Sonic never got to smack the captain. For starters, Amy caught him by the arm pretty quickly, her grip tight as he tried to pull away. "Let me go!" he growled. "I'm not going to stay on a ship with someone loyal to that snake!"

"Calm down!" Amy shouted. "King Kintobor is doing what literally every king does, Sonic! Privateering is just regulation of trade and politics!"

"It's not the privateering I care about!" Sonic shouted back. "It's the fact that he's working for the man who killed my parents and imprisoned my siblings! Not to mention what he's done to everyone else I've ever cared about! Tell me, does that sound like a good king to you?!"

At this, Amy looked confused, as if she had no idea what he was talking about, which only served to anger him further. Sonic yanked his arm away from her and sped to the prow of the ship, where most of the crew was gathered.

Aside from the captain and the avian trio, there was a ring-tailed lemur with two hoop piercings in her left ear, a huge polar bear with a small green duck sitting atop his shoulder, and a wolf with pale cream fur standing a little ways away from everyone else, a large tribal mask obscuring most of her face, her high ponytail blowing behind her in the wind.

Jet turned and sneered at Sonic, his beak curling in disgust. "You again," he said, and the captain turned to look at him too, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise at Sonic's infuriated expression.

Sonic just glared at captain Shadow, his clenched fists shaking. "You work for Kintobor?!" he yelled incredulously. "Really?! That slime bag shouldn't even be on the damn throne in the first place!"

The captain just rolled his eyes, as if this were nothing more than a temper tantrum, then took a step towards Sonic. "That talk is treason," he warned, his voice low. "You would do well to keep your mouth shut."

"Fat chance!" Sonic yelled. "Everyone knows that he murdered the royal family just to–"

A fist slammed into Sonic's cheek, and he stumbled back, nearly falling off the small platform they were standing on. The captain was glaring at him now. "Do not," he said, his voice low and threatening, "speak lightly of Princess Maria's death. You know nothing."

After that, captain Shadow turned away, his attention returning to the approaching ship on the horizon, leaving Sonic with a swollen cheek and swollen fury. He knew nothing? Really?

He would have returned fire, but at that moment Amy hurried up to him, panting hard. "Are you... crazy?" she huffed, speaking between gasps. "What were you… thinking?!"

"I'm not going to stand with someone who works for that… filth," Sonic spat. "And I need to get to my siblings now. I should have gone after them months ago."

Amy balked at him as he got back to his feet. "You're serious?" she asked. "King Kintobor would never do anything like that. He was destroyed after the murder of the royal family. I heard he grieved for months. He and Shadow…" she stopped herself. "Look," she continued. "I'm sure there's been a misunderstanding."

"I'm not lying!" Sonic shouted.

"I'm not saying you are!" Amy countered, raising her voice to match his. "I'm saying that this can be talked about! There's no need for you to get punched again like an idiot!"

Her face softened as she looked up at him, her anger seemingly already spent. She darted her eyes around for a moment, then sighed, grabbing Sonic by the arm once again and dragging him back towards the hold.

Sonic didn't even protest, letting her pull him away.

How could she not know?

It had never occurred to him that they had no idea what Kintobor had done while they'd been at sea. And in the ports, the trade capitals of South Island, so much shady stuff went on there anyway that the crew never saw anything out of the ordinary.

But that didn't add up with Shadow's reaction to Sonic mentioning the royal murders. He'd never even said anything about Princess Maria, but the captain had acted as if he'd spat on her grave.

And what did Amy know about all this? She seemed to know a lot more than she let on, but how much more? Could he even trust her? He wanted to, but if she was keeping important information from him already…

Amy opened the door to the hold, ushering Sonic back inside, then shut the door behind him, leaving him alone in the dark cramped space. "Stay here," she told him. "I'll come get you after it all blows over."

Fat chance, Sonic thought, but he said nothing, and after a moment, Amy rushed back toward the prow. He waited until she was gone, then leaned against a wine barrel, sighing angrily. Just his luck that he'd end up on the boat of a sympathizer. If he didn't find a way back to shore soon, he'd probably go insane, for one, and for two, he'd never see his siblings again. Just the thought made him want to smash the barrels around him to bits.

And on top of that anger, Sonic felt as if he'd been betrayed, though the reason was a mystery to him. He barely knew anyone on this ship, much less Shadow, whom he'd spoken with no more than twice. Why would he have trusted them enough to feel betrayed?

Because you wanted to, said a tiny voice in the back of his mind.

And he supposed he could understand the feeling being connected to Amy, whom he'd been attracted and already rather attached to. But why did Shadow's words hurt the same way? Why had he felt so drawn to him as well?

Sonic wasn't even going to touch that train of thought. Now was not the time to worry about what it meant. Besides, it didn't matter. He was going to get out of here one way or another.

Just then, Sonic heard the loud boom of a cannon, and the wooden boards beneath his feet rattled. A high pitched male giggle sounded below, which in turn was followed by, "Get the big ones, Bark!"

