Miles twisted his tails and flew down to the deck, taking off running the moment he landed. Sonic jumped down from the mast, hurrying to catch up to the fox as Whisper scurried down the rope ladder. "Whisper, get Rosy and the captain!" Miles shouted as he disappeared below deck, Sonic right behind him.

Sonic's eyes widened despite the sudden dimness as he saw a familiar silhouette standing in the middle of the room. The fox from the palace grinned when their eyes met, his eyes gleaming with mischief and something else that made Sonic's quills stand on end. Before Sonic could think better of it, he curled up and jumped, throwing himself at the fox… then landed on his butt behind him as he flew through the illusion.

The fox laughed. "Ah, so you're still alive," he said. "Interesting. Aren't you supposed to be shark bait by now?"

Sonic stood back up with a growl. "Obviously I'm fine, no thanks to you," he retorted hotly.

Just then, Shadow and Amy hurried into the space, Whisper hot on their heels. "What's going on?" Shadow demanded. His eyes narrowed when he saw the illusionary fox, and hatred burned in his eyes and ravaged his throat in just one word. "You."

"Ah, captain Shadow," said the fox. "How nice of you to drop by. I was hoping to keep this between me and my brother," he said pointedly at Miles, who was currently glaring at him, his hackles raised and his tails puffed to what looked like twice their usual size. "But I suppose the more the merrier," the fox finished cooly.

"I have nothing to say to you, Martin," Miles said, his voice a squeaky growl. If the situation wasn't so serious Sonic would have laughed at the kid's attempt to sound threatening.

Martin tsked. "Miles, I thought we were past all that curse business. I tried to get it undone, and nothing happened. Plain and simple. I just happened to get the strength Black Doom couldn't give you. I just wanted to check up on my little brother, is that so much to ask?"

Black Doom?

"You're not my brother," growled Miles, this time succeeding in keeping his voice level.

Sonic looked over at Shadow, remembering what he'd told him about his childhood. If Shadow's outburst last night was any indication of the power Martin could wield…

No wonder he'd beaten the crap out of him.

"Why are you here?" Shadow snarled. Amy stayed by his side, her hands clenched around her mallet as she glared at Martin (Where the heck did she keep that thing?). The rest of the crew crowded behind the two of them, shuffling around to try and get a better view of the proceedings. Sonic saw Silver push to the front, raising his hands defensively, a subtle teal glow emanating from them.

Martin grinned. "As I said. I wanted to make sure that Miles was alright," he said, mock innocence tainting his voice. "That and it turns out someone shirked their duty to dump this little blue porcupine overboard."

"Hedgehog," Sonic corrected testily.

"Same thing," replied Martin, unconcerned.

Miles blanched. "You wanted him thrown overboard?!" he asked incredulously. "But—"

"Not surprising," Shadow growled. Red energy crackled at the captain's fingertips, and Sonic felt a strange tingling through his whole body as his quills crossed in warning, his ears popping. "How did you sneak him on board?" Shadow demanded.

Martin smirked, then pointed straight at Amy, who looked bewildered. "I think you'll recall that one hauling something pretty large into the cargo hold the other day," he said, and all eyes turned to her. "Something rather floppy."

Amy just looked confused, and before they could get anything else, Martin faded away, mischievous laughter echoing through the ship. Everyone stared at Amy, shock mingling with betrayal. Something told Sonic that this wasn't right. That there had to be some other explanation. But no one else seemed to agree with him in that moment. The room was eerily silent, all eyes staring menacingly at Amy save for Sonic, Silver, and Shadow, though Shadow looked more shocked than angry. Amy cast her eyes about the room in helpless confusion until her eyes met Sonic's. Something in her relaxed just a little bit as he gave her a subtle nod. It's okay, he wanted to say. I know it wasn't you.

"Get back to work," Shadow barked, shattering the silence. Everyone scrambled to obey, hurrying topside. Sonic was the only one who stayed behind with the couple. The three of them were silent, and Shadow was slowly beginning to look angrier as he stared at Amy, who looked like she wanted to cry. "What was Martin talking about?" he demanded. "Is it true?" He pointed emphatically at Sonic, who stood a few feet away, unsure of what to do.

"No!" Amy shouted, her anger matching his, even as tears spilled down her cheeks. "I was helping you move the wine barrels all afternoon, remember? I never once went out of your sight while we were loading!" She glared at him, the hurt on her face making Sonic wish he could reach out to her. "I thought you trusted me," she said finally, then stomped off, wiping her eyes.

