Hey. Remember me? Yeah, I live. I know, it's a shock after all this time. I've learned recently that I am incredibly slow when it comes to writing anymore. Sorry about that.

Anyways, this is something I came up with a while back while watching Firefly in the aftermath of a Sonic Adventure 2 session, and my mad mind said, "Hey, why don't you write a Sonic version of this?" :D And I was lost when it threw the smiley lol. But seriously, I've never seen those two fandoms crossed over before, so I thought why not and wrote what I could without actually being able to re-watch the first episode on account of that DVD being broken . If you guys like this (aaand maybe even if you don't) I'll go online and give it another look so I can write the second half of the first episode, and from there I could go on to the rest of the series. Without a positive response I probably won't take the effort to be honest, but anything could happen; I don't promise either way.

Bit of random info before we get started: when Tikal is listening to her CD, the 'tribal mix' referred to is her theme song, which I totally listened to while writing - but, after Knuckles appears, I switched over to Someone New by Hozier, because it just seemed to fit, for some reason. Give those a listen if you feel like getting a little more into my head ;)

But enough rambling - onwards! Hope you guys enjoy!

"TAAAAIIILS!"

"HOLY-!"

"If we live, I'm gonna kill him."

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF CHAOS YOU DOIN' DOWN THERE?!"

"Which one?"

WHHHIIIIIIIIRRRrrrr-CRRSSH

"Oh, Chaos, what is that? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?! ...Oh, right. That would be me. Back to work!"

CRRRAASSSHH

"TAAAAAAAAAAIIILS!"

"Everything's shin-"

"No it ain't! Don't give me that!"

"Okay. Fine. OH, NO! OH, CHAOS HELP US, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"...Both of them, Preacher. Better start praying."

Angel Isle

Heralded by a loud and undoubtedly annoying sound that wasn't sure if it was a sigh or a yawn, his head tipped back and left him facing skyward, neck creaking unpleasantly as he let go of the tension and simply let his head bounce backward for a moment. Two more noises, these decidedly yawns, left his mouth before he could muster up the energy to flop his head back to its natural angle atop his neck, albeit pointed a little further downward than it should have when he yawned again and slumped himself over the table.

"Posture, cutie."

Yet another loud, exhausted yawn escaped him. "Hey, Rouge," he acknowledged listlessly, and decided to screw posture completely, falling forward to lay his face and arms on the fake- wood metal table, resting his left cheek on the smooth surface with his arms stretched palms-down in front of him. "How'd it go t'night?"

The sultry bat slid gracefully into the chair beside him and reached a hand over to rub his back, and despite his remaining compunctions toward her profession, he found that he literally could not force himself to care at that moment, letting out a grateful whine as means of thanks. His back housed an ache from the fires of Crisis City from leanin' over 'n twistin' under 'n crawlin' about 'n all those other actions involved in re-nigger-riggin' an engine th't should have died out like the dinosaurs months before this morning with those crappy compression coils being about all th't w's holding it together. He knew he was tired when his thoughts started taking on an accent the likes of which he tried so hard not to pick up from his shipmates - barring a few, one of which was the bat currently massaging his shoulders. "Just terrible," she answered in a light voice, moving her hands - the left had quickly joined the right - lower down his back, hitting a sore spot that made him arch his tired body up into her practiced touch. "Complete and utter slob, that one was - and had no idea how to treat a lady! I'd have walked out right at the very beginning if I hadn't thought I could... educate him a bit."

"Mmmm..." he hummed inarticulately; Chaos but she knew how to relax sore muscles! He felt as though he were simply going to turn to goo and melt through the table. Chaos... His eyelids fluttered, and he snapped them back open, forcing words up out of his throat. " 'N how w's'at?"

Rouge's laugh was hushed, and he smiled slightly - however she and the others might try to deny it, they were just as in tune with this ship and her moods as he was, and right now she was calm and peaceful and quiet, no matter about her busted-up engine; her charges were either sleeping or on their way there, and just as she always had, she was going to safeguard their sleep, singing the nightmares away with her subtle lullabies and rocking them gently in her arms. "I believe I learned a valuable lesson tonight that will keep me humble - there are some things even I can't do." The melodramatic tone she generally spoke in had made an equally dramatic return to her voice, and he chuckled as well, a smile curving his lips.

"The word 'humble' don't b'long anywhere within ten feet a'you, Rouge," he said before he could think about it, and froze up, muscles tensed, as her hands stilled. When she began to laugh in earnest, the sound echoing and ringing through the hallways, he let out a sigh of relief and sank back into the table. Rouge kept on for a few moments more, apparently unable to stop until she was gasping for breath, and there were tears plopping into his fur, which had him tensing up again. She patted his back as her breath slowed back down to a normal pace and the last of her giggles faded into the silence.

