Chapter 4: Shapeshifting

Shadow hesitantly moved inside the palace to see just how well the transformation had done. He was amazed at it. A smile formed on his face; this new palace was incredible. He wouldn't mind if Sonic stayed in this form permanently; then he could have his own place to live as well as be with Sonic. Shadow swam out of the palace and Sonic changed back.

"What do you think?" Sonic asked.

"That's pretty cool," Shadow said. "Can you turn into anything else?"

Sonic nodded. "We're underwater, so it would have to be an underwater creature."

Shadow thought about it for a few minutes. "How about a...starfish?"

Sonic nodded. "Alright," he said, and began to transform.

Sonic's tail split into two as he concentrated on Shadow's request, causing him to wince. The sudden urge to lay on the ground came over him, so he did it. Instantly, all of his quills retracted and he shouted. That hurt every time it happened. Sonic shuddered as he felt his skeleton changing to that of a starfish. Small ridges rose all over the front of his body as it also changed shape. Soon, he had five long arms coming off a small body. On the backside, suction cups covered everything and stuck to the ground. The starfish then shrank to the size of a normal one.

Shadow picked it up, looking at it. "That's cool," he said.

He set the starfish down where it lay on the ground. It would stay like that for a while. Shadow looked around before sitting next to the starfish. There wasn't anything else he wanted to do now. He yawned and soon fell asleep. When he finally woke, Sonic was sitting next to him with a smile on his face.

"You're in your normal form," Shadow said, smiling. "I enjoyed seeing your transformations."

Sonic nodded. "Thanks."

Shadow smiled, and they swam back to the palace.

"So, what time is it, exactly?" Sonic asked.

"It's...around nine o' clock," the prince said. They swam back to their room and looked around. "Is there anything you want to do?"

Sonic thought about it. He wanted to be a proper prince like Shadow. "I want to be a proper prince. Could you start teaching me?"

Shadow smiled. "Of course," he said. "What would you like to know?"

"Is there some way I'm supposed to act around certain people or anything?"

"Yes. Act dignified and humble around your subjects."

The blue merhog nodded. "Anything else?"

"Respect other authority figures. Mom and Dad could tell you more about how to act around those if you ever need to, though."

"Okay, I'll do that. Thanks."

Shadow smiled. "Is there anything else you want to ask about being a prince?"

Sonic thought about it. "What's it like?"

"That depends. Sometimes, it's hard. Other times, it's the easiest life can get. In my opinion, anyway."

Sonic nodded. A smile came across his face. "Alright," he said. "I'll do my best."

The other merhog smiled as well. He sighed and saw his parents come in. "We heard you finally returned, and wanted to know how you were doing," Maria said.

"We're doing fine," Sonic said. "Shadow just wanted to see my shapeshifting powers."

"You can transform at will?" Gerald asked. "That's quite impressive."

Sonic smiled and nodded. The king and queen left, and Shadow looked at him. "What should we do now?" The prince asked.

Sonic thought about it and looked at Shadow. "Shall we go to the surface again?"

"And do what?"

"Just look around."

Shadow thought about it. Then he smiled. There was actually a place not far from the palace that he wanted to show Sonic. "There's actually a place I want to show you." Shadow grabbed his hand. "Come on."

Sonic nodded and followed him. A few minutes later, Sonic and Shadow arrived at the entrance to a cave. Shadow looked at Sonic and gave him a smile. "You said you like adventures, right?"

"I do," Sonic said. "Do you have one in mind?"

"I've been wanting to explore these caves, but I didn't really want to do it alone. You up for it?"

"Sure." Shadow chuckled and swam inside, flexing his tail at a great speed. Sonic smiled and followed him. "So, where do these caves lead?"

"I have no idea, to be honest. That's part of what I want to find out."

Sonic nodded and swam after him. The two navigated the caves for hours until they came to a large cavern with treasure. Shadow's eyes widened as he looked around the room.

"This is...amazing," he said, looking at Sonic. "Who could have put all this here?"

"Maybe some long ago king."

Shadow nodded; that made since. "What should we do with it?"

"You could always bring it back to the palace," Sonic said. "Unless you want to keep it our secret."

The merhog prince thought about it. Then a smirk came to his face and he nodded.

"We'll leave it here, then. No one else has to know about it."

"Wanna go for a ride?" Sonic asked. "I could change into something, and we can explore that way. It'll be fun."

Shadow nodded. "Sure," he said. "What will you turn into?"

"A whale of some kind. What do you think?"

"Sure. How about a killer whale or a dolphin?"

Sonic nodded and began concentrating. His face extended outward, thinning out as his teeth also changed. Sonic blinked before grimacing in pain. The structure of his skeleton was changing, forcing the rest of his body to do the same. His arms went to his sides, shortening as his hands became the tip of his flippers. The dorsal fin on his tail moved up onto his back as both his body and tail became covered in the gray skin dolphins have. The quills on the back of his head flattened onto his body as a blowhole opened in the top of his head. Sonic looked at Shadow expectantly.

Shadow chuckled and got on the dolphin. It chirped and then flexed its tail, swimming out into the ocean.