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Chapter Text

The night air sent a chill down Kintobor’s spine as he crept through the ruins of the ancient Echidna temple. It was all deserted, had been since long before he’d arrived here. Well, it was no matter in the grand scheme of things, but the scholar in him itched to know more, to explore every inch of the ruins and learn every secret hidden within its crumbling stone walls. But that was not why he was here. He was here for another purpose entirely.

The only company Kintobor had on this particular venture was Black Doom, his court mage from back at the palace. The palace that had been taken over by those mobian rats in his absence. 

Damn that blue hedgehog, he cursed in his mind for what could have been the thousandth time that day. He still didn’t even know the hedgehog’s name. All he knew was that he was fast, as if someone had shot lightning into his veins and imbued him with its power, and that he was a very powerful opponent. 

But this plan should give me the upper hand, Kintobor thought to himself. Then he could watch the rat that took everything away from him breathe his last breath. 

Black Doom walked next to him through the ruins, his footsteps silent, as if he were floating on the air rather than walking. Kintobor wouldn’t have put it past him. Black Doom had always given him an uneasy feeling, but he had served him well in the years he’d been at the palace, so he was willing to overlook the fact that he had no idea even what creature he was, even years after meeting him, and how downright terrifying he was.

He was very tall, taller than Kintobor himself, and he had two thick horns like that of a cow sticking out of the sides of his head, covered in a dark… something. It shone in the moonlight, so Kintobor had to conclude that it was some kind of slime or mucus, like that of an amphibian’s skin. The only way to be sure was to touch it, though neither party would have stood for that. Kintobor suspected Black Doom would have sooner killed him before letting him touch his horns. Aside from that, he looked almost human, save for ashen gray skin, and the lack of a mouth. When Black Doom spoke, it was in people’s minds rather than conventional speech. 

Fortunately he didn’t seem to be able to read other people’s minds in turn.

Finally, they approached the altar in the center of the temple, and Kintobor was surprised not only to find the largest gem he’d ever seen, but a living being standing in front of it. An echidna with deep red fur stood in front of the gemstone, which was twice his size, the green glow of it turning his fur brown where it touched him. He wore a wooden mask over his face, decorated with white paint and a crown of yellow feathers atop it. Behind the mask, a pair of violet eyes shone in the moonlight, narrowed in aggression. 

As they came closer, the echidna raised his fists, wrapped in cloth with two spikes protruding from his knuckles. “Who are you?” he demanded, his deep voice ringing loud in the night air. “How did you get here?!”

Kintobor stifled a grin. This was too easy . He forced his face to look anguished before dropping to his knees, clasping his hands together in a pleading gesture. “We come in peace! We mean you nor anyone else here any harm! We’re being pursued by horrid people for crimes we did not commit!”

The echidna’s eyes narrowed further, and he was silent for a moment. Then, he said, “What are your names?”

Kintobor smiled. “You may call me Mister Eggman,” he said, though in truth he detested the name. It was simply the first thing he came up with, as he’d had eggs on his mind (he was rather hungry). He gestured to Black Doom. “This is my assistant, who does not speak, so I do not know his name.”

What are you doing, Ivo? Doom’s voice slithered in his mind. 

Kintobor didn’t respond, simply walking forward towards the echidna. “What is your name?” he asked politely. 

“I am Knuckles, last of the mighty Echidnas,” he replied. 

A little on the nose, Kintobor remarked inwardly, looking again at his hands. He extended his hand, only earning a skeptical glare from Knuckles before he lowered it. Not very good with people, he noted. 

Perfect. 

What he didn’t notice, however, was the smallest crack spidering out in the gemstone behind Knuckles, the flicker of a being inside shifting, pushing against its prison. Something ancient stirred within. Ancient… and furious.

Bonus artwork

Knuckles the Echidna

This chapter will be edited as more artwork is completed. 

This artwork is my own (Suna1_Suna1)

Please do not repost these character illustrations anywhere.

Chapter Text

Sonic

Kintobor laughed overhead as a tidal wave crashed over Sonic, the water sending him rolling and tumbling beneath it. This time he managed to surface, clutching a pile of driftwood, gasping for breath as he saw his siblings being washed away, powerless to help them. Thousands of people, mostly strangers but not all, rushed by him in the crashing current. Sonic cried out as his grip loosened on the driftwood, his heart pounding. He screamed as he finally lost his grip, tumbling once again in the current.