"Whew! A-hm. Hm-hm! Haah... Ohh, you are something, cutie." She reached around and pulled him off the table; he allowed her to do so, resigning himself to being a living plush for a minute or two, and the bat pulled him close, hugging him to her chest as if he were just that. "You are my favorite person on this whole ship," she declared, mussing his hair. His ears twitched and flicked at the feeling of her hand so close to them, and she pulled it away, not as though she'd been burned like certain others were wont to do, but in a gentle, smooth motion that matched the sinuous way she always moved. Nothing could ruffle Rouge's fur, as he and the rest of the crew had learned quickly when the newest addition to their bizarre little family had arrived.

As suavely as everything else she did, the white bat changed the subject when she spoke again. "It's awfully late. Why don't you go on to bed, hon?" He opened his mouth to protest, but she raised her voice and proceeded to talk over him. "And I don't mean that hammock you keep in the engine room! It's late even by Core standards, and Chaos knows that you're exhausted. Now you run along to your room and get in bed. I'll brook no arguments!"

"What's going on down here? Who- ah, Rouge. It's about time you came back. It's been a long night, even for you, hasn't it?"

And suddenly he found himself trapped between a rock and a hard place as Shadow sauntered over and sat on his other side, where, over his head, he and Rouge engaged in what was essentially a staring contest with eachother, and until they were finished, there was no way in heck he was moving. Of course, he didn't really think Shadow would hurt him - if anything, the black and crimson hedgehog would murder anyone who tried, but it was a simple fact of life that Shadow and Rouge, however good of friends they might be on a given day, were going to be locked in this power struggle with one another for the rest of eternity, and it was bad news for the poor soul that interrupted them. Surprisingly, Rouge turned her eyes away first, as he could tell from the bemused expression on Shadow's tan face.

"It really is late," she repeated, and finally released him, pushing him gently out of her lap and nudging him towards the door. "You need to get some rest before you've got to get up and argue with that engine again tomorrow, hon." He glanced back at his two friends still seated at the table, noting the concerned glimmer in Rouge's ocean-blue eyes, and tried not to flinch as Shadow's vermilion narrowed and hardened.

"Speaking of tomorrow," the hedgehog added, his voice as calm as it always was despite the obvious signs of anger in his face and posture, "you know that I would be more than pleased to make a certain Captain's life miserable for you."

He pictured it for a moment, Shadow turning the Captain's day into one straight from Iblis' fiery embrace, and couldn't help a small giggle, but shook his head in the end. "Nah, you prob'ly shouldn't, Shadow. Thanks for the offer, though." Tired though he was, he sent a smile their way, growing more genuine when the both of them let their shoulders relax a bit, seeing that he really was okay. Nobody could ask for better friends, he thought, smile widening. "You guys are the best," he praised aloud, and though Shadow's was more of a smirk, they both sent smiles back his way. He took one look at the ladder that led to one of the staircases to the second level before deciding 'screw that', and instead twirled his two tails around, flying himself up to the ledge.

"Night, hon," Rouge called from behind him, and he paused to look back at them one more time.

"G'night, Rouge, Shadow."

"Good night, Tails," Shadow said with a nod, and he grinned again, though another yawn came to bug him before he could think of anything else to say; with a small wave in their direction, he turned and half sleep-walked to his room, only awake long enough to yawn once more after his head hit his pillow.

~.~.~

Common folk just had no clue - not one clue! - how hard it was to walk amongst them in their wild and bustling throngs and still manage to conceal a 40-pound hammer on her person, but she managed, and though she'd grumble about it for days after this meet and days before and after the next one, she'd never dare going anywhere without it - Shadow could have his rifles and his pistols and those grenades and disruptors; her faith was solidly in the solid steel head of her hammer, which she carried on her back like a swordsman of old, concealed in a pocket of invisibility thanks to that device Tails had invented. Still, it was almost riskier than it was worth trying not to run into anybody who might feel it when walking in a crowd of thousands.

"Captain. How strange to see you on time for once. I see you've brought your lapdogs as usual," a snide voice interrupted her musing, and she snapped her attention forward, fighting the grimace off her face when she took in the sight of their irritating employer, the slight wind that tossed her hair around also ruffling his viridian feathers.

The sound of a disruptor heating up was not one most people would recognize, but to her, the warning hum was unmistakable, and she cut her eyes at Shadow dangerously, though he affected not to notice. "Cut the crap, Jet," he ordered brusquely, and their ever-so accommodating proprietor let out his trademark obnoxious laugh; her quills stood on end as he continued, leading her hands to reach back and grasp the haft of her hammer, while her thoughts turned toward Shadow. Not for the first nor the last time, she wished she were telepathic as her mind's eye centered on his tiny handheld weapon. Yeah, you can shoot him now; thanks.

