It took them almost an hour to walk through the forest back the way they'd come earlier that day. Sonic and Shadow couldn't run to make it any faster, and neither could Sonia or Amy, since they were trying to support their weight. Sonic wasn't leaning very heavily on his sister's shoulder, merely limping by her side. But Shadow could barely hold himself up, and Sonic could see Amy straining to keep him upright. He would have offered to help her, but he knew he'd be of little use, barely able to take a step on his injured foot without his knee buckling. But at least they were all alive and whole.

Sonic looked over at Sonia, who kept her eyes on the path ahead, the wound on her cheek no longer bleeding, but now looking puffy and angry. She looked tired, yet determined, just like always. She had always been the most serious out of the three of them, the one who would insist on keeping first watch on excursions for supplies, the one who did not sleep until the job was done and they were all safe. While the three of them were the exact same age, she was considerably more mature than her brothers in survival situations. As annoying as it used to be when she'd fuss and argue with him and Manic over the things they considered trivial when they'd leave on missions, the first several weeks without it had been awful.

With her here now though, getting to Manic suddenly felt a lot more possible.

When they finally got back to the beach, they found a makeshift camp set up, various medical supplies getting passed around and rations of food in people's hands. "Tangle! Whisper! Help us with the boys!" Amy called.

The two women hurried towards them, Miles hot on their heels as they took Sonic and Shadow's other sides and guided them to a little area they had staked out for a makeshift field hospital. Tangle helped Sonia ease Sonic onto a tarp, where he sat next to Shadow, who lay there, panting. "What happened?" Amy asked. "You didn't come back with everyone else! I was worried you guys had gotten killed!"

"So was I," Sonia said, leveling a familiar glare at Sonic. She smacked his arm as she waspishly said, "How many times have I told you not to scare me like that, Nic?!"

Sonic laughed. "Hey, like always, I'm fine, Soni," he said, and she continued to glare at him, but only Sonic could see how close she was to bursting into tears again.

Sonic extended his arms towards her, and she knelt down and hugged him tight. Her breath hitched when she whispered, "I was so worried I'd never see you again."

"Where there's a will, there's a way," Sonic said, returning her embrace just as tightly. "I'm sorry I took so long to come get you." He pulled away, and Sonia quickly wiped her eyes, but he held onto her shoulders, holding her attention. "We're gonna get to Manic as soon as possible, okay?"

"Okay," Sonia said with a nod. "But you still haven't answered the question."

Sonic rolled his eyes and looked over at Shadow, who looked as if he'd fallen asleep. Good. He needed the rest. But that meant they were now solely relying on him for the storytelling. He told them what happened from the point they left to the point of their capture, leaving out what Shadow had told him about his past in the cell. He wasn't sure how much of it Amy and the crew already knew, and it was Shadow's choice to tell any of them.

When Sonic finished his story, Amy looked over at Shadow, reaching out and gently holding his hand. "No wonder he's so exhausted," she said softly. "But we can't stay here for too long. Kintobor's army will find us soon enough, and we have too many wounded people to be able to fight back. But where can we go?"

"Knothole," Sonic said. "We'll take them back to Knothole. If Sally is still there, she can help us. She might not be though–I told her to run if I didn't come back in a week, and it's been nearly two." He looked at Sonia. "Do you know this area?"

"Nope," Sonia said, shaking her head. "They kept us all blindfolded on the way here. I'm still not sure what side of the island we're even on."

"We're on the southeast edge," said a voice, and they all turned to find Miles sitting next to Amy. "The sun was rising over the water over there this morning," he said, pointing along the beach, where several hundred feet away the sand gave way to more water, though Sonic had to squint to see the distant shimmer. "I don't know how to get to the place you're talking about by a long shot," Miles continued. "But hopefully that helps us at least know where we are."

"I know how to get there," said a familiar, coquettish voice, and Rouge appeared right behind Sonic, putting a ghostly arm around his shoulder, making him squirm uncomfortably, and he didn't miss Amy staring intently at Rouge's hand, as if willing her to let go. She didn't though, and she continued. "My employer is there as we speak. Your girlfriend is still there by the way."

Sonic's ears felt warm. "She's not my girlfriend," he said, pushing her arm off his shoulder. "She's my best friend. I mean, yeah, I… Never mind. That doesn't matter right now."

He chanced a glance at Amy, who seemed to be avoiding his gaze, focusing intently on Shadow as he lay resting. She seemed almost annoyed, though about what he couldn't be sure.