“Hey,” said a voice, soft and familiar. “Love, wake up.”  

Sonic gasped as his eyes bolted open, looking wildly about the room before they settled on Shadow, who stood next to the bed, leaning over him, his hands on his shoulders, and he sighed as relief warded off the chill of fear in his veins. He swallowed. “Still the same,” he said, answering Shadow’s unspoken question. “But I don’t think it was her this time.”

Indeed, the echidna girl they’d rescued from Kintobor’s dungeons hadn’t appeared in his dreams for days, and if she did, she was little more than a shining red light. But that didn’t stop him from dreaming of the disaster she had shown him again and again. 

Shadow nodded as he gently ran his fingers through Sonic’s tangled quills, which were still partly crossed in fear, making them even spikier than usual. He always did this after he woke from a nightmare. He did it for Amy too, who was still asleep next to Sonic, though she seemed to be sleeping much better than he was. In a moment, Sonic was purring softly, leaning into Shadow’s touch with a soft smile spreading on his face. Shadow smiled and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before standing up properly. “I’m going to go get the crew up,” he said. 

“‘Kay,” Sonic said with a yawn, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and getting out of it as Shadow put on his coat and boots, grabbing his hat as he walked out the door of their cabin. He shivered, the early morning air cold. The sun hadn’t even risen yet, the sky just barely beginning to lighten as he looked out the window. But that didn’t surprise him. Shadow had always been an early riser. Normally Sonic would have slept longer, but the nightmares had other ideas. 

He pulled on his shirt and vest and a pair of socks, trying to stay quiet to avoid waking Amy. However, he forgot about a squeaky floorboard, and Sonic cursed under his breath as Amy stirred, her eyes fluttering open. “Sorry, Ames,” Sonic said quietly. 

Amy didn’t respond, but she didn’t look particularly angry either. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, and he could see her shiver a little as the blanket dropped, exposing her shoulders. Sonic walked over and sat next to her, reaching an arm out in an invitation for her to lean on him, which she took gladly, burrowing into him with a soft smile. “Good morning,” she sang softly. 

Sonic smiled. “Good morning,” he replied. “How’d you sleep?”

“Fine, except for you waking me up,” Amy said teasingly. “What about you?”

Sonic shrugged. “Same as usual,” he said, and Amy’s smile faded. He’d been having near-constant nightmares since they’d found Tikal. At first it had merely been Tikal speaking to him and warning him within his dreams, but now it didn’t seem to matter if she was there or not. He knew Amy didn’t like hearing about them though, mostly because she could only do so much to soothe him. Neither her nor Shadow could make the nightmares stop. 

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “But hey, I’ll be fine once we find the island,” Sonic said with a smile. 

Amy nodded. “I just hope we find it soon,” she said. She pulled away, coming back to kiss him on the lips, then crawled out of bed and started getting dressed. 

Sonic pulled on his boots and left the cabin, shutting the door behind him. At the helm, which was positioned above the room he shared with his partners, stood his brother, Manic. He ascended the stairs and came up next to him. “Anything new?” he asked. 

Manic looked at him. “Nah, just another whale surfacing earlier,” he said. “No cool monsters or anything.”

Sonic smiled. “Is Sonia still mad about you taking the last grapefruit in the stores last night?” he asked.

“Hell if I know, man,” Manic replied. “She still isn’t up so she hasn’t had the opportunity to chuck anything at my head yet. And don’t forget you were the one who said I could have it before she could call dibs so it’s you who she should be mad at.” 

“Whyever would she be mad at her big brother?” Sonic said, and Manic rolled his eyes and elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow, hey!”

“Eight minutes,” Manic said. “If I’d just been born ten minutes earlier–”

“Well ya weren’t,” Sonic said, ruffling the quills sticking out on top of Manic’s head. “And hey, I’m an awesome big brother, right?”

“Pfft, whatever,” Manic said. Then he looked back towards the front of the ship, squinting a little bit. “Looks like the kid’s up,” he said as he straightened, looking back up to the sea in front of them. “Good. If I’m here much longer I’m gonna pass out on the wheel.”