Sonic's blood ran cold and his stomach sank like lead as he hurried to the door of the hold and threw it open, speeding up the stairs and back onto the deck. Everything was in chaos. People ran this way and that, Sonic getting knocked over more than once as they rushed to the rigging and down to the cannons with gunpowder. He caught sight of the captain at the forefront of it all, hanging off of a rope as they drew nearer to the Spagonian ship, ready to spring into action.

Shouts sounded from the other ship as another cannonball smashed a hole in the hull near the rudder. Sonic saw humans and mobians alike scrambling to defense positions, and he couldn't miss the long blue coats they all wore, and the muskets they were grabbing. This wasn't a trade ship.

He saw Shadow draw a pistol, and suddenly he disappeared, reappearing on the other ship behind a pair of confused humans. The captain slammed the butt of the pistol into the back of one human's neck, then grabbed the other's musket and swept his feet out from under him. Then he fired the pistol into the air, the thunderous sound cracking like a whip through the chorus of yelling.

The ship went quiet, and every eye turned to him, some in awe, some in fear. "What is a Spagonian navy ship doing in South Island's waters?" he demanded, his voice ringing out in the sudden silence.

Sonic heard the cock of a musket flint, then the sound of a gunshot followed by a scream as Shadow shot a bullet right into the man's hand. He cast a warning look at everyone, reloading as he calmly continued. "Where is your captain?"

No one spoke, the silence deafening. The only sounds Sonic heard were the crashing of the waves and the pounding of his own heart as he waited.

Finally, a human and a snowy white hedgehog, both sporting the same uniforms as everyone else, stepped forward, the human keeping a tight hold on his musket. The hedgehog was unarmed, though he held his clenched in tight fists at his sides.

Shadow raised an eyebrow at the pair of them, a silent command to speak.

The human spoke first, though haltingly, his thick Spagonian accent rolling and stretching each word out. "I am captain Pietro," he said. "This is my second in command, Silver." He gestured to the white hedgehog, who nodded tensely, then continued. "Why are you attacking my ship?"

"You are in South Island waters," Shadow said. "I mistook your ship for that of a merchant. However, you should not be here."

At this, the white hedgehog, Silver, stepped forward. "So it is you who has been destroying our ships!" he exclaimed. His accent wasn't quite as thick as the human's, and he sounded young, perhaps around eighteen, just a year younger than Sonic.

"And I am under full authority from my king to do so," Shadow said curtly. The way he said it, as if it were perfectly reasonable, right even, made Sonic's stomach curdle like sour milk.

Silver didn't seem to like it either. Sonic saw his quills cross in anger. "We know full well of your king," he spat. "It is because of him that I lost the girl I loved! The monster snuffed her out like a candle!"

Candle, huh?

Silver's words stirred something in Sonic's memory, and he ran and jumped over to the navy vessel, despite Amy's loud protests on the other ship. Holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture, he approached the white hedgehog, who bristled, raising his hands, and Sonic backed away. "What was her name?" he asked quickly. "Your girl's."

Silver's eyes narrowed, but he lowered his hands slightly. "I don't think she was ever truly mine… but her name was Blaze," he replied, the name spoken as if it were fragile, something priceless.

Sonic's stomach dropped. "I know her," he said. "A purple cat, right? She used to talk about someone named Silver. Is that…" Sonic trailed off, the hedgehog's anguished expression answer enough.

A hand grabbed Sonic forcefully by the arm and yanked him backwards, and the next thing he knew he had fallen against Shadow. "What are you doing?!" the captain hissed in his ear.

"She's still alive," Sonic blurted, ignoring the captain's harsh voice. "But she's been imprisoned. I don't know how long she'll stay alive, but she's been put to work in a camp with my sister."

Both crews were silent, the weight of his words sinking in. Silver opened his hazel eyes wide, tears welling up as a shimmer of hope appeared in them. "She's… She's alive?"

But he was the only one who responded hopefully. Members of both crews steadily grew more and more appalled, their faces paling in horror. Amy's eyes widened in shock, and Sonic saw her looking at Shadow, gauging his reaction with worry. Shadow's grip on Sonic's arm loosened, and Sonic turned to see his expression shift back and forth between anger and confusion. His eyes darted back and forth between Sonic and Silver, as if testing to see if they would deny it. Neither of them did.

Finally, Sonic pulled away from Shadow, who let him go reluctantly. Sonic approached Silver again. "She is, last I heard," he confirmed. "She's being kept near the coast though… Our spy says she and everyone else there has to scale a cliff every day to gather gull eggs, and every last one of them goes to Kintobor."

Silver looked stricken. "Blaze hates heights," he said. "And water… no, that's…"

Sonic nodded sadly. "Our spy says she's been looking worse by the day," he said. "But we can get to her in time if we leave now."