"Hahaha! Yeah, a'right, that was kinda over the top. How's my 'Eggman' comin', though?" Jet clearly didn't expect an answer, as he gave them no chance to respond before he gestured to the enormous avian standing in the shadows behind him, and the colossus came forward, grinning sinisterly. "Alright, you know the drill - weapons to Storm and follow me." Shadow huffed as he surreptitiously switched the disruptor back off, its hum fading out of the air like the sound a melting ice cube would make if it could. He glared balefully at the albatross as he emptied (most) of his weaponry into his enormous hands before stalking off after Jet. She herself followed after the Captain, who had no place to conceal anything and thus walked on through, and lifted her hands up for inspection after pulling out her pockets for Storm to see and rummaging around in her bra, which produced only a small number of folded bills. He grunted in disappointment and waved her on with one hand, the other emptying Shadow's things into an inconspicuous black backpack, to be handed back to the dark hedgehog once they were safely away from Jet's little nest.

The three of them followed Jet through the maze of dimly-lit tunnels that protected the entrance to his lair, walking in a close formation, the Captain at the front with she and Shadow flanking him. Honestly, she thought they should have done it the other way around, with she or Shadow in front, but she pushed her wild imaginings of danger away - and besides, she reminded herself, she may have had a hammer, and Shadow still had a couple things hidden on his person, but the Captain was no slouch in combat either. His fighting style was just... much riskier than theirs. She drew in a breath. Anything could have decided to hide itself in these tunnels, true, but they were more than likely bigger and meaner than whatever it happened to be, aaand Shadow was always good for a combo attack with the Captain or herself, being fast, acrobatic and sturdy enough to withstand whatever either of them could dish out. A tiny smirk graced her features. We'll be fine.

Of course, no one had quite been expecting what Jet had to say once they arrived.

~.~.~

"OH MY GAIA DEAR HOLY CHAOS I RAN OUT OF DEITIES ALREADY BUT HOLYCRAPAREYOUFLIPPIN'SERIOUS?!"

The Captain stuck his pinkie finger in his ear and twisted it a bit, then tried to pop his ears with a couple of forced yawns. "What was that?" he asked, his voice so saturated with sarcasm the words were practically dripping out of his mouth. "I couldn't quite hear you, Tikal."

She gave him her disgusted face and stuck her tongue out at him; he just rolled his eyes and smiled exasperatedly. "I'm serious, 'Kal. Go doll yourself up and hook us some payin' customers - preferably more money than less, if we're gonna have more'n'a snowball's chance against Iblis at gettin' anything half decent to eat."

She nodded with all the solemnity she could muster when all she wanted to do was squeal at the absolute top of her lungs, before throwing seriousness to the wind and launching herself at the Captain, flinging her arms around him and letting out one lower-volume squeal than the hundreds of ear-shattering ones she held back out of mercy. His face was flushing red when she hopped back, pulling vainly at her dreadlocks in a doomed attempt to straighten them out, and she smiled extra wide to show him that she'd seen his embarrassment. Her eyes narrowed slightly as the grin became predatory at his mumble of "Kyoki no josei doraiba," but since she knew she'd never act on the rather violent thoughts running through her mind, she sighed lightly and let her smile become happy again, rushing off through the depths of the ship to bang her fists on Cream's bedroom door. Though she delighted in getting dressed up and putting on make-up, she readily admitted to one and all that she was utterly abysmal at it; how it was possible for a twelve year-old girl whose primary duty onboard the ship was making whatever scraps they got from the market vaguely edible to have more skills in the make-up department than the seventeen year-old pilot, no one could quite figure out. Primarily because as long as they didn't choke on their dinner and the old bird didn't drop them and their occasional passengers out of the sky, no one particularly cared.

The next fifteen minutes found her rushing back to the cargo bay to take up her post - namely, siting outside looking pretty to attract potential customers, people looking for transport to another Zone, and while some of the crew didn't exactly see eye-to-eye on the matter of taking on passengers, it was always good clean money, and, with any kind of luck, publicity for being a transport ship only, given thay could stay away from any Alliance attention while their travelers were aboard. They'd been lucky so far, thanks to her brilliant piloting skills, but-

Buuut she tried not to think about that, especially when there were so much more appealing things to fill her mind with, like, say, the reason she was about two steps per second away from running full-tilt through their crowded and notoriously unnavigable ship.

"Hi Shadow!"