Sonic looked down onto the deck and sure enough, Tails was walking about, stretching his legs. He yawned, and Sonic saw his eyes dart over to where he and Manic stood, then dart away quickly. He was sort of used to this by now, but Sonic’s heart still sank. The kid had been ignoring him since shortly after they’d rescued several mages from the palace–including Manic–and often refused to look at him. 

He hadn’t even meant to say what he did. He hadn’t meant to say that it was better now that Tails’s brother was dead. Well, it was, but it wasn’t better that Tails was going through the pain of grief. Sonic had meant that he was safer now with Martin gone. They all were. But that didn’t seem to be how Tails had interpreted it.  

Manic noticed his mood shift and reached over, squeezing Sonic’s shoulder comfortingly. “He’ll come around eventually,” he said, though he didn’t sound convinced. Manic patted Sonic on the back. “He’s been through a lot. We all have. Maybe he just needs some time to process some of it?”

Sonic shrugged. “Maybe,” he said. “I just… feel kinda bad, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Manic said. Then he yawned again, his eyes bleary as he looked out onto the deck again. “Oh, there’s Tangle,” he said. “Looks like it’s time to unfurl the sails.”

Sonic nodded, then waved at Manic as he turned towards the steps leading down to the deck. “Hope you sleep well,” he said. 

“I will,” Manic said. “Tonight was so boring I kept almost passing out anyway.”

Sonic chuckled, then made his way down the stairs, jogging up to Tangle, who had her tail wrapped around herself as she shivered, rubbing her hands together. “Ugh, why is it always so cold?” she complained. “It’s the middle of summer!”

Sonic made an “I don’t know” sound in his throat, then grinned. “Wanna race up to the top of the mast?” he asked. 

“Pffft, no way,” Tangle replied. “Not without a head start anyway!” She took off running towards the mast with a triumphant laugh, wrapping her tail around the highest beam she could and pulling herself up. Sonic laughed and followed, jumping from beam to beam and catching up with Tangle within moments, then surpassing her. She reached the crows nest mere moments after he did, glaring playfully at him. “Dang it,” she said. “I was close though! I almost had it!”

“Better luck next time,” Sonic said, extending a hand for her to shake, which she did, wrapping his hand with her big, fluffy tail and shaking it once firmly. Then he stopped, realizing both their hands were empty. “So… we have to get the ropes now.”

“Oh…” Tangle said sheepishly. 

A little while later, Sonic went down to the hold, greeting Whisper, who was down there taking stock of their inventory; their stores seemed to be running low, the hold actually open enough that he could walk around fairly easily. In the corner lay an echidna girl with pale orange fur everywhere save her muzzle, which was a dark warm brown, though it looked more dull than Sonic suspected it was supposed to. Her chest shuddered with each breath, as if the mere act of breathing took all the strength she had. Her cheeks jutted out beneath her skin, having eaten what little they could safely get her to swallow. 

Tikal hadn’t woken even once since they’d found her in Kintobor’s dungeons. And she looked worse every day the longer they spent looking for the place she’d shown him in his dreams. A place that Sonic wasn’t even sure existed. All he had to go off of was a passage from a book Shadow had found in the royal library shortly before they’d set sail. 

“ Winding through the caverns, hiding with the crystals, lay a treasure beyond measure.

Creatures long-gone, water beasts sealed away, sleeping tight.

Take the bridge to the sky, and there lies

The Island in the Sky.”

What was any of that supposed to mean? 

“We’ll be stopping later,” said a voice, and Sonic looked up at Whisper, a little surprised that she had spoken. She spoke more often now than when he’d first ended up on Shadow’s ship, a total stranger trapped on a ship at the mercy of a band of privateers. 

“To get supplies?” Sonic asked, and Whisper nodded. He grinned. “Nice,” he said. “I can walk on solid ground for a bit.” As much as he loved his partners, he had always hated the sea, and he still hadn’t learned to swim. It always put him a little more at ease to set foot on land. 

Whisper chuckled softly, then went back to taking inventory as Tangle entered the hold, her eyes lighting up as she caught sight of her girlfriend. “Awoo,” she said, which seemed to be more of a “hello” than anything. Whisper responded with a tiny howl of her own as Tangle approached her, wrapping her arms around her before kissing her gently. 

Sonic politely looked away and back down at Tikal’s unconscious form. How was it that she was still communicating with him? It seemed the connection was severed when he was awake, but when he was asleep, she would appear whenever she could. The connection had been weakening as she wasted further and further away, but it was still there. Why?

