Chapter 30: Second Chance
Sonic appeared in front of Shadow's house. She was a hedgehog again, like Mephiles had said she'd be. A tear ran down her face as she thought of her husband and son. Sighting, she knocked on the door. Jet opened it and gasped.
"Hi," Sonic said with a smile. "Is Shadow here?"
Jet hesitated. A tear ran down his face and he hung his head sadly.
"What's wrong?" Sonic asked.
"Shadow...is dead. He...died a few hours after you left...of a broken heart."
"Dead? I thought he was immortal, like me."
"He was...but...he just couldn't...take it anymore and...killed himself."
A tear ran down Jet's face.
"I'm so sorry," Sonic said.
She felt guilty that this happened, like it was her fault somehow. If she had known this had happened to Shadow... "I had no idea he was going to die." Sonic gave Jet a small smile. "I can be here for you... if you want or need me to be."
"Why? Shouldn't you be with your husband and son?"
Sonic sighed. "I came back here to be with Shadow."
Jet glared at her. "Well he's not here now, is he?" He shouted, causing Shade to come out and see what was going on.
"I didn't know he was dead." Sonic looked over at Shade as well.
"Well maybe you should have checked before coming up here!" Jet continued shouting. "He's dead, and isn't coming back! So why don't you just go back to your family!"
"Jet..." Shade said.
Sonic breathed in, trying to keep the tears from falling down her cheeks. "I can't go back. Are you sure you can't just-"
"We can't bring him back to life!" Jet yelled. "And we don't want you in our lives because of the pain you've caused us! All of this is your damn fault!"
"Jet, that's enough!" Shade shouted.
Jet looked over at his brother. "It's true!"
"Not it's not!" Shade shouted back.
Jet frowned and began to argue with his older brother. Sonic bit her lower lip, looking down at the floor. "I'll just leave," she said. "I'm sorry I bothered you."
She walked away and heard Jet slam the door. Once she was far enough away, she sat on a bench and sobbed. Remembering both Shadow and her family, Sonic started sobbing harder.
"What am I going to do?" She asked herself. "Shadow is dead, and I can never see my family again..."
Sonic whimpered and lay down on the bench. Closing her eyes, she fell asleep. Sonic groaned as she tossed and turned, dreaming of Mephiles and Mephic. She already missed them. When she woke, she had fallen off the bench. She groaned and stood up, walking around. What as she going to do now? It she had known that Shadow had died, she would have never left her family. They must miss her. Sighing, she went to the ocean and dove in. After being a mermaid for so long, she wasn't afraid of the water anymore.
She hesitated, hoping she could see her family once again. Suddenly, her legs turned into a fish tail. Sonic looked down at it in surprise and happiness. She smiled and felt something drag her under. She gasped and saw Mephiles.
"I followed you and heard what happened," he said to her. "I truly am sorry."
Sonic wrapped her arms around Mephiles, starting to cry again. "I'm sorry I left you. If I had known he was d-dead... Is Mephic still upset?"
"He is very upset. He misses you a lot."
"Do you think he'll forgive me?"
Mephiles nodded. "You can see us one last time."
Sonic frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"Just come back to the house. I'm sure Mephic will be happy to see you." Sonic smiled and swam after Mephiles. "I'm afraid you'll have to go back to the surface in a few hours. This is only temporary."
Sonic's eyes widened. "But why? Shadow isn't there anymore; he's dead!"
"I can't change you back into a mermaid permanently. I'm sorry, Sonic."
"But...what about you and Mephic? I miss you! And you said that if I stay on the surface we would never see each other again. Besides...Jet and Shade don't want me there."
"I saw." Mephiles gave Sonic a kiss. "We'll be fine after a while."
Sonic smiled and kissed him back. When they got back to the house, he hugged her. "Do you know what will happen to Jet and Shade?" She asked him.
The sea dragon nodded and told her. "Shadow raised them to be strong. They're going to be fine."
Sonic nodded, and they went inside. Mephic's eyes widened as he saw his mother, and swam up to her. Sonic smiled at him. "I'm sorry, Mephic. I shouldn't have-" She was cut off as the force of Mephic's hug forced the breath out of her.
"Don't ever do that again," Mephic told her.
"I'm sorry, darling." Sonic kissed the top of his head. "I won't do it again. Promise."
Mephic smiled and looked at his parents. They were together once again. Mephiles joined them with a smile. "We'll never leave each other again."