"Sorry the Overlanders were kinda creepy back there, but I don't think they meant anything by it." Rouge was walking along a jungle path with Amy.
"No, I know," she brushed her pink hair back, "Sonic knows how I feel. I feel like he is intentionally teasing me and playing with my heart."
"Between you and me I think Sonic likes you, too."
Amy brightened up. "Really?"
"Sure! You kind of are the only other hedgehog on the island, too. No competition." She put a hand on her hip.
"He liked that squirrel-chipmunk girl Sally," Amy's face turned a bit sour, "I don't think it's a species thing."
"How is Sally?" Rouge's ears picked up a noise nearby and swiveled to its direction.
"She sends letters sometimes. Knothole is thriving now that Eggman is quarantined here where GUN has no legal jurisdiction. It also helps that he's busy with that other Overlander."
"Speaking of," Rouge turned her head, "I think I can hear them."
"They're here?"
"Shh," Rouge hushed Amy and pulled her behind a tree. "I want to know what they're doing out here." She grabbed the hedgehog and silently flew into a nearby tree and perched there.
"...Apologize for nothing..." Eggman's voice was drowned out by the rustling of the leaves.
"Rouge, we shouldn't spy." Amy whispered. Rouge leaned forward to hear better. The girls heard the humans laughing, the sudden loudness startling some birds. Eggman looked up toward the fluttering noise, nearly spotting the Mobians.
Amy was confused by Overlanders hugging. "I wish I knew enough Nannaeic to understand what she was saying."
Rouge was gripping the branch she was perched on tightly. Her eyes were wide and a smile crept across her face when she saw the witch kiss Eggman on the cheek.
Amy squinted and her mouth hung open.
"It's a secret rendezvous," Rouge whispered excitedly, "Shadow is gonna kill him."
"I don't think that's what this is." Amy flapped her hand to hush Rouge.
"Tower is gonna kill her," the bat's wings twitched, "It's like Romeo and Juliet."
"That play ends in a double suicide," Amy shut her eyes and shook her head, "it better not be."
"No, I mean a forbidden love." Rouge snickered. "Shadow is gonna blow a gasket."
"Maybe I have more charm than I thought," Eggman chuckled nervously, "What was that for?"
"You really aren't used to affection. That's kinda sad." She sighed and broke the hug. She bent down to pick up the spilled contents of her basket.
"Tilly," Eggman squatted next to her, "I get the feeling you're not telling me everything."
She kept her eyes focused on the spilled objects but her face reddened a bit. "About what?"
"The affection."
"W-what about it?" She avoided eye contact.
"You're not sucking off my energy, are you?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "Like an energy vampire? You seem perkier around lots of people but colder and more tired by yourself."
"What? There isn't always an ulterior motive, Ivo." She frowned.
"My whole life I've been betrayed by friends and family with ulterior motives. You can't blame me for being cautious." He stood when she stood.
"I guess I can't trust you," she sneered, "Because you don't trust me. I don't like being alone with my thoughts, that's why I prefer to be around a lot of people."
Doctor Eggman isn't stupid. He could tell she had a crush and he was going to use it to his advantage. He reached into the basket and pulled out a flower and stuck it behind her ear.
She felt electricity run through her body. The simple gesture nearly stopped her heart. The poor witch felt like a teenager again, unsure of the world but wholly optimistic of the future.
She then remembered all the evil he did and frowned. Her eyes dropped to the jungle floor, thinking of how foolish she was for letting her feelings develop unchecked.
"What's wrong?" Eggman pouted.
"Preemptive regret," she admitted, "And future regrets."
"Lighten up," he shrugged, "Collect some coconuts and relax."
She wrung her hands together. "I actually need to get stuff from the ocean but it's too dangerous for me to go alone."
"Are you asking me to go with you?"
"Only if you want. You can sit on the shore if you like, otherwise I'll ask Amy."
"No, I'll go. Should I bring my personal submarine?" He chuckled.
Tilly shook her head. "No, you won't need that."
Rouge looked at Amy and shrugged.
The beach was nearly deserted save for a few Mobians walking about. Sheptilah kicked up some sand and made a surfboard of glass with the flick of her wrist. She jumped on it and pulled Eggman with her.
"How far down do you plan on going?" He furrowed his brow and put his hands on her shoulder.
