Christian Wolf27, Hphantom6, thanks for the reviews!

I own Amara and this story. Sega or Archie own the other characters.

Chapter 4

Sonic's P.O.V.

"Wake up!" I holler at the sleeping Amy and I open her cell door. She bolts upright, rubbing her eyes, and frowns at me.

"It's not necessary to yell at me like that you know." She grumbles.

"Oh, sorry Princess. Whatever makes you happy." I mock bow. She rolls her eyes. I straighten up and toss her a new dress. I turn around to let her change. "I've decided that since you seem to know so much about cooking, you can help Vector prepare the meals. Then you can help my crew when you're not busy in the kitchen." She steps out of the cell, into my line of vision. The dress is colored a solid sky blue this time. Not too bad of a color for her.

"Yes sir!" She salutes sarcastically.

"Atta girl." I smirk, ignoring her attitude. We go above deck. Amy sees Amara and turns to go in that direction. "A-tut-tut." I grab her shoulder and steer her in the kitchen's direction. "To making breakfast you go." She groans, casting me an annoyed look as she goes to the kitchen. I turn and make my way to the steering wheel to relieve Shadow from his turn of steering. As I near, I catch him watching Amara as she observes the ocean.

"Enjoying the view Shads?" I grin at him. He moves his gaze to me, now glaring. I push on. "I'm surprised you haven't slept with her yet." I cock an eyebrow at him. "She not good enough for you? Lost interest? Find out something disturbing about her?" His jaw clenches.

"Sonic. Shut. Up." He growls. I put my hands up.

"Just trying to solve the mystery." I shrug. I do back off, however, and take over the wheel. I actually didn't care why he hasn't slept with Amara yet, I was just messing with him, but now that he got that riled up, I'm now curious. Is there something going on between those two?

"Here." A plate of scrambled eggs and bacon suddenly appears in front of my face. I look and find Amy holding it. I take the plate. This is the one meal where we all don't eat together. It's too early to be around everyone like that.

"Thanks." She arches an eyebrow in surprise. "What? I can have manners." I say defensively.

"I couldn't have guessed." She smirks. It softens. "You're welcome though." I step away from the steering wheel.

"Here, take the wheel." I tell her. Her eyes widen.

"What?"

"Take the wheel." I repeat. "I don't like to eat and steer at the same time."

"But I've never steered a boat before." She eyes the wheel fearfully. I roll my eyes.

"It's simple. Just hold it straight." I grab her hand and wrap it around one of the steering spokes. I step back and watch as she tightly grips the wheel with both hands.

"This is it?" She asks after a few moments. "I'm sailing?"

"You're sailing." I smirk, amused by how amazed she is by this. She looks back at me, a wide smile on her face.

"I'm sailing!" She squeals, her jade eyes sparkling. I chuckle, shaking my head. I eat my breakfast while Amy happily steers the ship. She sure does a good job acting like she isn't like other rich people. If I didn't know better, I'd say she might actually care about others' well-being. But I do.

"Cap'n!" Charmy suddenly shouts from the crows nest. I look up. "Another ship is heading this way!" He points starboard. I put down my dishes and pull out my telescope to look at the approaching vessel. It's The Black Tide.

"Ah damn it! Now?!" I put away my telescope. They're too close for us to shake off. I turn and cup my hands around my mouth. "It's Rengash! Drop anchor and arm yourselves!"

"Who's Rengash?" Amy asks as my crew hustles about.

"He's a sneaky, pain-in-the-ass, stereotypical pirate who constantly gets in the way, always asking for help raiding something." I growl. What's the point of being Captain if you have to almost always ask for help pillaging other ships?

"Remind you of anyone?" She mutters lowly. I glare at her.

"Watch it." I catch sight of an ebony hedgehog. "Shadow! Get Amy below deck and into a cell." He nods.

Amy eyes the approaching ship. Her gaze flicks over to me. "Be careful." She turns and walks away. Surprised, I watch as Shadow also takes Amara below deck with Amy. She's faking it. People like her don't care about what happens to people like me... right?

