The next morning, Shadow and Amy woke up together full of energy. "Mm, morning," Shadow smiled down at Amy cuddled up by his side.

Amy rested her head on his chest while she ran her fingers through his white chest hair. "Morning," she replied.

"You sleep well?"

"I did actually." She rolled over and reached down for her robe discarded onto the floor by her bedside, but when her hand entered into the light shining down onto her robe, she felt her hand sizzle in response. "Ouch!" she screamed retracting it out of the sunlight.

Shadow sat up, alerted by her cry of pain. "What's wrong?"

Amy held her injured hand in her good one. "M-my hand," she answered. Shadow took her hurt hand in his and examined the burn. Slowly, they both watched as it healed thanks to her vampire healing abilities.

"…Shit," Shadow mumbled in realization. "You don't have a daylight ring yet."

"That really hurt, is that really the kind of pain vampires go through with the sun?" she asked rubbing her now healed hand.

"Imagine if you fully walked out into the sunlight," he replied hopping out of bed and closing the crack from the curtains. "I'll make sure Blaze gets you a daylight ring made by today. In the meantime, stay away from the sunlight," he instructed. She nodded and watched him head into the nursery to tend to Faith.

•~•

"There, you should be all set now," Blaze smiled after slipping a ring onto Amy's finger. The two sat in Silver's bedroom after Blaze had finished making Amy's daylight ring.

Amy looked down at the plain looking silver ring on her right hand. "Are you sure?" she asked skeptically. "How do I know it'll work?"

Blaze walked over to the curtain and drew them back, allowing the sun to enter the room. Amy quickly zipped back, avoiding the light out of fear. "Only one way to find out for yourself," she gestured.

Hesitantly, Amy closed her eyes and stepped forward preparing to incinerate in the sunlight but instead only felt its gentle warmth on her skin. She opened her eyes in surprise. "Whoa, you're right. Thanks, Blaze!"

"No problem at all, Amy," she laughed.

Just then, Silver popped his head inside his bedroom. "Girls, it's time." The two females nodded in silence before Silver nodded back and left them alone.

Blaze's ears lowered slightly. "I must apologize again for Jax's decease. I know he was your friend."

"He was…and I still feel terrible that he died trying to protect me."

Blaze stepped closer towards her. "If it makes you feel any better, I actually felt his passing, and I can assure you it was nothing but peaceful. Jax saw his death as a sign of loyalty and honor and nothing more."

Amy tried to force a smile, but the fact of the matter was; she still felt terrible. "I miss him…"

"So do I, Amy," Blaze replied. She hugged her and Amy reciprocated the gesture. After a moment, the two pulled apart. "We should get going, the funeral is in thirty minutes and we really need to start making our way there," Blaze advised.

Amy nodded. "I know, but do you mind if I have a moment alone for just one minute?"

"Of course, I'll let the boys know downstairs," she said leaving Amy alone.

Amy walked out on the terrace and leaned over the railing of the balcony. She wanted to collect her thoughts for a moment before she had to face her fallen friend, but before she could really go deep in thought, she felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck. Now that she was a vampire, her senses were heightened. An unannounced presence was standing behind her and she had no idea who it was. She quickly spun around but relaxed briefly when she saw Sonic standing there. "Sonic?"

Sonic put out his hands in surrender. "Sorry for sneaking up on ya, Ames," he laughed lightly. "I-I just came here to see you."

She loosened her tense stance. "What for?"

He stood a few feet away from her. "To say that I'm sorry…for everything." Amy averted her eyes from him. He might have turned his humanity back on, but it would take some time for her to forgive him for everything that he had done. Sonic sagged by her demeanor. He could read her perfectly. "I know you can't forgive me today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not ever, but I came to tell you that if I could take back the moment I turned my humanity off, I would." Amy's ears perked, eager to hear more of his plea. "I loved you Amy and back then, I thought the only way I could keep you safe was by leading Shadow away. It was hard for me to abandon you. I mean, c'mon, I was crazy in love with you and the thought of leaving you was holding me back, that's why I turned off my humanity. It was the only way I could leave and hopefully take Shadow with me, but, obviously, that was probably my worst mistake," he said looking towards the floor.

Unbeknownst to the two, Shadow had managed to sneak by the doors to the balcony to eavesdrop on the two. He stayed back, ready to attack if need be, but at that moment, he simply wanted to listen to his old foe.

