-Chapter 300-

Little Ship of Horrors


Party Barge

Amy sat down and began to shuffle and cut her cards. As soon as she'd finished, she did it again. Then again…and again…

"Uhhh, Ames, I think they're shuffled now," Sonic said, looking over his shoulder in case a certain squirrel dropped in.

"Patience, Sonic," Amy said as she began her fourth shuffle. "The shuffling stage is very important. You need to do it seven times to make sure it's completely random, or it will muddy the reading."

"Seriously!? Awww man…"

A few seconds later, Amy finished her final shuffle.

"There, the deck's been shuffled. Now to draw the cards."

She drew three cards and laid them out side by side on the deck (of the ship).

"Alright, now it's time to begin the reading. Let's see what the future holds for us, starting with our current path."

Amy picked up the center card and flipped it over, revealing a pair of oddly-shaped fruits, one green and heptagonal, like a pointed pear. The other, magenta and bulbous, like an onion. The magenta fruit was laid upside-down on top of the green fruit, making it look as though it was inside it.

"Oh, the Chao's Fruit," Amy said in surprise.

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Chao Fruit? What does that mean? Are we heading for another garden?"

"Ooh! That sounds really fun!" Cream cheered.

Amy shook her head. "No guys, Fortune Cards don't show actual places or people we'll run into. Rather, they represent different events and possibilities."

Sonic stared back blankly as Cream tilted her head in confusion, Cheese mirroring his owner.

"Let me explain." Amy pointed to the fruits. "Cream, what kind of Chao Fruit are these?"

"Hmmm… well, the green fruit is a Dark Fruit and the one on top of it is a Hero Fruit. They can affect a Chao's evolution. Changing it into a Hero or Dark Chao."

"That's right." Amy nodded. "The Chao's Fruit card represents a significant moment, one that will upset the balance of your life. It could be a showdown with a strong opponent. A difficult choice, like deciding whether to pursue a partnership with someone or choosing between doing something for someone else or yourself. Like how the two fruits give the Chao a choice on what it wants to evolve into. Understand?"

"I think so," Cream said, still a bit unsure.

"How about we keep going?" Sonic offered.

"Good idea."

Back at the propellers, Chris had donned a set of scuba gear and dived underwater to help Tails. Currently, he was attempting to cut through the peanut butter-like goop with the plasma from his Nitro Glove…with mixed results.

"Man, this stuff is really thick," he said through the suit's comm system. "My Nitro energy's barely even softening it."

"That shouldn't even be possible," Tails chimed in. "Nitro energy is Chaos-induced plasma, you should be able to cut through this like…well, butter."

"You don't have to tell me twice. The only things I have trouble cutting through are denser metals and things that have been boosted by Chaos."

"Chaos…"

Tails pressed some buttons on the Sea Kit's control panel, releasing a small, undersea drone. The drone swam over to the mass of goop and scanned it with a beam, which sent some information over to the Miles Electric.

"Chris, you were right, the goop is giving off Chaos Energy! Tons of it!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I hate to say it, but it looks like we may need to replace the propeller completely."

"And us without our Warp Rings," Chris sighed.

"Yeah…" Just then, the Miles Electric pinged, prompting Tails to check it. "Hold on, there's a spot with lower readings near the center of the main mass. If you focus there, you might be able to cut it loose."

"Sounds like a plan!"

Chris swam up toward the center of the propeller, where the bulk of the mass of peanut butter lay.

"Alright," Chris began as he readied his glove. "Eat Nitro Power random, underwater nut-spread!"

He paused, his expression flattening. "I gotta work on my one-liners."

Making a mental note to practice later, Chris blasted the peanut butter right where Tails told him to, causing the mass to burst.

"Yeah! It worked!" he cheered, only to pause in confusion and a little fear. "Tails…" he replied worriedly. "Is it me or is the peanut butter bleeding?"

Tails paused. "Bleeding?"

The two geniuses looked at what was left of the gooey, brown mass. Chris had managed to clear out a substantial amount of it away with his blast, exposing what appeared to be the masses' center. A center that was slowly leaking a bright, red liquid.

"Oh, gross!" Tails replied with a gag.

"Seriously, what is this stuff?" Chris demanded.

Tails looked over the red goo, his brow furrowing as he noticed something strange about it.

"Chris, I don't think this stuff is blood."

Chris perked, taking a closer look himself. "You're right, the color's too bright. Plus, it's not clouding up the water." He held out his hand, touching a sample. "It looks like some kind of jelly."