Remembering Rengash, I shake me head clear of my thoughts. I'll figure out that pink hedgehog later. I go into my cabin and retrieve my cutlass. In my opinion, this curved sword is a lot better than the classic straight-edge. I also grab my pistol and some bullets and slide them onto my belt. I go back on deck and find all of my crew armed and ready. One thing that I pride myself in is I made sure every single person on my crew knows how to fight, even Charmy.

We stand there and watch as The Black Tide catches up to us and pulls broadside to my ship. The raccoon captain, none other than Rengash, stands on the side of The Black Tide, the side closest to my ship, with his crew right behind him. There is a little over twice as many people in his crew than in mine, they are all dressed like you would expect pirates to dress, and they are just as filthy as you'd expect too.

"Ahoy there Cap'n Sonic! Long time no see!" He grins. Ugh. I hate how he speaks.

"It sure has been Rengash. What do you need now?"

"What? Can't I come 'n catch up with ye?" He mocks being hurt.

"Now now Rengash. How long have I known you? When have you ever come just to 'catch up'?"

"How 'bout now? I'd like ta know why the royalty is offerin' a big reward fer yer head."

"Beats me. Maybe they're finally tired of looking like fools." I say indifferently. "What are they offering?"

"Two million rings." Damn. That's four times bigger than my guess.

"Huh. I did recently take down one of their ships. Maybe it was more important than I thought."

He scratches his chin. "Hmm. Maybe." Then he grins wickedly, showing off his rotten teeth. "Or maybe tis because ye kidnapped the prince's bride." Son of a- "Did ye really think the royals would keep it a secret ta prevent people from panicking? Everybody knows. 'N everybody is lookin' for ye too." He smiles smugly. "Now, I'm gonna give ye two options here: I take yer head in 'n get me reward, or ye can give me two-thirds of the ransom ye will receive."

"Rengash," I warn. "You know neither of those are an option for me. I don't want this to end violently."

"I know," He pulls put his sword. "but every truce has ta end some time. Fire!" A cannon sounds and my ship shudders. Rengash's crew begins to board my ship, using planks and their rigging to cross.

"Attack!" I pull out my sword and our own cannon sounds. I prefer not to kill people, but sometimes I've no choice. One thing that I absolutely refuse to do, though, is kill the innocent. I'll hurt them if they are foolish and don't know any better, but I won't kill them. Rengash and his crew are definitely not innocent.

I stab a bull through the stomach and go to Tails' aid, since he is outnumbered, two-to-one. I sneak up behind a badger and stab him through his chest. Hearing his comrade's gurgled breath, the leopard snaps his gaze over to the fallen badger and me. The leopard now distracted, Tails jumps up with his sword and slices his throat with a spin.

"You okay?" I ask Tails.

"Yeah." He nods, pain from taking a life is in his eyes as he looks up from the body. Then his eyes widen in alarm the same time I hear the swoosh of a blade coming at me from behind. I duck and spin my sword around, slicing half-way through a porcupine's leg.

"Gah!" The porcupine falls to his knees, and I stab him through the chest. A different body suddenly falls beside me. I look up at the rigging and discover Silver to be responsible. He loosens a rope.

"Hi ho Silver, away!" He swings himself onto The Black Tide and continues fighting.

I shake my head before I scan the crowd of fighting pirates, looking for Rengash. My eyes fall on the wide-open doors leading below deck. He's after Amy. I speed down and go to the prison cells. I arrive and find both cells empty. My ears twitch as I hear grunting and metal clashing. I follow the sounds and go to the supplies room. There I find Amara with a sword, probably from one of my crew members' rooms, Amy with a sledge hammer, and Rengash fending the both of them off with two swords.

Just as I'm about to jump in and take care of Rengash, Amara manages to slip past Rengash's sword and cut his side. It's not fatal, but it's enough for her to get Rengash's attention. That's when Amy swings the hammer with all her might, eyes closed, and lands the blow on Rengash's head. A sickening crunch is heard, and he falls to the ground, dead.

Amy opens her eyes and blankly looks at the twitching body. Then her eyes widen, realizing what she has done. Her face pales as she drops the hammer, and she begins to tremble. Amara is in no shape to comfort her friend. She's just standing there: pale, motionless, and in shock. This is obviously their first time seeing and playing a part in someone dying.