Perched on one of the enormous crates they kept out in the open for show purposes, the black and crimson hedgehog was studiously cleaning his firearms, a small (for him) selection of the easily concealable ones spread out on the crates around him. At the sound of her breathless greeting, his shoulders tensed, cat-like, and she watched his hands freeze up, knowing he was internally battling with himself over whether he should answer or run away. Not many would believe it, even amongst his friends, but the rough-and-tumble gunman with the devil-may-care attitude was, underneath it all, quite a gentleman - when he couldn't hide behind his other persona. Thus, and despite that it seemed to physically pain him, Shadow turned his head in her direction and managed to force out a civil sounding "Good... morning... Tikal...", grinding each word out as though she were pulling his teeth. Unphased by the typical reaction, she smiled at him brightly, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the way he practically hissed and hid from the light.

"You guys're leavin' pretty soon, huh?"

Looking over her head to confirm this with Amy, he gave a brisk nod, glanced at her with a hint of indecisiveness, then grabbed his things so fast she could scarcely see him moving and took off toward the pink hedgehog. Left standing alone to stare at a crate, she really did roll her eyes; anything he could do to keep from talking to her, he'd take it, even if it meant consorting with their fantabulous Captain and second-in-command. She snorted in a very unladylike manner, then rolled her eyes again before heading back off into the depths of the ship, shaking her head so that the beads in her dreadlocks clacked against eachother, making faintly musical jingles. "One of these days, Shadow the Hedgehog, you are gonna be crawling towards me! Preferably across a bed."

From the sonic boom that followed her words, Tikal gathered that she might ought to stop talking to herself out loud.

~.~.~

"Hahahaha!"

Amy's hands tightened on the still invisible haft of her hammer. He himself was reaching - creeping, more like - his left hand towards a similarly concealed handgun hanging from the magnetic anchor on his 'Batman belt', as titled by Cream and Tikal. He didn't care what they called it, just so long as it did its job and stayed invisible while it did so. With his few remaining weapons hidden from sight, and with no small amount of luck, he would appear to their semi-enemies to be either reaching for a gun only to remember he no longer had one hanging at his waist, or, if Jet didn't look at all, Storm was dumb enough to simply see him putting a hand on his hip. Either way, no one could see what he was going for, and though he hoped to high heaven - yes, even he, Shadow the Hedgehog, was not completely without faith - that he wouldn't have to use his trump card, the familiar weight of the big, iron revolvers with the sandalwood grips that hung at either hip centered him, and he breathed out softly, focusing his attention on the farce of a conversation Jet and the Captain were carrying on, his nerves eased by the knowledge that the six-shots were well within his reach and, thanks to the magnets, unfettered even by holsters. He forced down a smirk. Absolutely nothing could go wrong. ...On his end, at least. The rest of the situation was far less predictable.

"Hahahahahahahehe! Aha! Hahahahahaha... Oh, man, what riot!" The Captain had finally stopped laughing, drawing in a deep breath and letting out slowly. It was the end of the levity, because when he looked up again, bright green eyes meeting and holding Jet's shifty, amber gaze, they were flinty and bereft of mirth. "Now. I know I heard you wrong, Jet old buddy, 'cause there's no way you just said you're not gonna pay us. I know you didn't say that to me."

The hawk had truly looked worried for a moment; just a brief flash of shock on his face before he banished the emotion, but nothing escaped Shadow the Hedgehog; his scarlet eyes saw all, even when he was having an epiphany accompanied by a flashback and the urge to chuckle at both. I should really stop hanging around Rouge so much; she's starting to affect my speech patterns. Just the week prior at dinner, the bat had been off on some kind of jewel tangent and reached the point of referring to herself with her name and species each time her name came up. Amy had glanced around the dining table at everyone else and asked, "Am I the only one who wishes she'd stop talking in third person?" Their pilot, assuming a dull expression, had replied in much the same tone, "Yeah, Tikal hates that," prompting laughter from everyone but that bat herself, who merely pouted.

He shook himself from his reverie; this meeting was no place to space out. Not to mention, Jet had shaken off his own brief stupor and resumed his aloof manner. "No dice, Captain; I'm afraid you heard me precisely right. You're not gettin' a red cent outta me for this junk, BECAUSE," he screeched, raising his voice to be heard over Amy's sudden protests, "you idiots almost got tagged by the Alliance! Or had you forgotten that sordid little detail?"

All three of them grimaced and winced at that, and he used the motion as an excuse to put both of his hands on his hips, mere inches away from the ancient firearms. Seeing his companions get lost in their own flashbacks, he focused his gaze on Jet, glaring at the green-feathered Mobian balefully. The bird-brain had the audacity to grin at him, silently gloating over their near failure earlier in the day, but he didn't respond to the taunting beyond a slight narrowing of his eyes. Let Jet think he had nothing else up his sleeve. Wouldn't he be surprised if they came to blows over why he refused to pay up.