Shadow still looked angry, but Sonic could see it fading a little, replacing itself with shame.

Sonic couldn't help but get at least a little angry on Amy's behalf. He hadn't known her for more than a day, but he knew already that she wasn't the kind of person to do that. She had treated his seasickness without hesitation and insisted he get out of his ratty, sea-soaked clothes yesterday. He knew she genuinely cared for him like she did everyone on the ship. She fussed over them all like a mother, and he was no exception.

He walked up to Shadow, leveling a glare at him, but he didn't say anything. He didn't need to. Shadow looked guilty enough already, his crimson eyes avoiding Sonic's gaze. After a moment, Sonic sighed and hurried back up the stairs, scanning the deck for Amy.

It took him almost twenty minutes to find her. She was curled up inside a twisted, tangled mass of rope removed from most of the activity of the other sailors, hiding her face in her knees. Sonic approached her gently, his boots scuffing the deck as he came to a halt. Amy looked up at him briefly, her cheeks streaked with tears, then hid her face again.

Sonic knelt down outside the ropes, wishing he could say something and have her magically laughing and smiling again. "Hey," he said softly instead. "Are you okay?"

"Go away," Amy said, her voice shaky and waspish. "I don't want to talk to anyone. And I don't want you to see me like this. Just go away, please."

Sonic shook his head and sat down, leaning against the outside of the ropes. He waited for her to get up and chase him away, but she said nothing for several moments. "Two years," Amy said bitterly. "Two years on this ship, two years of friendship, and four months of being a couple and this is what he does? Takes the first opportunity to doubt me? To doubt us?" Sonic heard her shift, and in a very small voice ask, "Did he ever trust me?"

Sonic barely knew this girl, and yet he felt his heart crack in two for her. Before he could think better of it, he turned and climbed into the crevice with her, tentatively reaching towards her. "You need a hug?" he asked quietly. Amy pulled away at first, and he dropped his hand, but then she shifted and leaned up against him, angry tears still spilling down her cheeks as Sonic wrapped an arm around her. He stroked her quills gently, soothingly, and she closed her eyes, finally relaxing a little.

A good deal of time had passed before Amy finally pulled away, wiping her cheeks. "Thanks," she said, giving him a sad little smile. "For checking on me. And the hug. I really needed it."

"You're welcome," replied Sonic. "You gonna be okay?"

Amy hesitated for a moment, and he continued to absently stroke her quills. Then she nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I think so. But…" She sighed. "I'll talk to him later. I don't… I'm just too angry right now."

"Fair enough," Sonic said with a smile. "Need me to deck 'im for ya?"

Amy laughed and shook her head. "Just keep him away from me until I cool off, or I might bring the hammer down."

Sonic laughed quietly. He could feel his stomach fluttering happily just being this close to her, being able to touch her and soothe her in this way. He found himself looking at her mouth, her gently smiling lips, and he blushed and looked away quickly. Just because she was angry at Shadow didn't mean things were going to end between them. He couldn't go too far. But he could admit that he was very tempted partly because he was mad at Shadow on her behalf, though that didn't give him leave to step on anything.

Finally, Amy stood up, waving goodbye and heading towards the prow of the ship. Sonic's chest ached as she left, but at least she seemed like she was doing a little better now. He stood and looked around for something to do, then saw Tangle hauling things from the hold and decided to go over and help.


Sonic kept to himself in a small corner of the room opposite from Miles at supper. Tonight, Shadow had prepared the meal, though it was much the same as last night's. Sonic wondered if this was supposed to be an apology. If it was, it was a lousy one, and he could see Amy pointedly avoiding looking the captain in the eye even as she approached to get her helping.

Sonic hadn't gotten any food yet, waiting for Miles to get his first portion before standing and approaching the captain. Now Shadow seemed to be avoiding his gaze, guilt sagging his features. Sonic even suspected that his ears were tucked near his head in shame beneath his tricorn hat. Good. Taking his bowl in silence, Sonic shot a parting glare at Shadow, who winced, as if he'd been dealt a physical blow. Strangely, that wasn't as satisfying as Sonic thought it would be, and instead he felt a little guilty. He ignored it though and retreated to his corner, playing absently with the bland stew in front of him, his appetite suddenly diminished.

A few minutes later, Silver approached him, and Sonic didn't say anything, letting him sit down next to him. A few minutes passed in silence before Silver finally spoke. "Why is it taking so long to convince him?" he asked. "We have an obvious goal, we've established that Kintobor is… how do you say… scum, and that crazy fox admitted to helping to drag you here. What is stopping him?"