Seeing she's seconds from going into hysterics, I go to comfort Amy. "Hey," I say softly, wrapping my right arm around her shaking shoulders. "it's alright. You had no choice." A choked sob escapes her lips. She suddenly wraps her arms around my torso and buries her face in my chest, sobbing. Caught off guard, I stand there for a few seconds. Then I wrap my arms around her and soothingly rub her back. "Shh. It's okay." I whisper to her repeatedly.

I hear approaching footsteps and I tense, not sure if they're friend or foe. Then I hear Knuckles' voice. "Sonic! We've got 'em all! Where are you?"

"Supplies room!" I shout to him, still holding the sobbing Amy. Knuckles bursts in and beholds the sight before him: Rengash's body, a motionless Amara, and me comforting Amy.

"What happened?" He asks.

"Later. Right now I need you to get Blaze." My gaze flicks over to Amara. "Shadow too." He nods and leaves the room.

A few minutes pass before I hear more footsteps, Amy crying regularly now. Shadow is the first to enter the room, Blaze and Knuckles right behind him.

"What happened?" He demands once he sees the still-shocked Amara. With difficulty, I gently pry myself from Amy and walk over to them.

"Rengash tried going after Amy himself. I came down here once I realized he wasn't above deck and found Amy and Amara trying to fend him off. Amara managed to distract him at the same moment Amy swung the hammer at him. She hit his head, instantly killing him. And to top it all off, this is the first time they've seen, and been a part of, someone's death." I tell them lowly, making sure neither Amy nor Amara can hear me.

"The first time is always the hardest." Knuckles lowers his head in understanding. I nod in agreement.

"Blaze, I need you to take care of and calm Amy down, and Shadow-" My sentence gets cut off as he walks past me and goes straight to Amara. He wraps his left arm around her stiff shoulders and begins to talk lowly to her. "...yeah. That." I finish. I turn to Knuckles. "Let's go see if there's anything useful on Rengash's ship." I lead the way. As we exit the room, I see Tails pass by, hurrying to who-knows-where.

"Hey Tails!" The yellow fox stops and looks back at me. "What's the damage?"

"We only got hit by three cannon balls. Nothing serious, but it could be if I don't go now." Tails is bouncing on the balls of his feet, anxious to go.

"Well why didn't you say so sooner? Go on then." He runs off. Knuckles and I continue walking. Once we are above deck, I see all of my crew is still alive, and they are already half-way through cleaning up all the bodies and blood. Knuckles and I go over one of the planks connecting the ships and we begin searching for goods. We don't find very much; we either already had a lot of it, or it was too disgusting to use, like their food. We even only found a small chest of gold, enough to last me and my crew a week in a town. For a pirate, that's pretty broke.

As I near the end of my search for goods below deck, I find the prison cells. Inside one of them is a huddled-up figure. "Hey Knuckles! We've got a prisoner down here!" I holler at him. Wherever he is.

"Sonic? Is that you?" A female voice asks. I whip my head around and see the figure standing up. My eyes widen in recognition.

"Tikal? What are you doing here?" The orange echidna smiles, happy to see a friendly face. I hear Knuckles footsteps. He steps around the corner, coming into view, and stops dead in his tracks at the sight of Tikal.

"Tikal! What are you doing here? Are you hurt? Did any of those bastards touch you? I swear I'll-"

"I'm fine, brother. Rengash was going to try to use me to make Father give him the emerald in exchange for my life." She explains.

"Ha! As if that would work." Knuckles spits out bitterly. Tikal's lips press tightly together.

"Hey, how about you bust this cell open? I don't know where the keys are." I suggest, trying to distract him. When it comes to his and Tikal's Father, Umdir, Knuckles tends to get a bit riled up.

"Sure. Stand back Tikal." She does, and he slams his fist onto the lock. It shatters and Tikal's cell door opens. "Come on." He offers her his hand and leads her back to the ship once she takes it. Yeesh, poor Tikal. I'm not nearly this protective when it come to my sister. I focus back on my search.

"Eh. I've searched long enough." I go over to one of the casks holding gun powder and open one. Using the powder, I pour out a line, making it long enough to give us enough time to sail away. I light a match and set the trail on fire. I zoom back to my ship.

"We're leaving!" I loudly announce, making sure no one is left behind on The Black Tide. I grab the wheel.