The Captain sighed, copying his pose. "Alright, fine, so we had some trouble, but we got out of it, Jet, old pal. They didn't have time to scan us or anything; didn't even have time to shoot at us before we got out of the system with a hyperjump. The goods are clean." One foot began to tap out a spastic rhythm against the brownish concrete, and he could see Amy's shoulders tensing as she shifted to a position that would allow her to get her hammer out more easily. He himself simply watched the Captain. If he lost his limited patience and attacked, they'd be right there with him, but there was still a chance they might make it out without a fight - though even he had to admit that it was minuscule.

~.~.~

The roar and bustle of the docks raged against her ears, but the soundproofing provided by her dreadlocks kept it from going over the decibel limit. Also, she was pretty sure her boombox was managing to block most of it out. The tribal mix soared through air, its melody carrying with it a vision of some ancient civilization lit by the golden sun, and had enticed passengers to their little ship at ports in all kinds of zones simply by sounding interesting, and though those who had to stay at the ship while she dragged people in pleaded for a different CD (and in the case of Cream demanded their stereos back), she adhered to the ancient philosophy if it ain't broke don't fix it, and had more than once been the reason they had enough Rings to keep flyin'.

She was pulled out of her musings by the appearance of something that most definitely did not belong down here: a highly over-dressed Mobian, wearing a sleek purple coat with fuzzy cuffs, a clearly expensive necklace, and her hair in some sort of modern updo. Behind her, she dragged a container almost as big as she was, the grooves on the bottom leaving strange tracks in the muddish dirt. The poor thing was not only completely out of place, but more than aware of the fact if the look on her face was any indication. Her heart swelled, and she couldn't resist waving the other girl down, her sweetest smile on her face. The cat, shoulders scrunched up, made her way through the ever-present crowd and to her chair by the door, moving so nervously it was heart-breaking to see. "Yes?" she asked hesitantly.

"There's no need for that, honey, I don't bite!" her mouth said before she could stop it, and the lavender Mobian looked even more uncomfortable than before if it was possible. Trying to salvage whatever professionalism she may have had left, she put down her parasol (a handy tool for attracting male passengers) and stood up, offering a hand to the cat. "I'm Tikal, the pilot of this vessel. I gather from your being here that you're looking for a transport ship?"

"Yes," she said back slowly, giving her hand a tentative shake. "Yes, I'm looking to get to the, um..." The cat took a breath. "The, ehm... Isolated Island Zone?"

She blinked. "...Okay, then. Whatever floats your boat! I can get ya' there no problem."

"What, really?" the other girl blurted, then flushed scarlet, but she just smiled and nodded, beads jingling and jangling.

"Sure thing! I fly this bird, remember? I know what she's capable of. The only thing is," she said, and her new companion flinched, "it is kinda out of the way - I mean, Isolated Island; no duh - and we don't fly for free if we can help it, sweetheart. And that far off our normal routes, well, that's gonna be extra Rings."

"I can pay," the cat assured her quickly. "I'm a doctor. I, um, have some money to spare."

"Oh, is that what's in the case, your medical equipment?" she asked, pointing to the big chrome box, and received a nod and a sort of smile in response. "Neat. Alright then, Miss...?"

"Blaze."

"Okie-doke, Blaze, just drop your stuff in the cargo bay," she pointed over her shoulder at the ship's cavernous interior, "and head on up those stairs on the right 'til you get to the dining room; Cream'll get you settled and see you to a room!"

Blaze smiled a real smile and reached out to shake her hand again. "Thank you, Tikal."

"Glad to have you aboard, Blaze!" she replied, and the lavender cat vanished into the shadowy depths. She watched in vain for a moment, but was too blinded by the sunlight to see in, and finally gave up with a slight sigh, sinking back into her chair and twirling her parasol over her head in time with the music. Before too long, she saw another unusual sight, this time in the form of a human, heading straight for her. The negotiations went swiftly, which was odd, as she generally had to convince any human passengers that they were safe in every way despite their being an all-Mobian crew, but money was money, and she sent him up to Cream just as she had Blaze.

A bit of a silence came over her after that; oh, the docks were always loud, but there was an unsurprising lack of people coming to see her. Really, she was lucky to have gotten her two customers at all. There were a great many ships at this port, and a good many of them were more impressive than theirs, and it was rare that they attracted anyone. As such, she was utterly shocked when yet another Mobian came walking up to her, and shocked more to see that the Mobian in question was an echidna, his bright red dreads marking him unmistakably as one of her own clan. He approached her with a similar look of disbelief on his face, but held his composure better; she could scarcely force out a greeting.

"H-hello," she said shakily, rising from her seat to offer a handshake. He grasped her gloved fingers with his own mittened, his hand eclipsing hers.

"Hello." He nodded toward the little silver radio. "I haven't heard music like that since before Unification," he remarked, shaking his head. She noticed vaguely that his dreadlocks were unadorned, busy noticing mainly just how deep his voice was. "No sound like it in any world but the old one, huh?"

