Sonic stared at his opponent, ready to move in case he threw his other blade. He'd never seen anyone throw a knife that fast. He didn't even see him unsheathe it. One moment he was standing still and the next it was flying at his head.

Who was this guy?

He didn't have any more time to think about it as his other blade shone in the light, and again, Sonic dodged it, but only just barely, the steel grazing his right cheek before embedding itself right next to its sibling, and he hissed in pain.

The fox giggled. "Got you," he said, as if this were merely a game. Then he launched himself at Sonic, pinning him to the ground and looking down at him as a hunter would its prey. "Your speed won't save you now," he purred triumphantly.

Sonic brought his knee up under the fox and drove it into his stomach, pushing back to his feet when he let him go. "You sure about that?" he asked with a smirk as he curled up and slammed into the fox, who cried out as he was thrown into the wall.

When Sonic uncurled again, he saw that the fox was no longer smiling, his teeth bared in a snarl. Blood dripped from his nose, staining the front of his shirt. "You little bastard," he spat. "You'll pay for that."

The fox leaped at Sonic, who curled and dodged out of the way. But he hadn't actually been going after Sonic. He'd been retrieving his knives.

Sonic cursed himself for not thinking of that as the fox hurled both daggers at him, pinning him to the wall by the ratty fabric of his shirt and grazing his sides, drawing blood. He tried to pull free, but the pain blossoming in his sides was making it hard to think, and with every movement the steel dug in even more. But before he could even twitch, the fox was on top of him, his hand pinning Sonic's throat to the wall, his quills scraping the paint off of it.

That grin was back, but the fox's eyes glittered this time with malicious triumph. "Now I've got you," he said with a smirk. Then he started to squeeze Sonic's throat, and no matter how Sonic fought this time he could barely even get the fox to flinch. That bitter earthy smell filled his nostrils, and Sonic could feel something radiating off the fox in waves, the sensation making him feel almost sick. As his kicks steadily grew weaker, the last thing he heard before the darkness swallowed him was a scarily gleeful, "I know just what to do with you…"


Sonic woke up to feel the ground swaying beneath him, immediately feeling queasy. The space was dark, the smell of vermin and rot assaulting his nose and making him gag. His head ached, throbbing acutely as he stumbled around, trying to find a door. His throat still hurt from the fox nearly crushing his windpipe, and though he could breathe now, he couldn't shake the need to cough. His cheek and sides stung from the knife wounds, but they had been shallow enough that they were no longer bleeding.

After a moment of groping around in the dark, he managed to find a nob and found it unlocked when he turned it, opening the door to early morning sunlight and the smell of the ocean, and a set of stairs leading to the deck of a ship. But the details of his surroundings hardly mattered when he was just trying to make it to the rail.

He retched over the side, emptying the contents of his stomach into the sea below.

"Oi!" came a voice. "Who's this?"

A green hawk stepped up beside him, his beak scrunching with disgust as Sonic continued to gag and retch. "A stowaway," the hawk said distastefully. "Oi, Storm! Get the captain! We've got a stowaway!"

Sonic heard loud thumps on the deck behind him as someone, presumably Storm, ran off. He couldn't even turn to see who it was, still coughing and choking. His stomach was completely empty now, but his stomach still pitched with the sway of the boat and the throbbing of his head.

How had he even gotten here? Sonic hated the ocean. All he remembered was being put under by the strange fox. Sonic silently cursed him, his worry joining the chaos in his stomach as he remembered his siblings, the images of them in the jackal's nightmare reappearing sharply in his mind. How was he supposed to find them now?

Just then, a set of even footsteps made their way towards where he still leaned over the rail. "What are you doing here?" a rich, deep voice demanded behind him.

"Don't know," Sonic croaked, his voice barely audible above the crash of the waves against the ship's hull.

The green hawk scoffed. "A word of advice–lyin'll get ya killed around here. The captain hates liars and stowaways."

"Not... lying," Sonic said before dry heaving again.

"Leave him be, Jet," commanded the deep voice, who Sonic presumed was the captain. The hawk, Jet, was pushed out of the way and replaced by a black hedgehog dressed in what Sonic could only ever have described as a fancy nobleman outfit. The red coat he wore over his shirt and vest, paired with a tricorn hat and brown leather boots, commanded everyone's attention.

The hedgehog stared at Sonic for a minute, eyeing his injuries, then turned away. "Rose!" he called, and Sonic saw a flash of pink in his peripheral vision.

"Yes, sir?" inquired a high, female voice.

"Help him with his seasickness. And bandage his wounds."

"Yes, sir."

Sonic felt a pair of gentle hands grab his shoulders, and another hedgehog with long, pink quills that reached down to the middle of her ribcage leaned over the rail so he could see her. She smiled gently. "You think you're done?" she asked, and Sonic nodded weakly. "Come on then. I've got a remedy that works like a charm."

As the girl led him away, Sonic heard Jet whine, "Really? He's getting off scot-free?"

"As you were," the captain commanded, his tone almost threatening, and Sonic heard no more complaints as he was led back down into the hold, his head and heart pounding. Where was he?