Sonic scoffed. "Pigheadedness maybe," he said bitterly, earning a confused look from Silver. He swallowed another bite of stew and continued. "I think somewhere he still wants to serve Kintobor. He doesn't totally believe us, so he's stalling."

"But then why did he look so upset when the fox said Rosy had stuffed you in the hold?" asked Silver. "He looked… he looked like how I felt when Blaze left Soleanna… what's the word…? Oh… Si, heartbroken."

Sonic shrugged, shoveling another spoonful of stew into his mouth. "I don't know and I don't care," he said, but even as the words left his lips, a small part of him ached where the lie hit its mark. Of course he cared. He wanted to know why Shadow would be so willing to throw his trust in his partner to the wind. He wanted to know why they weren't going anywhere, why they were stuck at such a simple impasse.

And why was Sonic so bothered by all this?

Silver didn't say anything after that, which Sonic was glad for. They both finished their meal in silence, leaving their bowls near the tub used for washing dirty dishes. Sonic went topside while Silver retreated to the corner he'd staked out below, exhausted from the day's work. Sonic was tired too, but his mind was still racing. The moon was absent tonight, the only light coming from the millions of stars in the sky above. The beauty took his breath away.

A minute later, footsteps pulled his attention away from the sky as he turned around to find Amy emerging from below deck, exhaustion hanging on her slender frame. She waved and gave Sonic a tired smile, and he waved back as she walked toward him.

"Thank you again," Amy said quietly. "For… for trying to help earlier. That was really sweet."

Sonic was glad for the darkness. He swore his cheeks and ears were red as cherries. "Don't mention it," he said with a nervous chuckle. "What are friends for, right?"

He saw Amy smile a little wider, her eyes twinkling in the starlight, and thought he might turn into a puddle of blue goo right then and there. "Right," she said. She hesitated, and Sonic's heart pounded in his ears, but in the end, she simply waved as she turned away. "Good night, Sonic," she said, walking towards the captain's quarters.

"Good night," he called after her retreating silhouette.

Just then, another set of footsteps made their way up the stairs, and all the warm gooey-ness faded when he saw Shadow, the silhouette of his tricorn hat and coat unmistakable. Sonic turned away, looking at the stars again in an attempt to banish the strange heaviness settling in his chest. It didn't work, and Sonic sighed as Shadow came up next to him.

"I'm sorry," Shadow said.

Sonic didn't look at him. "Shouldn't you be apologizing to her?" he asked, putting as much disinterest in his voice as he could. He gestured in the direction Amy had just gone, earning a tired sigh from Shadow.

"I know…" Shadow replied quietly.

They stood in silence for several moments, Sonic continuing to ignore Shadow, until the captain finally said, "Good night, hedgehog." Then he turned and walked away, retiring to his quarters for the night.

Despite his irritation towards Shadow, Sonic was almost sorry that he left.

He shook the thought away and jumped back onto the mast beam where he'd slept the previous night, only this time he had no blanket; he'd left it there this morning and evidently someone had moved it, either putting it somewhere out of the way or stealing it for themselves. Sonic sighed in dismay and lay down on the beam, shivering and trying in vain to get comfortable.

A few minutes later, Miles flew up to him, hovering over him for a moment. Then he flew up to the crow's nest, coming back a moment later with his borrowed blanket. "I had to grab it before one of the Babylons did," he said as he handed it to Sonic, who took it gratefully.

"Thanks," said Sonic.

Miles nodded. "You're welcome," he replied. He gave Sonic a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Then he retreated into the crow's nest, remaining out of sight.

Perhaps what had happened earlier with Martin was bothering him, though he had no idea how old those wounds were. Though any wound inflicted by a brother must have been deep. He knew that if it had been him with Sonia or Manic he would probably be even more distraught than Miles was now.

Worry and sadness panged in his chest as he remembered his last conversation with his brother.

"Bro, we've got this!" Manic insisted with a laugh. "We've done tons of supply runs. We know how to be careful!"

"Yeah but that was when I was with you!" Sonic protested. "I still think I should go with you guys anyway!"

Manic shook his head. "No, what you should do is trust us," he said. "Sonia and I'll be fine. We'll come back with the loot and we'll eat like Kintobor tonight." He reached out and rubbed the top of Sonic's head with his knuckles, ruffling the fur there just before it gave way to his mane of peacock blue quills. "We've got this," Manic promised with a smile.

"Alright…" Sonic said reluctantly. "You'd both better come back in one piece."