"Half a mile out," she rotated her shoulder, "Give or take."
"We'll be killed by the water pressure," he swallowed, "Wait!" He cried as she sped off laughing. It took less than a minute to reach their destination and she dove straight down into the water. Eggman screamed thinking he was going to drown, but after a moment he realized he was in a bubble of air and they were at the seafloor. She didn't mean half a mile down in the sea but half a mile out from the shore .
Sheptilah made it so that the bubble was a foot off the sandy bottom so as to not kill any of the wildlife. She sat on the edge of board, legs dangling. Eggman followed her lead as he was afraid he'd fall over. She created a wisp to light the way.
"I come down here a lot," she said, "The ocean is so beautiful. I wish I grew up near it." The air surrounding them was cold and dense, but it didn't hurt to breathe. "I keep finding my way back to the water."
Eggman gripped the edge of the board, "You shouldn't come down here alone so much, then. You know those wiccaphages are around here, right?"
"I haven't seen any." The board pushed forward slowly.
"For once I wish you would just listen to us and be safe. I realize you're sick but-" Eggman was interrupted by a large sea turtle swimming by and distracting him. "Wow, it is gorgeous down here."
"I can protect myself," she reached down into the freezing cold water and pulled up a small chunk of half-dead coral, "Not that you care too much about me."
"Hey," he lightly placed his fingertips on her thigh, "I do care."
She inhaled sharply under his touch, charged by it. She wasn't sure if it felt nice or painful.
"Only because you care about yourself."
"You're my friend," he reassured her, "We don't see eye-to-eye on most things but you're still my friend."
She held up the coral and pointed at him with it. She looked like she was about to say something but paused.
She looked up, her eyes darting between his lips and his eyes hidden behind the dark glasses. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. She sat up a bit and brought her face in close to his, tempted to kiss him and see how far he'd let her go before pushing her away.
He held his breath, unsure of what she was going to do. Ivo brought his mouth together in a tight line; assuming she was going to share another memory.
She saw him withdraw so she sat back, leaning on her hands with her chest puffed out. Eggman raised an eyebrow at this behavior. Her feelings were so confused; she didn't want to kiss him but if he decided to hold her down by her wrists and ram himself into her she'd allow it.
She remembered the crushing grip he had on her throat and imagined those same deadly hands grasping her hips tightly, pulling her onto him. She looked up at him abruptly and decided a change of subject was in order.
"I'm going to take Shadow to Yggdrasil to get the dew tomorrow. I'm going to need everyone's help," she finally spoke, "It's extremely dangerous and it's going to be the hardest item to get."
Eggman took off his fogged glasses and dried them on the edge of his coat. "And what am I supposed to do to help?"
"You have to hold me down. Sonic will have Shadow while Amy supervises and takes notes." The witch shrugged, "Meaning you will literally have to hold me down. This kind of astral projection is dangerous and if one of us gets lost on that kind of plane we'll be screwed."
"Can't someone just duct tape you down?" He laughed.
"No!" She giggled. "No! You have to physically ground me. The unfortunate thing is it could take hours. As long as you don't let go at any time it will be okay. Sonic and his friends will be there to help."
A pod of dolphins clicked at the intruders as they swam by. Sheptilah stopped the board to pick up a dead giant clam under them. She lifted the sixty pound bivalve into her lap and cackled.
"What's gotten into you?" Eggman scoffed.
"Incense burner!" She cheerfully said.
That night Sheptilah and Amy sat by a small bonfire on the beach. The woman had a small cup of dye and a paintbrush in her hands. Amy kept her eyes closed.
"Now that you're my apprentice," she dipped the paintbrush in the ink, "This means you are a princess."
"Really?" Her spines stood on end. A real princess!
Sheptilah nodded and painted three raindrops with their points touching at the zenith on Amy's forehead. She then painted the same shapes on her own forehead.
"So, in the end, my kingdom will be yours and Shadow's to share. There isn't much to it, but I'm pleased to have you in my court."
"A seelie court princess. Me!" Amy couldn't believe it. "Wait, I have to share it with Shadow?"
"He is my better half. What's a seelie court?"
"Yes! It's a royal court of fairies. I know you keep saying you're not a fairy but… I've always wanted to be a part of a seelie court!" Amy cupped her cheeks in her hands. "Aah! I'm too excited."