Sonic did feel a lot better after he drank the liquid the girl gave him, despite how bad it smelled down here. It was sweet, like a mix of watered-down berry juices. And his stomach still felt weird, but he didn't feel like he was going to be sick again. If anything he thought he might be hungry now. Well, he would have been if he hadn't been so worried about Sonia and Manic.

"Thank you," he told the hedgehog girl, who smiled brightly as she finished bandaging the wounds in his sides, her jade eyes twinkling. Overall her bright sweetness seemed like such a sharp contrast to the stoicism and cutthroat attitude of everyone else he'd seen on the ship. Then again, he'd only seen two other people, and surely the crew was much larger than that. No ship could be run by merely three sailors. But even then, what was a sweet, pretty girl like her doing on a ship like this in the first place?

Wait… had Sonic just called her pretty?

She was really nice looking, but the only other person he'd really thought of as pretty was Sally. Sure, other girls were also pretty, but... not in the way Sally was. She was smart and strong and… annoyingly stubborn at times, but he loved her anyway. At the thought of his best friend, his heart sank. He'd figured she hadn't felt the same way, and all he really cared about anyway was that she was safe. But her subtle rejection still stung.

His thoughts wandered back to his siblings, worry filling his chest as he wondered if they were still alive. Their words from the jackal's nightmare still haunted him; Failed… Not fast enough… The images of Sonia and Manic lying in pools of their own blood had been branded into his mind, appearing every time Sonic closed his eyes. Stop it! he chided himself. They're fine. It's not too late. But he still couldn't shake the images from his mind.

Even so, the girl in front of him… there were several things about her that caught his attention; the way she smiled, as if she had not a care in the world; the way she moved, with the lithe grace of a dancer; her long, cherry blossom pink quills… Her presence quieted his thoughts to a dull hum in the back of his mind.

"So," said the hedgehog girl, snapping Sonic out of his reverie. "How'd you end up here, stranger?"

Sonic felt his cheeks flush and hoped she hadn't realized he'd been staring. He cleared his throat, though the action still hurt, and replied, "My name's Sonic. And I honestly have no idea. I got… attacked, and I woke up in here. But I need to get back to shore fast." I've wasted too much time as it is, he thought.

"Hmmm," said the girl, narrowing her eyes as if she didn't quite believe him. "Well, if you're feeling well enough, I think it's time for you to talk with the captain." She walked away from the wine barrels and opened the door, gesturing for him to leave the foul-smelling room first. Sonic didn't protest, and he went up the stairs back onto the deck.

Immediately, he was greeted by jeers from three birds, only one of whom he recognized as Jet. The other two, a gray albatross and a purple swallow, seemed to be laughing at something he'd just said. "Oi, upchuck!" Jet called. "Say your prayers! Stowaways are never welcome!"

Before he could think better of it (or think of a better insult), Sonic called back, "Your face is never welcome!"

He smirked as Jet's beak dropped in astonishment, his eyes slowly narrowing in anger. The other two birds looked like they were torn between laughing their tail feathers off or running over and pummeling him. With how Jet was glaring at them, they probably would have done the latter if it hadn't been for the hedgehog girl pulling a giant mallet seemingly out of nowhere. "Hey!" she barked. "Get back to work!"

"And you!" she said, poking a finger in Sonic's chest, her hammer still raised high behind her shoulder. She looked angry at first, and Sonic was afraid she was going to pummel him. But then her frown melted and she giggled quietly. "I've been wanting to do that for so long, you have no idea. Jet's insufferable. Think's he's the best sailor here."

"I'd gathered that," Sonic said with a smirk. "Anyway, you were taking me to see the captain?"

The girl nodded and, the mallet disappearing from her hands, led Sonic up a set of stairs near the back of the ship, the wheel being held steady by a creature Sonic had never seen before. He had four long tentacles around his head, and a beak under small, beady eyes. He was continually shifting between shades of purple as he kept his gaze on the horizon. His fingers had suction cups on them, which Sonic supposed gave him a better grip on the wheel. Don't think I want any handshakes though, he thought.

"Mimic," said the girl. "Is the captain in his quarters?"

The creature shrugged. "Yep," he said. "Haven't heard much cursing for a bit now so he might be taking a nap." He looked over at Sonic out of the corner of his eye. "So you're what all that fuss was about," he said matter-of-factly.

A chill of unease shivered through Sonic's body. He didn't like how Mimic was looking at him, as if he were sizing him up. Sonic said nothing as the hedgehog girl knocked on the wooden door to what he assumed was the captain's quarters, but his eyes never left Mimic until he heard a sound from behind the door.

"Enter," said a voice, that same deep, rich one from earlier. The hedgehog girl opened the door and ushered Sonic inside, closing it after her. Sonic laid eyes once again on the black hedgehog, who had removed his tricorn hat, revealing a red stripe on the top of one of his head quills. He looked at Sonic, resting his cheek on his hand lazily, but his crimson eyes gazed at him with an almost fiery intensity, and Sonic shivered.