Just then, the jelly began to glow.

"Whoa!" Chris exclaimed. "Tails, the jelly's glowing."

"Yeah, I know…" Tails said.

Confused, Chris looked up and was grateful that he had on scuba gear; otherwise, he would've nearly drowned upon seeing all the swarm of glowing, red jelly crackling with electricity.

"What the…?"

He was interrupted by a loud glorp coming from the peanut butter on the propeller…or rather the thing that had emerged from the propeller. A hand. A red hand holding a knife. A knife that cut through the brown goop with ease, revealing a pair of glowing eyes and a devilish smile. The figure waved at the two brainiacs before holding up its hand, preparing to snap its fingers…

"Aww crap…" Chris said.

And then, everything flashed red.


"Now that we have an idea of what's going to happen in the future, let's see what happened in the past," Amy declared, continuing the reading.

"The past?" Cream asked.

"How's that going to help?" Sonic added.

"Because the future eventually becomes the past," Amy explained. "Everything that will happen is because of what has happened."

"If you want to grow a flower, you need to know its seed," Cream piped up. "My daddy taught me that."

"Your daddy was right," Amy said with approval. "Now, let's what our seed is."

Amy flipped up the card on the left, revealing a picture of a knight in shining armor atop a mountain, sword planted into the stone.

"Ooh, he looks strong," Cream said.

"He is," Amy began. "The Knight represents courage in the face of adversity and danger. Wisdom in times of conflict and turmoil. And justice in the presence of villainy and corruption."

"Heh, I can relate to that," Sonic said, rubbing his knuckles against his chest as he chuckled with pride. "Looks like I'm gonna have to save the day again. So much for a relaxing vacation."

"Ehhh…not quite," Amy cut in. "Like I said, the cards are symbols, not events, and the things they symbolize are neither good nor evil. The Knight card represents positive and heroic qualities, but it doesn't mean we're in for a fight or in need of a hero. Not only that, it's Reversed."

"Reversed?"

"Is that why it's upside-down?" Cream asked.

Sonic paused. "Upside-down?"

He looked down at the Knight card and - to his surprise - found that it was upside-down.

"Uhhh…Amy, I think this one came out wrong."

Amy shook her head. "No Sonic, that's the way it's supposed to be. When a Fortune Card is drawn upside-down, it and what it represents is reversed."

"Ohh…" Sonic said with a nervous wince, not liking where this was going.

"So, the card means the opposite of what it normally does?" Cream asked.

"Exactly!" Amy confirmed. "So, instead of being brave, wise, and just, like the regular Knight. The Reverse Knight is cowardly."

Sonic winced as he clutched his chest as if he'd been shot by an arrow in the heart.

"Foolish."

Two arrows.

"And selfish."

A whole volley shot through Sonic, causing him to fall backward.

"Uhhhh…Sonic?" Amy asked.

"Mr. Sonic, are you okay?" Cream chimed in.

"Yeah…" Sonic grit out, still gripping his chest. "I'm fine…"

At that, he got up.

"Let's…keep going."

"O…kaaaay…" Amy cleared her throat.

-X-

"AAAAnd...pull!"

Knuckles pulled on his line with all his might, yanking out his latest catch. The fish flopped on the deck, gasping for breath, before the echidna jabbed it with one of his fist spikes, putting it out of its misery.

"Haha! Yes! Another sea creature vanquished! Victory for Knuckles!"

He chuckled to himself as he took a moment to eye his prize: a big, fatty tuna, easily two meters long.

"Oh yeah, you're a keeper," he said with a grin. "In you go with the rest!"

He unhooked the fish from the line, then tossed it to the side, adding to the overflowing cooler of sea creatures he'd managed to catch.

"This is perfect! At this rate, I'm gonna win for sure! Kat's only got those few, while I've got a whole stinking treasure trove!"

At that moment, one of his catches managed to slide out of the cooler, flopping on the deck for a bit. Knuckles put it back in the cooler, then sighed.

"Guess I better empty this thing. Hey, Tanaka! Mind helping me bring my catches inside? Gotta keep them fresh or they'll start to stink!"

"Apologies, Master Knuckles, but I'm a bit busy!"

Curious, Knuckles climbed up the haul of the ship to the Party Arm, where he found Tanaka typing away at the computer with anxious focus.

"Come on, pick up..." the butler whispered anxiously.

"Tanaka, is everything okay?" Knuckles asked.

Tanaka sighed. "No. Masters Chris and Tails went down to check on the ship's propellers and haven't returned. What's worse, they aren't responding to any of my calls."