"What are you talking about?" Shadow said behind him, and Sonic turned around. His expression was impossible to parse. "You want me to help you betray our king? Are you insane?"

"Maybe," Sonic said with a little smile. "But I know for sure that one way or another I'm going to get them out, with or without your help."

Shadow glowered at Sonic for a moment, then sighed. "Well, it seems that you aren't the only one who says Kintobor is doing these things," he said, gesturing to Silver. "I still don't believe they're true… but I think this at least warrants closer investigation."

Hope began to blossom in Sonic's chest, and he smiled wider, despite Shadow's scowl.

Suddenly, laughter sounded from Shadow's ship, and Sonic whipped his head around to see Jet and his birds swooping onto the navy ship, the three of them landing on the deck with solid thumps, their pistols banging. The ship erupted into chaos, and Sonic's pulse rocketed in his chest as he tried to figure a way to stop the frenzy. Or a way to get out. Musket and pistol shots rang in his ears as navy soldiers went down, crying out in pain.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shadow bellowed, once again disappearing and reappearing behind the avian trio, grabbing the swallow and the albatross by their gun arms and disarming them as he twisted them behind their backs. "I gave you no orders to attack!"

Jet smirked as he took flight, dodging musket fire in the air with the savage grace of a predator. "Yeah, well your lack of orders was boring!" he shouted back. "Besides…"

Before Sonic could even blink, Jet swooped down and, with a ruthless laugh, kicked him square in the chest, knocking him over the navy ship's rail and into the dark waters below. "Told you stowaways aren't welcome!" he cried gleefully as Sonic tumbled, slamming quill-first into the salt water.

Time slowed down, and Sonic wasn't aware of anything except water going up his nose and down his throat and into his lungs and seeping into the wounds in his sides as he went under, each time struggling more to get back to the surface. He dimly registered someone shouting, maybe Shadow, and then a soft boom as something broke the water above him. He felt arms wrap around him, their touch warm in the icy cold water.

He opened his eyes, but all he could make out was a blur of gray.

A moment later, they rose to the surface, Sonic coughing and spitting up water as he clung for dear life to his rescuer. "I've got him!" she shouted. "Whisper, you still got my tail up there?"

Sonic didn't hear anything, but there must have been an affirmative answer, because the lemur girl swam back towards the boat, carefully keeping him above water. "Pull us up!" she shouted, and suddenly they were being lifted up out of the water and into the air, the lemur bracing her legs against the side of the ship as they ascended, making sure they didn't slam their bodies into the hull.

A few minutes later, they were back on Shadow's ship, and Sonic all but collapsed when the lemur put him down, still coughing up water as he heard Amy rush to his side. "You idiot!" she growled, wrapping a raggedy blanket around his shoulders. "I told you to stay in the hold! What were you thinking?"

"Cannons," Sonic croaked. "Don't trust whoever's firing 'em."

"Well excuuuuse you!" came a high male voice, and Sonic looked up to find the little green duck sitting on the polar bear's shoulder glaring down at him. "I am an excellent demo— dema— I'm very good at blowing things up, thank you very much!"

The polar bear nodded once in agreement, saying nothing, and the duck beamed. Amy glared a little more at Sonic, then sighed. "At least you're alright. Come on," she said, hoisting him onto his feet, supporting his weight on her shoulder. "Tangle! Help me out!"

"Gotcha!" said the lemur girl, coming up on Sonic's other side and picking up the slack. Sonic could practically feel her vibrating as she and Amy carried him below deck, and from her grin he doubted it had much to do with her waterlogged fur.

Sonic wanted to protest, wanted to get back to the navy ship, though what he hoped to accomplish, he wasn't sure. What could the officers do when they were from an entirely different country and answered to a leader of their own? And while it looked like he might have made some headway, what did he have to do to convince Shadow he was on the wrong side? And even then, how was anything going to be accomplished when Jet had just tried to drown him?

In the end, he gave in, letting the two women carry him into the hold. After they set him down, the lemur, Tangle, hurried back out to the deck, practically bouncing up the stairs as she shut the door behind her, while Amy stayed behind and fussed over him, grumbling unhappily.

"Idiot…" Sonic heard her mutter. "Lucky he's cute."

"What was that?" Sonic asked in a playful tone. He bit back a laugh as he saw Amy's cheeks turn bright red, and she said nothing, turning her gaze stubbornly to a chest she began rooting through in an effort to find a dry shirt.

After a few minutes, she sighed in dismay. "None of these will fit," she said. Amy turned to look at him, squinting her eyes as she looked him up and down. "He won't like it," she muttered. "But maybe…"

She opened the door leading back up to the deck. "Come on," she said. "To the captain's quarters."

Sonic raised an eyebrow, but he obliged, walking out the door with a shiver as the wind blew through his wet fur and quills. They passed Mimic again, who smirked as Amy opened the door, sending an uneasy shudder down Sonic's spine.