With upturned eyebrows Tilly peered at the little hedgehog and then hugged her. "Alright then! Seelie court it is."
Amy looked around to be sure they were alone. She leaned in and pursed her lips.
"So I saw you kiss Eggman today," the hedgehog raised her eyebrows, "So did Rouge."
All the color washed out of Sheptilah's face. "You did?"
"We were up in the trees." Amy blinked.
"You were spying on me?" Sheptilah raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." Amy nodded. "Rouge sort of made me. I'm sorry."
Sheptilah pouted and scooted back, "It was a friendly gesture. He said that he was going to go out like a supernova. He's pretty sure we're going to die. I've told him before I wouldn't let that happen but… " Her voice drifted off.
"But what?" Amy furrowed her brow.
"I don't know if I can keep that promise."
"Look," Amy scooted forward, "We could all benefit from Eggman being gone but none of us want him to actually die."
"Don't worry about this stuff, Amy. You're thirteen years old. Be a kid."
"We were all forced to grow up fast years ago." Her young, pink face was serious. "Besides, we don't age like humans do."
Sheptilah looked at her wide-eyed with her brows knitted together, frown wrinkling her expression.
"Hey." Shadow's familiar voice called. He walked up to the girls and sat by the fire.
"Hi." Tilly waved half-heartedly at him.
"I'm a princess! I'm part of the court now."
"Still handing out royalty titles?" He turned to look at the witch who shrugged innocently back at him.
"Are you ready to get the dew?" Amy chirped. "I'm so ready to take notes!"
"Okay, everyone!" Sheptilah stood outside her hut with her hands on her hips.
Amy, Sonic and Tails looked up at her while Shadow and Knuckles moved the furniture inside to make room. "We're just waiting on Eggman but we are basically ready to start. Come on inside."
She opened the door to let them in. On the heavy wooden table were a bunch of seemingly random items. In the center of the table was the giant clam sHell with incense burning in the center.
"This is called a flying ointment," the witch held up a small dish, "None of you should touch this bare-handed."
Sticks shook her head. "I'm supposed to make sure nobody, mostly Knuckles, doesn't touch the flying ointment."
"I can already glide, why would I need to fly?" The echidna stood defiantly. "That and I don't know how a lotion can make someone fly. Don't be ridiculous."
"So help me I will beat you over the head with my foot." The badger gestured broadly to the group. "You're all also fools for allowing this whole astral projecting thing. I won't help you if the shadow people come and try to eat our toenails!"
Amy set out two smaller coffee tables in the middle of the room and placed a pillow on each of them.
"They're not bringing anyone back with them." The pink hedgehog shrugged.
Eggman and his two robots appeared in the doorway. "The cavalry's here!" Eggman said sing-songy. "Did I miss anything?"
"No," Tilly smiled, "We're about to start."
Sheptilah laid Shadow back on one of the tables and slipped off his gloves but left his power rings in place. She dipped a finger into the dish and lightly applied some of the ointment to his gums, careful to not cut herself on his sharp teeth.
"It tingles." Shadow said.
"It's supposed to." Tilly rubbed the remaining bits on his lips and the inside of his ears. "Try not to bite Sonic, okay?"
"I make no promises." He flashed the blue hedgehog a smirk.
Amy gave Sonic a chair to sit in so he could be comfortable. The witch instructed Sonic to take off his gloves and rest his bare hands on Shadow's cheeks.
"Do not, and I mean, do not ever take your hands off of him or he may get lost," the witch warned, "Not for anything."
"Stuff is gonna get weird," Amy said to the group, "Really weird. I'm tasked with taking notes the whole time so we just have to keep our two grounders comfortable."
"I'm gonna record this on my laptop for posterity, is that okay?" Tails asked sheepishly.
"Sure," Tilly nodded.
"Your face is so soft, Shadow," Sonic teased, "What moisturizer do you use?"
"Can I bite him?" Shadow innocently pleaded with his witch. "Can… can I…" He started to doze. "Bite…"
Tilly applied the ointment to her own lips and gums. She then laid back on the table and instructed Eggman to hold onto her face. His ungloved hands were soft and warm.
"This is weird," Cubot commented, "Is this a seance?"
"Not if we do it right." Amy sat nearby with the royal grimoire and a pencil in hand.
"See you on the other side," Sheptilah dozed, gripping Shadow's hand, "See you soon."