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All around him was darkness. He felt water splashing up against him. He let out a groan, and slowly opened his eyes. Double D sat up slowly and looked around. He was on some sort beach. Could he possibly have drifted back to shore? No, they had been too far away from the shoreline and if what the triplets had told them before was true, then there was no way Robotnik would let a place as clean and beautiful stay that way for very long.
"Where could I be?" He asked himself.
He slowly raised his hand to his forehead, and felt the medallion! He panicked and looked into the water. He could see that he had lost his hat, showing the Medallion of Music. He carefully placed his hand on it, rubbing it gently. Who knew what kind of power rested within? Double D carefully got to his feet and began walking, hoping an idea would come to him or at least something to help hide the medallion. Nothing came to mind nor did he find anything. His shirt was gone long before he had even met the Sonic Underground so that wasn't an option. Suddenly, he came across a broken piece of wood, the edges sharp and unruly. He carefully got closer and gasped at what it read: Black Jewel.
He had learned that was the name of the ship, and if it was here then that meant that the Black Jewel was resting on the ocean floor. But he couldn't help but worry about the others. Were they all right? Were they hurt? Were they even alive? The answer didn't seem to come to mind. He couldn't see how. He didn't know their chances of surviving and he didn't want to.
"DOUBLE D!"
Scratch that. Double D turned around as fast as he could and saw someone swinging on a vine coming out of the jungle and onto the beach. She landed on her feet in the sand and regained her composer. It was a certain blue female hedgehog.
"SHELBY!" Double D cried and ran up to her.
"Hey dude." She said.
"Shelby, are we the only ones here?" Double D asked.
"In your dreams!" She said, pointing. "Almost everyone is here!"
"'Almost'?" He asked.
"You'll see, anyways, I'm only out on patrol trying to find supplies or other survivors. Come on!" She said, gripping the vine.
"But, I lost my hat, they'll see the medallion."
"I thought you'd be happy to see this." Shelby said and reached into her pocket. She pulled out…
"MY HAT!" Double D cried, taking it.
"Found it on the beach, figured it fell off your head when the ship went down, good thing I held onto it." She said. "Now come on!"
Double D quickly placed his hat on his head and turned to Shelby. With a bit of doubt, Double D grabbed onto her shoulders and held on. She slowly backed up a few steps and jumped, letting them swing on the vine. It was a bit of a wild ride, much more wild then anything even Eddy could come up with but they didn't crash into anything. A song suddenly filled the air.
"Oh no, he's singing it again." Shelby groaned.
"Who's singing what?" Double D asked.
"Manic, he's been singing this song ever since we ended up on the island." Shelby said.
"Why?"
"You'll see or hear."
Manic: "How can I repay you brother of mine? How can I expect you to forgive? Clinging to the past I shed a lie and shattered your chance to live. Though I know it was because I paid no head. How can I return your wasted breath? What I did not know has cost you dear, for there is no cure for death. Beautiful mother, soft and sweet, once you were gone we were not complete. Back through the years we reached for you alas it was not meant it to be. And how can I make a mend? For all that I took from you. I led you with hopeless payers. My bother I was a fool. Don't cry for the past now brother of mine. Either way I'm not free from glance. Nothing can erase the things we did for the pasts we took were the same. Beautiful mother, soft and sweet, once you were gone we were not complete. Back through the years we reached for you alas was not meant to be. My dreams made me blind and mute, I long to return to that time, I'd follow without a word, my brother the fault is mine. So where do we go from here? And how to forget and forgive? What's gone is forever lost. Now all we can do is live."
As Double D listened to the song, he could tell something was troubling Manic. Something bad. They finally reached the camp, and to Double D's surprise, it seemed as if though the whole crew was there. They landed near one of the tents and stood up straight.
"Shelby, how many of us are there?" Double D asked in surprise.
"I think you might wanna see for yourself." She said and led him to the center of camp.
Double D could see Jacques standing on a stump, looking at those around him.
"Okay, when I say your name, I want you to say 'here'." He told them.
"Talaka?"
"Here!"
"Sonia?"
"Here!"
"Manic?"
"Here."
"Shelby?"
"Here!"
"Double D?"
"Here!"
"Tune?"
"Here."
Double D looked to the ground and saw the white hedgehog. He walked up to him and got down one knee.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." Tune replied.
Double D just carefully picked him up and pulled him into a hug.
"Nova?"
"Here!"
Double D looked up and saw the golden hedgehog standing not too far away.
"Double D, thank goodness you're alright." She said, walking up to him.
"Yes, it is a miracle." He said.
"Kevin?"
"Here!"
"Nazz?"