"Hang on, I'm almost done with the repairs." Tails says as he pops his head up from below deck. I rub the back of my head.

"Yeah... I might've gotten ahead of myself." I smile sheepishly. He face-palms.

"Agh, Sonic! Ever heard of communication?! Ugh. Just go. It'll be okay."

"Unfurl the sails! Lift anchor!" I order. Luckily, we have some good winds.

Once we are at least a mile away, Rengash's ship explodes, debris scattering everywhere into the ocean.

"Okay, we're good. We can stop and you can finish your repairs Tails."

"After I get rid of that excess water, you mean." He grumbles, going back below deck. I chuckle. Shadow's cabin door opens behind me and Shadow steps out, softly closing it behind him.

"What are you up to Shads?" I arch an eyebrow.

"Giving Amara some space." He states. I forgot about her and Amy.

"How's she doing?"

"She is no longer in shock."

"That's good. I should go check on Amy. Tikal too."

"Tikal is here?"

"Oh yeah. Rengash had Tikal as a prisoner. She's onboard now." He nods in acknowledgement. I go below deck and go to Silver and Blaze's room first. I softy knock on the door.

"Come in." Blaze says. I open the door to find Amy and Blaze seated side-by-side on her bed. "Hello Sonic."

"Hey." I look at Amy. "So, how are you?" I ask awkwardly. Amy just shrugs a shoulder.

"I think she'll be fine." Blaze smiles warmly at Amy and pats her on the shoulder. Amy gives her a small smile in return.

"Is Amara okay?" Amy looks at me.

"Shadow said she's no longer in shock and that she needs her space right now."

"Good." She nods in understanding. An awkward silence fills the room.

"Well... I'm going to go check on Tikal."

"Wait, Tikal's here?" Blaze asks.

"Yeah. Instead of repeating this over and over again, I'll let her explain everything at lunch." I shrug lazily.

Blaze rolls her eyes. "Figures." I smirk and leave the room. I go to Knuckles and Rouge's room, assuming that's where Tikal is. I knock on the door and hear Knuckles' gruff reply.

"What?" I open the door and see that I'm correct; Tikal is here, as well as Knuckles.

"Geez Patches. Don't sound too happy." I smirk. Tikal smiles in amusement.

"Patches?"

Knuckles groans. "It's just Sonic's stupid, uncreative nickname for me."

"Hey. It's short, simple, and it bugs you. It's perfect." I snicker.

"What do you want?" He glares at me.

"Just wanted to make sure Tikal here is alright." I turn to her. "You can share your story at lunch, when everyone is there." Right on cue, the bell sounds, signaling lunch is ready. "Which is now." Man does time fly.

Everyone goes above deck and helps set up the table. For lunch, we get Vector's famous sandwiches and some biscuits. The sandwiches are loaded with meats, cheese, and vegetables. This is the one meal that I want only Vector to make, no one else.

As we eat, I make observations. Everyone is in a kind of somber mood. No one here really likes killing people, but we do what we have to. Amara is seated next to Shadow and, except for the haunted look in her eyes, looks normal. Amy is seated next to Blaze instead of Amara, much to my surprise, and she looks both mentally and physically spent.

"Okay Tikal," I say once she has finished eating. "tell us what happened."

"Well, yesterday started out as a normal day in the village, but then Rengash and his crew came in and started to cause havoc. I went to confront them with some others, but he grabbed me and threw me over his shoulder, kidnapping me. After being locked in that cell, he told me he'll convince my father to hand over the Master Emerald by threatening my life. We were actually on our way to Chaos Island when Rengash spotted this ship. He said he thought it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Sonic found me after the fight, when he was checking the ship for anything useful, and here I am." That slimy worm. He already had a plan to get money, but he still had the nerve to try and threaten me out of two-thirds of my ransom.

"Hmm." I rub my chin. "Hey Espio, you're good at time management and that stuff. Do we have enough time to go to Orchid Valley?" The purple chameleon thinks about it.

"If you take a day off from our stay in Dascoun." He answers.

"I can handle that." I look at Tikal. "We'll take you back home and leave the next day."

"Thank you Sonic. I appreciate it." She smiles at me.

"Not a problem."

Hi ho Silver, away!- dedicated to those Ace Ventura fans! XD

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