Sonic shook his head, then went over to the crates of food, taking out an apple and holding it in his mouth as he pulled a few other things out, sort of juggling them in his hands until Whisper finally rolled her eyes and put a food tray in front of him. He thanked her, though it was muffled, a rather large chunk of apple still in his mouth, and left the hold and headed back into the captain’s quarters.

When he opened the door, Shadow sat behind his desk, sort of staring into the space ahead of him absently. He did this rather frequently, Sonic had come to find. Especially on the mornings when he woke him with his nightmares. He waited until he finished the bite of apple in his mouth before he spoke. “So, I hear we’re gonna make another stop already?” he asked as he set the food tray down in front of the captain, not even bothering to hide the excitement in his voice. 

Shadow’s eyes focused, and he nodded, smiling softly. “Just for supplies,” he said. “Any luck on figuring out the book passage?”

The excitement in Sonic’s chest deflated, and his shoulders slumped as he shook his head. “No…” he sighed. “I don’t have enough background knowledge of geography or anything to be able to interpret it. Even Sonia can’t figure it out and she’s always been the smartest out of the three of us.” Before Kintobor had taken the throne, Sonia had spent almost all her time at the Capital City library, and had read a large chunk if not most of the geography books in the building.

“Hmmm,” Shadow hummed, his eyes glazing over a little as he thought. “How is Tikal faring?” he asked.

Sonic sighed. “She’s getting weaker,” he said, and he told him about how little she’d really been appearing in his dreams of late. “I… I don’t know if she’s gonna make it, Shads,” he finished hesitantly, dread weighing in his chest. What if she died and they never got to Angel Island? Would all of Sonic’s worst nightmares come to pass? 

Shadow said nothing, and after a moment, he stood and passed Sonic as he left the room, leaving him to follow him as he emerged onto the deck, then went down into the hold. By this time, Amy was in the corner with Tikal, a soft glow in her hands and a sweet, warming melody in the air as she worked a spell on her. They waited until she was done, the last note of the song fading into soft echoes, before Shadow finally spoke. 

“How is she?” he asked Amy. 

Amy sighed, and Sonic couldn’t help but notice the dark circles beginning to gather beneath her eyes. “If we can’t get her to wake up soon, I don’t think she’ll last much longer,” she said. “She hasn’t eaten in forever, we’ve only been able to get her to swallow small things, mostly liquids. And my spells can only do so much.”

Sonic looked down at the floor, his chest feeling even heavier. “I gotta figure out how to get there,” he murmured to himself. 

Silence stretched between the trio, save for Tikal’s labored breaths, until Amy finally smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon!” she said, and Sonic wished he could believe the cheer in her voice was real, but there was a flatness to it that gave her away. He knew Shadow could hear it too, but he watched as he just kissed her gently on the forehead, then walked back out of the hold, already onto the next thing out of many tasks that needed to be done. 

Sonic ran his fingers through Amy’s bangs, then massaged his fingers on top of her head, earning a quiet purr from her before she smiled–a little more genuinely–and waved him off, turning back to Tikal. He turned and followed Shadow out of the hold, stopping when they were both topside. 

“Let me see the book again,” Shadow said, and Sonic nodded, darting back to the captain’s quarters and bringing the heavy leather-bound volume back in less than a second. An old hair ribbon Amy hadn’t worn in years stuck out between two pages, acting as a makeshift bookmark, and when he handed the book to Shadow, the captain turned to that point, his eyes flitting over the words as he read the same passage over and over again. 

Shadow had told Sonic what little he knew of Angel Island. He’d told him it was supposedly an island that floated in the sky, high above the world they knew. No one had been able to reach it in hundreds of years, assuming it existed at all, which was highly unlikely. The book was a collection of children’s stories. But Tikal continued to insist they had to find their way there, and Sonic had a nasty feeling that his visions of Kintobor stirring trouble there were correct, so they were trying their best.

After several minutes, Shadow swore and shut the book with a heavy thump, handing it back to Sonic. 

“Well, maybe we can ask some of the locals when we stop,” Sonic suggested, trying to lighten the mood a little. “They might know something we don’t.”

Shadow shrugged, then nodded. “I suppose it would be worth a try,” he said. “We don’t seem to have much time left.”