Before he could decide whether or not he should be worried about it, Rouge shrugged. "My mistake," she said, though there was a note of mischief in her voice. She looked down at Shadow, then sighed, shaking her head. "Well, we'll have to wait until he wakes up again before we can leave. I'd prefer that we're dragging as few people around as possible."

Sonic nodded in agreement. "Besides, I don't think dragging him anywhere is gonna end well," he chuckled.

Amy laughed. "Yeah, but it's not like he can make us walk the plank," she said.

"Don't test me," said a deep voice, and they all looked to find Shadow awake. "I can't sleep with you guys chattering around me."

"Sorry, hon," Amy said, leaning down and planting a gentle kiss on his brow. "You want us to go?"

Shadow huffed and shook his head tiredly. "I just want you to quiet down is all," he said. "If you don't, I can and will find a way to make you walk the plank."

Sonic laughed, then stood, Sonia hurrying to support him again when he stumbled. "I think I'm gonna go," he said. "Let you rest while we check up on Silver and Blaze."

"I wouldn't," Amy warned. "Maybe wait until later, when they've had a chance to catch up. Last I saw they were getting a little… handsy."

Sonic's cheeks flushed. "Alright, then maybe I'd like to spend some time with my sister," he said with an awkward chuckle. He poked Sonia playfully, and she returned the favor with an elbow to the ribs. "Hey, not so hard! I'm injured!"

"You drew first blood," Sonia retorted.

"Rose, find me a plank of wood," Shadow grumbled.

"Alright, alright, we're going!" Sonic laughed, steering him and Sonia away from Shadow and Amy and towards a quieter patch of the beach, near the crashing waves. The two hedgehogs sat down, Sonia peeling off her boots and letting the ocean lap around her bare feet, and Sonic took his own off as well, staying a little ways away from the water. He'd spent weeks in the middle of it and nearly drowned once; he'd rather give it some space now.

"So," Sonia said. "What's the deal with the love triangle back there? That girl seemed a little put out when Rouge brought up Sally, and you keep looking at her and that captain guy like they're just your favorite people ever. What gives?"

Sonic groaned. "I knew you were gonna ask that," he said. Then he sighed. "Nothing. Those two are together. I'm just on the outside, falling hard for both of them. That's all there is to it."

"Hmmm," Sonia hummed. She didn't sound like she totally believed him. "That girl seems to like you well enough," she said. "You think she'd leave the captain for you?"

"No, and I don't want her to," Sonic said. "I don't want to be the reason they break apart. Besides, Shadow would be heartbroken, and that's the last thing I want for him. For both of them."

"Fair point," Sonia said. "So what's been going on with the rebellion while I was gone?"

Sonic eagerly latched onto the subject change, despite the grim nature of his answer. "Well, we lost almost everyone to the camps. Most of them seem to have survived, but not everyone did. Sal's brother died, and you probably know a few in your camp that didn't make it either. Before I got captured and put on their ship–" He gestured back towards the crew they'd left behind. "-it was just me, Sal, Rotor, Bunnie and Antoine, and I have no idea who well they're all faring."

Sonia's brow furrowed as she winced. "So what you're saying is we're losing hard," she said.

"Well, yeah," said Sonic. "I was just trying to be optimistic about it is all. But now we actually have a chance if we can get everyone back to Knothole. Then we can leave and get Manic and everyone from the other camp. After that, at least we'll have a fighting chance again."

Sonia nodded. "And what about those guys back there?" she asked, tilting her head towards Shadow and his crew. "Can they be trusted? And don't say they can just because you like them."

Sonic felt his cheeks flush. "I wasn't going to!" he protested. "I mean, I was, but not because of that! We had a bit of a rough beginning, especially with Shadow, but they've never tried to hurt me. Heck, they've both defended me. I think they can be trusted."

"You think," Sonia repeated. "But do you know? How long have you known them, Nic?"

"A couple weeks," he mumbled.

"Uh huh," Sonia said. "Just because they've protected you up until this point doesn't mean they won't stab you in the back in the future. People put up fronts all the time to get what they want. I'd keep a careful eye on them."

Sonic frowned at her. "Since when have you been so doom and gloom?" he asked. "Have you and Sally been talking in secret or something?"

Sonia rolled her eyes. "Shit happened in the camp." She looked over at her brother, and he could see the pain hiding behind the bitter anger. "Just don't give 'em enough rope to hang you with," she said.

"Geez, you sound like those awful horror poets Mom and Dad made us read when we were kids," Sonic joked, trying to lighten the mood. Sonia had never been this… secretive with him before, and while he understood her concern, the way she was phrasing it… it didn't sound like her. "What… really happened back there?" he asked.

