sonic telepathically. "I'm going to join him."

"Have fun."

The black furred wolf ran off. Sonic watched him leave and turned to go back to the castle. It was about time he went back inside. He walked past the statue of Silver and looked at it for a few moments, then walked into the castle.

"How was your training?" Shadow asked him.

"It was good. I think I'm used to this body now."

"What did you do?" Sonic explained his training to Shadow. "It sounds like you had good training. How is my brother?"

"He's good. There's another wolf around that he's living with."

"Another wolf?' Shadow asked, intrigued. "Interesting. It sounds like he's doing well."

"Your brother seems to be enjoying himself," Sonic said. Shadow smiled; he would like to see Mephiles again. His thoughts turned to Fiona...what was she up to? "You okay, Shads?"

"Just thinking."

Sonic smiled and went into the kitchen. The Werehog yawned and got some food out before starting to eat. He hoped everything would be okay.