"Not a one," she managed to answer, and was immensely grateful when he let go of her hand. The last time she'd seen an echidna with such vibrant red fur... Suffice it to say she'd never thought to see one again, but here he was, walking and talking and being all corporeal... I hope he's the last customer of the day, because I am gonna have to go pass out after this. "How c'n I be of service to ya'?"

"Not rightly sure," he answered, crossing his arms over his chest (his very muscular arms over his very toned chest, said her brain) and taking a step back to survey what he could see of the ship. "I'm sure you all have things to do, and I've got no idea where I wanna go just now. Hate to get in the way." He said nothing for a moment, in which Tikal wracked her traitorous brains for some way to say 'Please please please get on the ship!' without saying it quite like that. Then he spoke again. "What's the going rate for transport?"

"Uh," she stammered, having been derailed by the question, and then had to mount an expedition for that bit of information, as it didn't seem to want to come up in the search bar. "It's, um - that is, the Captain prefers to have 150 Rings a month, but he's flexible most days."

He nodded slowly, visibly turning it over in his head, before bending down to place his bags on the ground and rummage around in one of them. "Sounds reasonable. But, since I don't know for sure how long I'll be underfoot..." He stood up straight and handed her a sturdy box that he'd fished out of the bag. "Maybe you'd be willing to take a few things in trade, before we start dealing with Rings?"

She opened her mouth to say something along the lines of 'no', but happened to open the box first, and her mouth forgot what words it'd been planning to make in favor of falling into an O. "These are amazing!" she exclaimed, hurrying to put the box down in her chair and pluck out an item. "Just look at this wrench! Oh, Tails'll have a field day with this stuff! And those spare bolts there, he always needs more of those- Gaia, is that-?!" She whirled to face the red echidna, reaching out with both hands to shake his massive hand as her beads played a symphony. "It's a deal! Thank you so much!"

He smiled, and her face glowed as bright as his fur at the roguishness of it. "Pleasure doing business with you," he said in that amazing voice, then added, "and nice to meet you. I'm Knuckles."

"Tikal," she answered, her own voice sounding breathless to her ears. "I'm the pilot on this boat. If you'll take the stairway on the right, it'll get you to the kitchen, and Cream, the cook, will get you settled in." He nodded, smiled again, and started inside, pausing when she held up a hand.

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind my asking, what is it you do for a living, Knuckles?"

He regarded her for a moment before giving a slight nod, as though he'd been measuring her up, then responded, "I'm a Shepherd." and stepped inside.

~.~.~

"You sure?" Shadow asked simply, hefting one of the boxes into his arms after securing the straps of the backpack. At their lefts, Amy did the same, hauling one of the containers up off the floor.

"It's fine," he replied, taking the last two for himself and leading their way back through the crowd. Were he Shadow, he would have noted acerbically that they had failed to abate in the slightest, but, thankfully, he wasn't Shadow, so he just shouldered on through towards the docks. "We can always go to Camelot Castle Zone and sucker Merlina into buyin' our junk."

"Doesn't she still hate us?" Amy asked drily, but he rolled his eyes.

"No, she doesn't hate us. She only ever hated me." He could feel Shadow's smirk. "And besides, it was 'cause of a legit conflict of interest that she tried to joust me while I didn't have a horse, so shut up, Shadow." At the sound of a breath being drawn, he revised the warning. "Oh, my bad, what I meant was don't start, Shadow."

"Killjoy," the dark hedgehog said lightly, and the trio walked on. Shortly, they left the bustling streets behind in favor of the even more crowded docks, instantly making a beeline for their small and somewhat unimpressive ship - and sure, there were plenty of others there that were flashier and drew in more customers, but not one of them had a more obvious sign that someone cared about it than theirs. Every time he came back to the ship, seeing the colors of the sunset on the ocean Tikal had painted beneath the floating island behind the name was like coming home. It was the same for all of them, he knew.

Enough mush, he thought with a derisive snort. "Let's get this junk in the hold and see if Tikal hooked us any payin' customers," he called back, and both hedgehogs voiced their assent. "And then we'll go raid the kitchen." Even Shadow had to chuckle at that.

~.~.~

My, my, my. Such... interesting passengers darling Tikal attracted today.

Shadow would have accused her of spying, but really, how could she not examine the fresh meat? And it was an interesting haul. A human man, they rarely ever got those, a Mobian cat who was most definitely hiding something important, and the creme de la creme, that luscious-looking echidna. Yes, she'd have to keep a close eye on that one. From her vantage point at the top of the stairs, she didn't think she could be seen, but the human (a bit edgy, that one) suddenly swung his head around at the sound of the Captain and his chosen returning, and she immediately picked her feet up off the floor, not wishing to be spotted. The magnetic toes of her boots obligingly clung to the low ceiling when she turned herself upside down, and she hung there in the unique style of her race, wings folded around her body to further hide her from sight - the better to hear the conversation taking place elsewhere in the ship. After all, there was no such thing as too much information.