"Here!"
"Johnny?"
"Here!"
"Plank?"
"CHOA!"
"Rolf?"
"Here!"
"Tails?"
"Here!"
"Knuckles?'
"Here!"
"It seems that we're all here." Double D said.
"Don't be so sure." Shelby said in a very sad voice as she walked up.
"The following are still missing!" Jacques said.
"Oh no." Shelby whispered.
"Topaz: the passenger…"
Double D gasped, that was why Shelby was so worried
"Sonic: the passenger…"
Sonia and Manic both had worried looks.
"Shadow: the helmsman, Ed: the passenger, Eddy: the passenger…"
"They're BOTH, missing?" Double D asked.
"There's one more." Shelby said.
"…Garin: the captain."
Double D could barely believe his ears, so many of them were missing.
"Couldn't we have lost Kevin instead of Sonic?" Knuckles asked himself.
"Until Garin is found, I will take charge of the crew!" Jacques said. "If anyone is found or goes missing, contact me at once!"
"JACQUES!"
Everyone turned to see Talaka come running.
"JACQUES!" He said again. "I'VE SPOTTED THEM! I'VE SPOTTED ISCA AND CLAYLISS! THEY HAVE GARIN WITH THEM!"
"WHAT?! Where are they?" The fox demanded.
"They're headed for the shore! C'mon!" Talaka said and ran to the beach.
"Hurry!" Jacques ordered. He needn't say it twice, because the crew was already half way there.
When they finally DID stop, they were looking over the water, two figures carrying a third. The first was a beautiful aqua green cat wearing a white shirt with what looked like clams standing up near her shoulders and a green skirt.
On the other side was a very dull blue cat that wore a similar shirt and skirt only she had a band around her left arm and laying in their arms, eyes sealed shut, was Garin!
"GARIN!"
Half of the crew ran out into the water, to help their captain.
"Garin!" Shelby cried and waded into the waste deep water.
Those in the water took the brown hedgehog from the two girls and onto the land.
"Thank you so much for saving him, I am SO grateful." Shelby said.
"It was nothing." The green one said. "I'm Isca and this is my sister, Clayliss." She just waved.
"Why don't you come out of the water? I'm sure it's quite cold." Double D said.
"Uh…Double D?" Shelby said.
The two sisters then revealed something…surprising: they had fins instead of legs!
"They're mercats." Shelby said.
"Mercats?" He asked.
"Yeah, sort of like mermaids." She said.
"Amazing!" Double D said.
"Yeah, Garin told me about them in his letter but he didn't tell me they were THIS beautiful!" Shelby said.
"Thanks again girls." Jacques said.
"You're welcome, but we must be getting back to the city, the king with realize that we're missing soon!" Clayliss said.
"Very well then, but did you find anyone else?" Jacques asked.
"I'm afraid not, I'm sorry." Isca said, bowing her head. "My dream did not show anyone else."
"I understand, if you see anything, either of you, let us know." Jacques said.
Both mermaids nodded their heads, swam out to the ocean, and went under.
"So, those were the mysterious sisters I read about in the letter." Shelby said, placing her fists on her hips.
"Yep." Jacques said, lifting up Garin's chest.
Shelby smiled softly and went to help the crew get their captain to shore.
"How on Mobius he managed to survive is beyond me!" Sonia said.
"That's an easy one." Jacques said as they passed her. "This."
He pointed to something around Garin's neck. It was a seaweed necklace.
"It allows him to breath underwater. He must have put it on when the ship was going under." Jacques said.
"At least he's alive." Shelby said quietly.
"Lets get him back to camp so he can rest." Talaka said, lifting up his head.
"I couldn't agree more" Shelby said.
"Once we get him to bed, we can start searching for the others." Jacques said.
"Maybe we could find Sonic!" Manic said, looking to Sonia.
"Manic, we both know that Sonic can't swim." Sonia said. "His chances of getting out alive are…too slim."
"But Tune can't swim either, and he made it here alive." Manic said, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"I guess, but you know how Sonic is." Sonia said, tears building up.
"But what about Shelby? You heard what Topaz said, if she could overcome all of THAT then Sonic should be able to overcome this!" Manic said.
"That's just it, they're not the same hedgehog." Sonia said.
"Don't worry." Knuckles said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I'm sure Sonic is going to be alright."
"I hope so." Sonia said quietly.
"Don't worry Sonia." Shelby said as she walked pass. "Call it a feeling, but I just KNOW that Sonic is alive and well. So are the others"
Sonia just held her arms and looked out to horizon before following the others back to camp.
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Sorry if it's kind of short, but I'm still doing my best. R&R please.