Sonic nodded, then zipped back into the captain’s quarters, tucking the book back in its place. Hopefully they could get some answers before it was too late.

Chapter Text

Shadow

They arrived at the docks that evening, the golden late afternoon light fading to orange as the sun sank slowly below the horizon. Tails, Tangle, and Whisper stayed behind to mind the ship while Shadow went ashore with Sonic and Amy, the former’s siblings bringing up the rear. Sonia kept her good eye peeled, darting everywhere to make sure no one was following them as they stepped down the gangplank. Manic followed rather nonchalantly, though Shadow didn’t miss how he kept his fists clenched at his sides. One of the dock workers–a mobian Saint Bernard probably not much older than Tails–stared at them with wide eyes as they made their way into the port town. 

He wasn’t the only one. Nearly everyone they passed turned their gazes to them, even if it was just a brief flick of their eyes. Most stared openly, and Shadow gathered that visitors were a rare occurrence here. More often than not their eyes lingered on him, which he was fairly used to. The red stripes on his quills were unnatural, a side effect of the myriad of spells put on him by Black Doom. They had always stood out, a mark of the power he wielded. In time he’d learned to embrace his appearance, use it to his advantage. 

As they got further into the town, however, he was caught off guard by the smell of meat cooking in one of the street stalls, and he turned to find something that nearly made his heart stop in his chest. The vendor looked up at him, flashing him a smile he likely gave every potential customer that walked by his stall. But he remembered him.

He was an old wolf with long, thin whiskers that made him look almost like the dragons in the stories from Chun Nan Maria had been rather fond of. But Shadow remembered seeing that face so long ago, his mother bargaining with the man while he clung to her back on one of the few days she allowed him to leave the house with her. 

Shadow looked down the street, further into the center of the town, and there stood the old cherry tree he’d been dared to climb by a pair of older boys. He’d fallen off almost immediately and cried, his arms too weak to pull himself up. He knew he could climb it easily now, though it wasn’t because of his own efforts. 

Suddenly, there was a hand on his shoulder, and Shadow turned to find Sonic looking at him, concern in his emerald eyes. He hadn’t realized he’d stopped walking. “You okay, Shads?” Sonic asked. 

Shadow shook himself a little. “I’m fine,” he said, and he made himself keep going, fighting against the sudden flood of memories. Every shop they stopped by, or even simply passed on their way to another, he remembered it. He remembered getting sweets at the candy shop they passed once, the only time he’d gotten to try chocolate and caramel. He remembered the smell of meat and rice cooking, and how his mother would often spend the whole day with him at home, trying to keep him entertained in the spurts where he was awake. 

Before he realized it, tears were trickling down his cheeks.

He was home. 

“Shadow, what’s wrong?” Amy asked. They had just stopped outside a butcher shop, their final stop for the day before they went back to the ship. Shadow couldn’t respond past the lump in his throat, and so he wiped away the tears and waved his hand in a gesture that said, later. 

Amy bit her lip, hesitant to drop it, then nodded and reached out, squeezing his arm gently in an effort to comfort him. “Do you need a minute, hon?” she asked softly, and Shadow nodded. “We can take care of this ourselves then, you go take a bit, okay?”

“What’s wrong?” Sonic asked as Shadow turned to walk away from the group, still holding the bags laden with fruit as he moved towards a quieter spot. Amy’s response was lost in the crowd. Guilt pricked at Shadow’s stomach. He wanted to tell them what was wrong, wanted to reassure them that he’d be alright, but it was all too much, and it was as if his vocal cords had frozen. He could barely bring himself to open his mouth, much less speak. His jaw was clenched tight, and he had to focus to unclench it when he finally reached a quieter area. It was a little spot near the docks, but not too far from where the other four in the group still shopped. 

The stars were beginning to come out, the sky fading from soft green to dark blue, when his vocal cords finally felt as if they might comply with his desire to speak. Just then, a voice called out to him. 

“Hey, you, with the funny hat!” 

Shadow turned, and there he saw a hedgehog girl perhaps a few years younger than him with pitch-black fur, and next to her… 

Next to her stood an older hedgehog woman with dark reddish-brown fur and crimson eyes, who squinted at him, as if trying to parse where she’d seen him before. Shadow’s heart leapt into his throat, pounding like a drum in his ears as he waited for her to speak. He felt like he might just come apart all over again. 