"Deal," said Manic, and to seal it they linked their pinky fingers together and shook them once, just like they'd always done since they were little kids. Then Manic elbowed Sonic playfully before walking off, joining Sonia where she stood waiting impatiently, tugging her magenta quills in anticipation.

That was the last time he saw either of them.


Sonic woke in the middle of the night to the deck creaking, the sound of footsteps scuffing across it. He sat up and peered down from the beam, finding Whisper walking around the mast. He could just barely make out the silhouette of her mask as her head whipped back and forth.

Sonic dropped from the beam, and Whisper scrambled back, a bright flash of orange flame illuminating her mask. When she saw it was him, she stood stock still, as if she were waiting for him to pounce on her. The flame continued to dance in her palm, and Sonic could have sworn it had eyes, which were staring at him.

"What are you doing here?" Whisper asked, her voice just as quiet as before. She curled her fingers protectively around the little flame.

"Why are you sneaking around?" replied Sonic.

"Nothing," the wolf replied. Then Sonic raised an eyebrow and she sighed. "Wisps," she amended. At Sonic's confused expression, she opened her palm and whispered to the flame, who slowly crept out from behind her hand to peer at Sonic.

Well this was strange.

The creature flickered like an ember, three little tentacles sparking beneath its round, conical body. It had no mouth, and three eyes in the center of its body arranged in a triangle, all of which looked at Sonic with a sense of curiosity. It hovered in the air, as if gravity was merely a suggestion to it, and after a moment it floated over to him.

Sonic could feel the creature's heat as it neared his face, but strangely it didn't carry the smell of smoke with it like he thought it would. In fact, it had no smell at all.

"What are you?" Sonic wondered aloud, extending his hand towards the creature, then thinking better of it. It seemed to smile, then it flew around him, letting out a garbled hum in excitement.

Whisper tilted her head to the side, then removed her mask, finally letting Sonic see her face. Her eyes were small, not opening as wide as everyone else he'd seen. It made her look vulnerable, afraid even. She looked at Sonic quizzically. "Strange," she said.

"I mean yeah," laughed Sonic. The little creature had nuzzled up to his cheek now, and Sonic was pleasantly surprised to find it didn't singe the fur there as it chattered happily.

"No," said Whisper. "They usually don't like strangers."

Sonic smirked. "Ah, so I'm special then," he said. "But still, what were you doing sneaking around with this little guy?"

"Jet," Whisper answered. "Can't trust him with them." Sonic rolled his eyes and nodded, and they were both silent for a moment. Then Whisper spoke again. "Why are you here?" she asked.

"Not by my own free will, that's for sure," Sonic replied with a snort. "I mean you saw that Martin guy, right? It's his fault. And I don't believe for a minute Amy's helping him either."

Slowly, Whisper nodded. "But who?"

Sonic shrugged. "I don't know," he said.

They slipped into silence again, both of them losing themselves in thought. Sonic weighed the possibilities of who it could have been in his head based on what he'd surmised. He ruled Shadow and Amy out immediately, the two of them having had plenty of opportunities to kill him in the past two days alone and not trying once. Jet was high on his list of suspects; he had tried to kill him yesterday, and that in turn put Wave and Storm right next to him. Tangle didn't seem particularly bloodthirsty. Hyper, yes, but not bloodthirsty. And she'd saved him from drowning, so he was a little more willing to trust her. Whisper seemed the most paranoid about him out of everyone, and he believed she would have killed him before he even woke up to keep it quiet. That and now seemed to be a pretty good opportunity and she wasn't taking it. Bean and Bark hardly even seemed to notice him. This left Mimic and Miles.

As much as Sonic hated to admit it, Miles was pretty plausible. After all, Martin had been trying to contact him. But Shadow had been right about the kid being kinda scrawny. It was hard to believe he'd dragged Sonic's unconscious body onto the ship unnoticed. Mimic was larger and stronger than Miles, not to mention much older, but Mimic spent most of his time at the helm, ignoring most who happened along, including Sonic. Plus Martin had said that it had been Amy specifically who had put him in the hold, which he'd already ruled out as impossible. So Martin's words still made no sense.

"I'll keep an eye out," Whisper said, pulling him out of his thoughts. She beckoned the wisp over, and it nuzzled Sonic's cheek again in farewell before hovering back over to Whisper, who pryed open a loose board and ushered the creature underneath, closing it gently over its head. "Be careful."

Sonic nodded as she put her mask back on, looking back at him briefly and then turning around, heading back below deck.