~.~.~

"TIKAAAL!"

His shoes made metallic rings on the metal stairs when they touched down, which wasn't very often, what with him jumping most of the way up the steps and running to the dining room from there. Tikal was seated at the table, whispering with Cream about something until she caught sight of him in the doorway. The light orange Mobian cringed, but attempted to cover it with a bright smile. "Oh, hi Captain! I didn't know you were back yet!"

"Why am I short money?" he demanded, patience already wearing thin. She bit her lip and said nothing, merely regarding him with those big blue eyes, and he rolled his own before sighing and dragging a hand down his face. "I mean come on, Tikal. How many times have I asked ya not to take stuff in trade in place of Rings?" The pilot looked down at the floor miserably, and he sighed again, flopping carelessly into a chair on the opposite side of the table. "What'd you get?"

"Big tool set," she answered, toying with one of her dreadlocks, but at least she was looking at him again. "Real nice ones. Y'know, the kind Tails always says he could do wonders with? So they're not Rings. Sorry, Cap'n. But you know they're worth a ton of 'em, and aren't they even more valuable if they can keep us from fallin' out of the sky?"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, waving a hand in the air playfully, and she grinned as she rolled her own eyes. "Just don't make a habit of it."

"Arigatou, Captain," Tikal replied, bowing her head, and he turned his gaze on Cream, who was smiling at the both of them fondly.

"What about you? You earned your keep yet today? 'Cause I'll throw you off this boat if there's nothin' to eat," he said with mock seriousness, and the little rabbit laughed, the sound loud and clear. She didn't respond with words, but disappeared into the kitchen and clanged a couple of dishes around. In short order, a mouth-watering, saucy smell drifted out to the table, and he breathed it in deeply, eyelids fluttering. "Best smell in the world," he declared, and both orange girls erupted into laughter again. He smiled himself as he jumped up and headed back through the ship.

We are the weirdest family ever. But, what's important's that we really are one, not matter what anybody says, he thought, then laughed aloud. "Ew, that means I'm related Shadow!" he exclaimed, and laughed himself all the way back to hold.

~.~.~

The dinner table was loud and lively as the crew and passengers gathered around it, awaiting the cook's arrival with the food. He chose a seat near the corner of left side, which put the Captain two chairs to his right, seated at the head of the table, and the pilot across from he himself. The two seats closest to the Captain were occupied by a fox, whom he was next to, and a pink hedgehog. When it was clear that the human guest would not be coming to join them, introductions were made - the fox's name was Tails, the hedgehog's Amy. At the far end of the table on his and Tails' side was Shadow, across from him was Rouge, and Blaze, another passenger, sat between her and Tikal. When Cream, the cook, finally emerged from the kitchen, she took the remaining chair on his right and Shadow's left.

"Well don't just stare at it!" the rabbit shouted over the din, looking at them all like they were idiots. "Eat!" she commanded, and the crew obeyed with gusto.

It was nice, he decided, accepting a steaming bowl of... something from Cream, to be around a group of people who had no compunctions about being themselves. He'd done a decent bit of traveling in his time, but he couldn't think of a single time he'd felt more at home than here. In more ways than one, he thought with a wry smile, then let the unpleasant twist fall away, leaving a genuine curve to his lips. As far as he could tell, he'd stumbled across real, honest people, who weren't trying to screw the world over, and if that wasn't a reason to smile, he didn't know what was.

The conversation was a warm and comforting hum in the background of his thoughts, and he let it wash over him as he took a plate from the center of the table and filled it with side-dishes to go with his chili, as Cream had called it when he'd asked. It was actually quite good on its own, but with cheese melted through it and crackers chopped up in it, it was by far the best thing he'd eaten in a long time. He told the little rabbit as much, and she proceeded to beam all through the rest of the meal, as did Tails and Tikal when he thanked them sincerely for their suggestions of 'chili fixin's'. The rolls were buttery perfection, and the vegetables in the salad were crisp and fresh. Even Blaze, who was obviously as discomfited by the crew's honesty and exuberance as he was cheered by it, finally relaxed her tense shoulders and allowed herself to eat instead of picking at her food nervously. A tentative smile found its way to her face, and served to broaden his own. He'd chosen well indeed.