Amy rubbed her arm right awkwardly. "…Are you still in love with me?"

He gave her a soft smile. "You know I can't lie to you, Ames." Shadow watched Amy, wondering what her response would be. Sonic hadn't outright said it, but it was evidently implied that he was still in love with her.

Amy's ears lowered slightly with his answer. "I'm sorry, Sonic. I-I've moved on. I'm with Shadow now and I love him." Shadow internally gave a sigh of relief as he continued to hide by the doors. "He's in love with me too, you know."

"I know," he retorted simply. "I saw that when he came to rescue you from me that day," he sadly reminisced. "He's definitely head over heels and I know he makes you happy. I'm just going to have to live and accept that," he turned and started to leave.

"Wait!" Amy exclaimed, stopping him in his tracks. "What about you? Where will you go now?"

"Not sure, here and there most likely."

"Sonic, I might not be able to forgive you anytime soon, but I'd still like to see you from time to time…You know, as friends?"

"I never really got the chance to process our breakup with my humanity turned off. I'll need time myself to accept that, but I'm sure I'll see you again, someday."

"Oh, I understand…well, can I at least have a hug?"

He pondered on the thought only briefly before he opened his arms. Amy ran into them and gave him a genuine embrace. Sonic rested his chin on top of her head as he held her. Having her back in his arms brought a warm feeling to his heart. Amy felt the same feeling. Even though she no longer was in love with him, she couldn't help but enjoy this familiar feeling of being in his arms. They weren't the only two that noticed the nostalgic feelings happening right then. Shadow too had picked up on it as he watched Amy smiling from ear to ear while she remained in his arms. Even though he felt there was no chance that anything could reform between them now that he and Amy were dating, he still felt jealous and wanted to break up their interaction before anything else could form.

"I'm really sorry about your friend, Ames…" Sonic apologized. Amy looked up at him. She didn't know exactly what to say. She couldn't say it was fine because it wasn't. Jax had become a dear friend overtime and Sonic had taken him away. She opened her mouth, stumbling to find the right words but was interrupted by someone else.

"-Ahem," Shadow softly coughed, catching the two's attention.

"Shadow!" Amy spoke, surprised by his company. The two broke their embrace immediately.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we really must get going."

"Oh, right." She quickly waved to Sonic and hurried back inside, leaving Sonic and Shadow alone.

Sonic crossed his arms over his chest. "Look, I'm not here for trouble, okay?"

"I know you're not." He turned to retreat back indoors.

"Hey!" Shadow stopped and looked over his shoulder back towards his ex-apprentice. "…Take care of her for me, will ya?"

"I have ever intention to do so," he replied. He reached for the door handles to the balcony and gave one last look towards the blue hedgehog. "Goodbye, Sonic." Sonic watched as the doors shut; it felt as if an important chapter of his life had also closed. It would take time to heal and process but he was sure there would be new chapters ahead.

•~•

In the Mystic Ruins, Caleb and the rest of the pack gathered around a ceremonial burial for Jax's funeral. The blue wolf was cleaned and dressed as he was laid upon a makeshift wooden raft, made of logs. The eulogy had already been said and now the pack lined up to say their final goodbyes. Flowers were laid out around him, along with other gifts of gesture. Amy and Shadow approached the blue wolf with their baby stroller. Faith was yet again soundly sleeping while the couple looked down solemnly at their fallen friend. Even with his brutal death, oddly enough, he looked peaceful and content lying there.

"Jax, you have no idea how much I loved you as a friend. May we meet again, maybe in another lifetime…one day," she said quietly. She kissed her hand and briefly laid it on his face before they continued moving. She felt tears run down her face and Shadow placed an arm around her to console her as they continued down the line.

Caleb stood off to the sidelines and watched as Amy and Shadow gathered by the others that had already said their goodbyes. As the line dwindled down, a group of werewolves helped lift the raft with Jax's body and brought it over to the water. They placed it down into the water while Caleb took a bottle of alcohol and poured a generous amount of it over his body. "Today, we give our farewells to a great friend, ally, family, and pack member. May we meet again," he said as he lit a match and tossed it onto his body. His body lit ablaze and the other wolves pushed the raft out further into the water to allow his body drift and burn. The group of funeral goers watched as his raft carried his body further down the lake. Many stood for an appropriate amount of time watching before leaving the shoreline.