Sonia looked away, staring out towards the sea, then shook her head. "It doesn't matter," she said. "Just… be careful, Nic."

"Okay," replied Sonic, and they lapsed into silence. Something had happened, and while he was going to leave it alone for now, Sonic wasn't going to let her hide from him forever. She was his sister, and he wanted to help. But he also knew her well enough to know that if he prodded any further she'd get up and walk away, which at the moment would kind of leave him stranded. Yeah, bad idea.

So they stayed quiet, and despite the craziness of the whole situation, Sonic felt more at ease than he had in months.

Rouge had managed to get help in securing most of the food that had been in the camp stores, and was helping to pack it into bags for people to carry if they were able to. But that night, several fires were made along the beach to cook various kinds of meat, the smell intoxicating as Sonic's growling stomach steadily grew louder. He hadn't eaten anything since the night before, and he felt weak, his head spinning any time he stood up. So he sat down near Shadow, who was still sleeping as Amy, Miles, and Tangle worked on cooking some steaks and potatoes. Whisper sat on the other side of Shadow, though a little further away. And Sonia had gone to eat with Silver and Blaze, casting a suspicious look over her shoulder at the crew as she left.

Her suspicion felt almost like a punch to the gut, but all the same, Sonic couldn't help but wonder if maybe she was right. They had all seemed pretty trustworthy so far, but what if things changed? What if they wanted something from him that he just couldn't give? What would happen then? Would they betray him and leave him behind?

Stop it, he told himself. They wouldn't do that to me. If they wanted to hurt me they already would have. I trust them.

"Hey," rumbled a familiar deep voice, and Sonic startled and turned to look at Shadow, who was sleepily sitting up now, heavy crimson eyes filled with concern. "Is something wrong?" He reached out to touch Sonic's arm, giving it a little squeeze, and the gesture felt so right and so wrong, Sonic scooted out of his reach.

"Nope," Sonic said, forcing false cheer into his voice. "Just thinking is all."

However, Shadow simply raised an eyebrow at him, and he knew he'd caught the lie. But he still couldn't tell the entire truth. What if Sonia was right, and Shadow dropped the act and abandoned him, taking Amy and the rest of his crew with him? And what if she wasn't, and all he did was hurt Shadow by voicing his doubts?

Stop it.

In the end he said nothing, simply breaking eye-contact, finding his eyes drifting to Amy instead as she kept her eye on the potatoes suspended above the cooking flames. How would she react? She'd fussed over him, just like she did with everyone. She had burst into tears earlier at the idea of him being dead, although that could have been more for Shadow, her partner.

He had to practically brand the word into his mind to remind himself that Shadow was much more important to her than he was. But that only made him even more miserable.

After a moment of silence, he heard Shadow clear his throat. "There's… something I want to ask you about," he said, and Sonic could hear an awkward nervousness in his voice he'd never heard before.

He turned to look at him again, waiting silently, though impatiently. Shadow's cheeks were pink, and the nervous hope in his eyes was almost enough to make Sonic forget about the doubts swirling around inside his head. "Now, I know this is… unconventional," Shadow began. "But… I've been giving this some thought. Hypothetically… what would you say if… you could be with Rose and I? Both of us, I mean. And she and I would still be together but–"

"No," Sonic said, and his heart damn near broke in half when Shadow's face fell. "I don't want to step on your guys' relationship at all. And… I don't feel like that would work. I know you guys would want to spend time together and I don't want to take away from that. Besides, you know what they say; 'three is a crowd.'"

"You wouldn't be, Sonic," Shadow said. "I can guarantee that you wouldn't be crossing boundaries, as long as Rose is alright with this. And… I know how you feel and I know that… I at least feel the same. I have a very strong suspicion that Rose does too. I won't force you to make this choice–I know it's not for everyone, and it may not even be for Rose and I, but… I would like to try, if that's alright." He scooted closer to Sonic, putting his black and red hand over the top of Sonic's peach one. "Just… think about it. Please."

Sonic nodded, then after a moment, he pulled his hand away. They lapsed into an awkward, heavy silence.

What was there to think about? Sonic liked both of them; he was even beginning to wonder if it went past that into something even heavier and harder to deal with. But how would a relationship with three people even work? And… how did he not mess it up somehow? He'd never been with anyone romantically, and what if they wanted to do… couple things and he didn't? Because he'd never wanted to do things of that nature. What would happen then?

Sonic was relieved when Tangle called them all over for food, and he took his portion and retreated as far away from the group as he could to eat in peace.