Finally, the crew began to run out of topics, and Cream innocently asked Blaze about herself, her easy smile slipping when the purple cat froze up. A frown seemed to pass around the table - people who didn't want to answer questions were a potential threat, but it faded when Tikal cheerfully supplied that she was a doctor, wasn't that right, Blaze? "Ah, y-yes, it is," the Mobian stammered, blushing intensely and staring down into her bowl of chili. "I moved from Star Light Zone where I grew up to study at the state-of-the-art medical facilities in Gigalopolis Zone, then worked for a little while at Techno Tower Zone..." Blaze trailed off, seeming to see something other than her cracker-crumbed stew for a moment, then shook herself and faked a smile. "But I found out it wasn't the life I wanted, so I'm going to go somewhere nice and quiet, where I can just relax and be happy."

"An admirable dream," the bat, Rouge, said politically, patting the cat's shoulder. "It sounds wonderful, dear." She turned her gaze on him, then, and he groaned mentally. Great, the Q&A section. Oddly, when she put her elbows up on the table and gave him a mischievous smile, she seemed to be trying to draw attention to her considerable... assets. Well, I think I just figured out what she does. "What about you? Knuckles, was it? What do you do to pass the time?"

He pointedly did not smirk, as the rest of the crew's attention had shifted to him, and he didn't want to look as smugly amused as he felt with everyone watching. He calmly placed his bowl on his empty plate and smiled blandly. "I'm a Shepherd," he replied similarly, again not grinning at the flash of shock on her face before she smoothed her expression back out.

"Oh, no," Rouge went on dramatically. "Now I suppose you'll have to try and save my soul, then, won't you?"

"Does it need saving?" he asked.

Pretending to care was so painful, but it got the reaction he expected, which was another naughty smile accompanied by another not-so-subtle shove of her chest in his direction. "Most would think so," she said, folding her hands and resting her chip atop them. "I'm a Companion."

Bullseye. Still holding the smile back, he made a show of studying her, looking uncomfortably deeply into her eyes until even she was trying not to fidget. Then he leaned back, arms crossed over his chest, and shook his head. "No," he said slowly, drawing the word out. "No, Rouge, I don't think I'll be trying to save your soul."

"And why not?" she demanded with put-on concern. "Am I not good enough to fight for?"

Finally, he stopped trying to fight the grin; out of the corner of his eye he saw Tikal blush, but most of his attention was focused on the bat as he shot back, "Are you kidding? I know a lost cause when I see one." And suddenly, from both the right and left, there came two identical noises that were almost like the scratch of a needle dragging off a record. Rouge's mouth dropped open in undeniable shock, as did several other peoples', as Shadow and the Captain locked eyes across the table - and simultaneously erupted into the kind of violent, gasping laughter that only the truly amused can do. He himself just smirked his smirk as he waited for the other Mobians to master themselves... which took a good six minutes. Tails and Cream gazed at him in open awe while Tikal shook her head slowly back and forth, brow furrowed and mouth open, at Shadow. At last, the two of them managed to drag themselves up off the table, which Shadow had been slamming his fist into as he struggled to breathe, and let their maniacal laughs fade to chuckling remnants of their former selves.

"That was the best thing I think I've ever heard," Shadow announced, the smile still on his face widening at Rouge's scandalized glare. "I'd thank you for it, Shepherd, but I think the next thing I'm going to say will offend you enough not to want it."

He snorted before he could stop the sound (not that he'd tried very hard) and decided just to roll with it. "I seriously doubt it, and you can drop the Shepherd stuff; just call me Knuckles." The other Mobian nodded, now looking at him thoughtfully.

"Alright. Now I really have to say it, though - you don't seem like a Shepherd to me."

He shrugged, uncrossing his arms to take a sip of his drink. "That would be because I don't really care. I'm honestly just in it for the sympathy." At the multiple confused faces, he elaborated, "I lived on Angel Island," and watched as everyone but Blaze found something over than him to look at. "See what I mean?" he went on, unperturbed, even smirking again. "People feel bad enough for me, being a real, Island-bred echidna, but a Shepherd on top of that? I shame people into giving me food, a few Rings, and a nice place to sleep just by existing."

The Captain laughed again. "Milk it for all it's worth, huh?"

"You know it," he replied, eliciting another chuckle. The Captain raised his glass, and he did the same, meeting the hedgehog's grin with one of his own.

"Well you're alright by me, Knux! So, hey, let's make a deal. You can stay as long as you like, no Rings required, if you'll help us out when we need it - y'know, do a few of the chores and just help out in general. Whaddaya say?"

"Sounds good, Captain," he said, and the blue hedgehog made a face.

"You're officially crew, Shepherd, so knock that off. Just call me Sonic." Sonic reached out a hand - Tails was forced to move his plate - and he leaned across to grab it. "Welcome to the gang, Knuckles."

The roguish grin made a vehement return. "Can't think of anywhere I'd rather be."

And that's a wrap for now! So, what do you think? Should I go on with this or not? What do you like? What do you hate? Let me know in a review! *hint hint nudge nudge* As always, thanks for taking the time to read; I love you guys! Mwah!