•~•

Fifteen minutes later, Shadow and Amy continued to stand by the shore watching the flames float further in the distance. Faith was soundly sleeping in the stroller parked in front of the two as they mourned in silence. Slowly, Caleb walked up behind them. "Sorry if I'm interrupting," he said apologetically.

Shadow turned to address the coyote. "Not in the least."

The two shook hands formally. "Thanks for coming, Shadow."

"Of course, I would never miss this. Jax was a great guy," he replied. "Again, my condolences."

"Thanks," he smiled weakly. "Um," he rummaged in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black sack. "I actually came over to return these to you."

Shadow took the sack and opened it up. Surprised by what the contents were, he stared at all of the moonlight rings placed neatly inside. Shadow looked back up towards Caleb, baffled. "But, why?"

"They were hurting you, and they're not worth the hassle."

"…But, what about your curse?" he inquired.

The coyote shrugged coolly. "We've been dealing with it for centuries and I think we've got it handled. Besides, the fact that some of my people weren't holding up their side of the deal, I felt that we did not deserve such a gift."

Shadow was still weary on the gesture. "What about our alliance? Is that still intact?"

Caleb smiled. "Of course, I've always got your back."

"As do we," Shadow replied.

Caleb nodded and turned to leave. "See ya around, guys."

After a brief silence between them, Shadow looked to Amy. "You do realize this isn't over, right?"

Amy took her eyes off the lake and looked towards him. "What do you mean?"

"Mephiles may be gone now, but in time, another threat will present itself. It always has for my family."

Amy's ears lowered by the thought; being an Original had its perks but also its downsides. And now that Amy was a vampire, different types of threats would now face her too. "What will do?"

"Be prepared," he answered. "This isn't an easy life to live, but it's one we'll have to face together."

Slowly, Amy reached out for Shadow's hand lingering by his side. She grasped it and without question he held it, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "Always and forever?" she asked.

He smiled warmly at her. "Always and forever," he repeated.

•~•

Meanwhile in a graveyard far away, a disturbance occurred within one of the resting grounds. A rumbling erupted within a large and elegant looking mausoleum and when the shaking stopped, one of the walls began to crack. A large crack started to make its way down the wall and in a matter of moments a fist punched through the wall sending bits of rock and cement flying all over the place. After the dust settled, a black and silver hedgehog crawled out of the hole in the wall completely naked.

The hedgehog lifted his head revealing his sharp icy blue eyes to get his bearings. As he stood upright, he appeared to be a much older male hedgehog in his late 40s and looked oddly identical in appearance to both Mephiles and Shadow. The male reached his arm back into his coffin and pulled out two white oak stakes and gripped them tightly. As his eyes surveyed his environment, he walked towards the metal-gated door and kicked it open with ease. Now freed from his prison, he made his way out of the mausoleum passing the nameplate that read: "R.I.P Coal the Hedgehog. 1000 – 1990 Father & Husband."

Just as he turned a corner, a night guard crossed his path. "S-sir, are you okay?" he stuttered noticing his nudeness. The male hedgehog did not reply and instead used his quick vampire speed to pin the helpless guard against one of the other graves. "Hey!" he cried out, gripping the hand around his shirt collar.

"Forgive me, but I haven't fed for some time." With that said he dug his fangs into the side of his neck and began to viciously feed from him. The guard cried out in pain as he devoured his blood and after a few minutes, the hedgehog pulled back and gasped feeling revitalization course through his veins. "Ah, yes…" he smiled wickedly.

With the guard now dead, the re-born hedgehog undressed the male and put on his clothes. He picked his white oak stakes off the ground and tucked them into the messenger bag that the guard had been carrying. "Now, one wonders where my beloved sons reside in this time period," he said aloud as he began his trek out of the cemetery.

•~•

Author's Note: Uh oh, is this a new threat perhaps? I've had a lot of fun writing this story and I'm pleased that you guys have stuck around to the end. I'm so elated by the number of reviews this story has gotten. Obviously, I plan to continue this story, but I want to take a break and focus on another story before I do Part II for The Hybrid. Instead, if you go to my page, there is a poll there with a list of stories I have in mind/been working on. Vote for the one you'd like to see next and whichever gets the most votes will be the next story!