"Yeah, that's not good." Knuckles' brow furrowed. "Come to think of it... Kat hasn't surfaced yet. Something's up…"

Just then, a loud, metallic slam rang out. Knuckles turned to where it came from and found his fishing rod up against the railing. Something was pulling it, something big.

"What the…?" Knuckles let out as he leapt down from the Party Arm, Tanaka going after him.

Knuckles picked up his line, preparing to pull in his next catch, but to his shock, his catch pulled back, causing him to bump his jaw against the railing.

"Yeowch!"

"Master Knuckles, what's wrong?"

"I dunno," the echidna replied as he began pulling back. "But whatever this thing is…it's big!" He let out a panicked yelp after he was nearly pulled overboard, only being saved by Tanaka's quick intervention. "Whew! Really big!"

"Not just really big," a deep, booming voice rumbled. "The biggest thing in the ocean."

"What was that?" Knuckles asked.

His answer came in the form of a sound. The sound of something breaching the ocean's surface. Something big. Big enough to nearly soak that entire section of deck and cast a shadow over the two stupefied sailors.

"Tanaka," Knuckles piped up, his pupils pinpricks. "I think we're gonna need a bigger boat."

"Yes, Master Knuckles," Tanaka replied nodding dumbly, his glasses hanging askew. "I think we will."

-X-

"Now then, let's reveal the final card: the future."

Amy flipped the last remaining card…and gasped.

"Oh dear…" Cream said.

The card depicted a little, white sheet ghost with curved devil horns, a grisly scythe in its stubby hands and a menacing glint in its narrowed eyes.

"A Hyudoro," Sonic cut in, legitimately worried.

"Hyudoro?" Cream asked.

"A type of ghost Tails, Knuckles, and I fought on our first trip to Angel Island. They were guarding the pyramid in Sandopolis and they were nasty little buggers."

"Oh my… that doesn't sound good."

"It isn't," Amy replied. "The Hyudoro represents misfortune and bad luck, especially the kind brought by bad karma."

Sonic perked at that. "Karma?"

Amy nodded. "The Hyudoro are spectral guardians who watch over and protect the resting places of the dead from those who would disturb their rest, especially graverobbers or people who harmed the dead in life. As a result, many see them as spirits of vengeance, exacting retribution against the guilty."

Sonic swallowed nervously. "I see…"

"But, what does it all mean?" Cream asked.

"We won't know exactly until the time comes," Amy explained. "But the cards can give us a hint."

She pointed to the cards she'd laid out, starting with the Chao's Fruit.

"At some point, we'll be faced with something that will upset the balance of our lives…"

Then, the Reverse Knight.

"One brought about by an act of cowardice or selfishness…"

And finally, the Hyudoro.

"And now, that selfish and cowardly act has come back to haunt us."

Sonic swallowed nervously, biting into his lower lip as he rubbed at his rib.

"Yeah…that doesn't inspire confidence."

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much," Amy said as she gathered her cards. "The cards' predictions aren't one-hundred percent accurate, and even then, it all depends on how you react to it. After all…"

She flicked her wrist, causing her deck to vanish. "You're in control of your own destiny."

"Heh heh…yeah…" Sonic let out, causing Amy and Cream to look at him with concern.

"Sonic, are you…?"

"Ooh, wouldja look at the time!" he shouted, looking at his non-existent watch. "Well, it's been fun, but gotta run! Nice talkin' to you Amy let'sdothisagainsometimebye!"

And with that, he zipped off, leaving the two girls and Chao looking on in bafflement.

"Is he alright?" Cream asked.

"Not sure," Amy replied, shaking her head. "Anyway, I think I'm ready to take another crack at fishing again. What about you Cream?"

"Okay!"

Putting what happened with Sonic out of their minds, the two girls returned to where they set their fishing rods.

"Alright, Mr. Fish," Amy said as she baited her hook. "Time for Round 2, and this time, you're not gonna…"

Just then, something leaped out of the water, blocking the sun.

"What the…!?"

"Oh my!"

"Water Prison Jutsu!"

The last Amy and Cream saw before they lost consciousness was a flash of purple and white, followed by their vision being flooded by a rushing surge of water.


Author's Note:

Amy's Fortune Cards are based off the ones we see her use in the newer games and comics, but the meanings are ones we made up ourselves. We wanted to use the real Fortune Card deck, but it's not coming out for a few months. Once it comes out, we may decide to update it. For now, this will have to do.

Please R&R, and have a great day. See you next time!