Wow, he thought, he's gorgeous.

He didn't have time to think about what that thought meant before the captain spoke again.

"Thank you, Rose," he said, and the girl nodded, moving to sit on top of his desk since there was nowhere else, her legs crossing politely as she faced Sonic, who just continued to stand on the floor as he waited for the captain to speak.

After a moment, the captain narrowed his eyes at Sonic. "For starters," he said. "Who are you?"

"I could ask you the same," Sonic replied with a smirk. "My name's Sonic."

"Sonic," echoed the black hedgehog, as if testing the name on his tongue. Another shiver jolted down Sonic's spine, but with it came a warmer feeling that he didn't care to inspect too closely at that moment.

"My name is Shadow," the black hedgehog continued. "But you will address me as Captain or sir, have I made myself clear?" When Sonic nodded, he gestured to the pink hedgehog girl. "This is my second-in-command, Amy Rose."

"But don't call me Amy," the girl said. "Call me Rosy. No one on the ship takes my given name seriously. They all call me Rosy the Rascal, and I rather like it." She smiled proudly.

Shadow rolled his eyes with a smile. "It's also rather childish," he said, earning a glare from Amy. "Oh, don't give me the stink-eye," he chided. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, your name is fine as it is."

"Let's see you dealing with an unruly crew first thing in the morning,'" Amy said, wrinkling her nose sourly. "I earned that name and as I said I like it."

Shadow shook his head and rolled his eyes playfully, then turned his attention back to Sonic, who was smiling with amusement.

He could tell the two of them were good friends, and if the way Amy looked at the captain was any indication, perhaps more. Something pinched in Sonic's chest, but he couldn't tell if it was jealousy or just a painful reminder of what he'd wished for with Sally.

"Now, the real question is," Shadow said, "how did you get onto my ship without me knowing?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Sonic said with a shrug. "All I know is I got choked out by a guy using dark magic and woke up in your cargo hold."

Shadow's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Tell me all of what happened," he commanded.

Sonic hesitated, unsure of whether he could even trust him. But after a moment, he told him about his encounter with the strange fox, leaving out the circumstances under which they met. For all Sonic knew, Shadow could have been working with the fox, merely pretending not to know what happened.

But Shadow seemed surprised the whole time, and there was even sympathy in his expression as Sonic finished his story.

"A fox, huh?" Amy said with a frown. "Could Miles have done this?" She directed her question at Shadow, who shook his head reluctantly.

"This sounds nothing like Miles," Shadow said. "Besides, he's way too scrawny to have been able to do any real damage to him. Sonic here isn't the strongest fighter–"

"Hey!" Sonic protested, and Shadow continued, ignoring him.

"-but he looks like he can still pack a punch, and Miles is still just a kid. There's a reason we keep him up in the crow's nest. I don't think it was him. Besides, where would Miles have learned to use dark magic?"

Amy nodded, though she still didn't look totally convinced, then turned and looked at Sonic. "Do you know this fox's name?" she asked.

"Nope," Sonic replied, shaking his head.

"Did he have two tails?"

Sonic's eyes widened, bewildered at the question as he once again shook his head, and Amy sighed with relief. "I didn't think he'd do something like that either," she admitted. "But you can never be too sure. Wouldn't be the first time we've had a crewmate pull something fishy."

"How often does that happen?" Sonic asked. "The crew doing fishy stuff, I mean."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Almost every damned day," he replied. "It's like trying to herd a gaggle of toddlers in a candy shop. Especially the birds." A knock sounded on the door, and the captain sighed. "Speak of the devil," he muttered, then he raised his voice and said, "What is it this time, Jet?"

"Tails spotted a ship off the port bow!" Jet's voice shouted through the door. "It's flying the Spagonia colors!" Sonic could hear the glee in his voice as he spoke, and unease settled like a lead weight in his stomach.

"Stand by," Shadow commanded, rising from his chair and putting his tricorn hat back on his head, his pointed ears tucked beneath it. He turned to Amy. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," he told her, gesturing to Sonic, who wasn't entirely sure if he should be more nervous or offended. Amy nodded as Captain Shadow left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Sonic turned to Amy. "What's so special about the Spagonia colors?" he asked nervously. What's so special about any flag?

Amy grinned. "It means we're gonna get some excitement!" she said. "It's always so boring after we leave port, although finding an accidental stowaway is more exciting than usual." She winked at him, and he might have blushed if he didn't have a sinking feeling in his gut that he was stuck on the wrong ship.

"Exciting?"

Amy's eyes widened, and her mouth opened in a small 'oh'. "You don't know..." she said, smiling sheepishly. "We're privateers. The captain is a personal favorite of King Kintober's. Forgot to tell you in all the chaos. Wouldn't have mattered much, but–Hey, where are you going?!"

It took a moment for her words to set in, but the moment Sonic understood the full impact of their meaning, rage rushed through his veins, and he stomped out of the captain's quarters, ignoring Amy's protests behind him and looking for Shadow so he could smack the ever-living daylights out of him.