Chapter 2: Meeting Shadow

Sonic sighed and tried to think of something to do. Now that he was a merhog, he should probably explore the ocean to get himself familiar with it. He swam out of the cave. Sonic swam off in the first direction he thought of, looking around for any interesting landmarks he could remember. He swam for a few hours before hearing a shout. Sonic's eyes widened as he saw another merhog being attacked by some sharks. The blue merhog knew he had to do something to help. Swimming quickly, Sonic tried to come up with an actual plan before he reached the sharks.

He grabbed the other merhog and began to attack the sharks with the claws on his webbed hands. They roared in pain and ran away. Sonic looked at the other. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Who are you?" The merhog asked.

"My name is Sonic," he said. "What's yours?"

"Shadow."

Sonic nodded and smiled. "That's a nice name." he noticed Shadow's crown. "Are you royalty?"

"Yes. Is that going to affect how you treat me?"

Sonic shook his head. "Of course not. You seem like a nice guy."

Shadow nodded. He was grateful for this merhog saving him. Perhaps he could take him to meet the others. "Would you like to meet others?"

"Yes, of course."

Shadow smiled and swam off. Sonic sighed and followed him. Shadow fell back to Sonic's position once they got to the city. "I'll show you around."

Sonic's eyes widened in amazement. "This is a merhog city?" He asked. "It's amazing."

Shadow smiled and nodded, then began to show Sonic around. Leading him through the city, Shadow made sure to explain what everything was. Finally stopping in front of the castle, Shadow looked at him. "I could find you a place to stay here."

"Sure, that would be great!" Sonic said with a cocky smile. "I found a cave to live in, but this would be better."

Shadow chuckled. He was beginning to like this merhog. "Do you have anything in mind?"

Sonic shrugged. "Would it be okay if I lived in the palace with you?"

"I don't see any problem with that." Shadow looked at the castle. "Would you like to find a room now or later?"

"Now would be fine."

Shadow gave him a smile and led him into the castle. Before finding a room for the blue merhog, he decided it would be best to show him where everything was. Once he did that, they went into Sonic's room.

"This is nice," Sonic said with a smile, and looked at Shadow. "Who are your parents?"

"The king and queen, obviously."

Sonic nodded. "I'll have to meet them," he said, and blushed. Shadow did as well.

"It'll have to wait. They're busy at the moment." Shadow looked away from the other for a moment. "What do you want to do until then?"

Sonic thought about it. "What do you usually do around here?" He asked, his tail flexing.

"Not much. That's why I was out there when you found me."

The blue merhog smiled. "Are there any other merhogs around here?"

"Of course. There's plenty of them. Where are you from, by the way?"

Sonic smiled. "The surface. I was actually transformed into a merhog by my friend Tails; he created an invention for me to breathe underwater, but it turned me into a merhog instead. I'm cool with that, though. Being a merhog is pretty neat."

Shadow's eyes widened. "You weren't always a merhog?"

"No...why? Is...is that bad?" Sonic hesitated, afraid that he had offended the prince.

"No, I was just surprised."

The blue merhog sighed in relief and nodded. Then he smiled. "I guess we could explore the ocean together."

Shadow returned his smile. "That sounds great." Sonic smiled, and they left. Soon, they were out in the open ocean. "Which way first?" Shadow asked Sonic.

Sonic shrugged. "Not sure. Why don't you take the lead?"

The prince nodded. "All right then." Shadow looked around. "We'll go...this way." For a brief moment, he pointed before swimming off.

Sonic nodded and followed him. As they swam, Shadow talked about his family. Sonic nodded and followed him. They were royalty, and had been ruling for a long time now.

"I just hope they like you," the prince said.

Sonic smiled. "I look forward to meeting them."

Shadow returned his smile and looked around. "See anything interesting yet?"

The blue merhog shook his head. "Have you ever been to the surface? Maybe we could swim around there."

Shadow looked up. "I haven't thought much about going up there."

"How come?"

The merhog prince shrugged. he hadn't heard very good things about the surface. "I never heard anything really flattering about it."

Sonic nodded hesitantly. "I see. Yeah, you're right. It can get pretty bad, but when I was up there, I had the time of my life. Making friends, defeating an evil scientist, and other cool adventures."

"A lot of people must be missing you, then." Shadow looked up again. "Do you know what we'd be able to see here?"

"There's the city, Station Square. Most of my friends live there."

Shadow nodded, and the two merhogs swam upwards.