His mother stepped towards him, the girl following close behind. She stared at him a little bit more, then said, “Why do I know you?”

Shadow swallowed. “You don’t,” he said, the words barely audible as they left his lips. Not for seventeen years.

His mother shook her head. “No,” she said. “I’m sure I know you. I just… can’t remember how.”

“We have a painting of you,” the girl said, and Shadow turned to look at her. Her curious eyes were sapphire blue, like his father’s. She’s my sister, Shadow realized, his eyes widening just a bit before he schooled his features. 

His mother looked at his sister with a frown. “Do we?” she asked. 

The girl nodded. “I found it in the cellar,” she said. “I thought it was me at first, when I was a little baby, but the eyes were red, not blue.” Then she squinted a little more at Shadow. “I don’t think the baby had stripes like that though…”

His mother’s eyes widened, and she frowned deeper. “That’s strange…” she said. “I can’t remember any little boy that looks like you. But I feel like I know you. But where from?”

“I need to be going,” Shadow said, his voice shaky, and he cleared his throat. “I’m only here to buy supplies for my crew.”

The girl’s eyes shone then, a mischievous smile spreading across her face. “Crew?” she asked, and he wished he’d said nothing. He tipped his hat politely before pushing past the two hedgehogs, his eyes scanning the crowd for pink, blue, green, anyone from his crew. He didn’t care who it was he found first. 

After a few minutes, he breathed a sigh of relief as he caught sight of sapphire blue quills sticking up out of the crowd. He hurried over to where the group was just leaving the butcher’s shop, their arms laden with packages. Shadow cast a look over his shoulder, making sure his little sister hadn’t followed him. It was better that he didn’t get caught up in that. There was no way his parents would ever remember him, and his sister, whatever her name was, seemed to be a bit too curious for her own good. 

Sonic turned to look at him as Shadow approached, groaning a bit at the weight he was carrying. “There you are,” he said. “I was about to go look for you, what happened?”

“I’ll explain later,” Shadow said. “Right now I want to go back to the ship.”

Sonic looked at him, his eyebrows furrowing in concern, but all he said was, “Okay.” As soon as the other three emerged from the butcher shop, their arms laden in cuts of cured meat, they set off down the street. Shadow lagged behind, keeping his eyes peeled for signs of his sister, and Sonic slowed his pace to stay with him. They walked in silence, pushing their way through the crowd. The buzz of dozens of people talking at once grated on Shadow’s ears, and he stifled the urge to shut them up himself as he clenched his jaw once again. 

“Shads, seriously, are–”

“ I’m fine, Sonic, ” Shadow said, then winced at his sharp tone as Sonic drew himself back a little, eyes wide in surprise and hurt. “I’m sorry. It’s just… a lot. Right now.”

Sonic nodded quietly, and he didn’t say another word. Tangle was already untying the ropes holding the ship in place as they reached it and hurried up the gangplank. They dumped the loads in their arms onto the deck as Tails, Whisper, and Sonia all darted up and down the steps to the hold. Shadow was already retreating towards his quarters, Sonic following him as he opened the door and kicked off his boots, setting his coat and hat neatly in their places. He immediately collapsed upon the bed, exhaustion allowing his body to sink into the mattress. Sonic sat on the bed next to him, tentatively putting his hand on top of Shadow’s, but even that felt like too much. Shadow pulled his hand away. “Please, give me a bit,” he whispered. 

Sonic nodded, then lay down next to him, careful not to touch him. A few minutes later, Amy entered the room, tilting her head curiously at the two of them. One look at Shadow, and he knew she understood. She kicked off her boots and curled up next to him, leaving a little bit of space between them. Amy opened her arms in silent invitation, and he scooted towards her, leaning into her touch. 

A moment later, Sonic scooted towards both of them. “Do you want me to hold you?” he asked Shadow softly. Shadow nodded, and he carefully wrapped his arms around his waist, holding him tightly. Several moments passed, the silence palpable. Shadow could tell Sonic was struggling not to break it. So he did instead. 

“I ran into my mother,” he said, his voice quiet. “That island… I was born there. I had too many familiar smells and sounds triggering old memories...”

He told them about his encounter with his mother and his sister, and he could practically feel them both listening intently, their bodies still. When he finished, Sonic hummed in thought for a moment. “If you looked familiar to her… does that mean maybe that the spell–?”

“No, Sonic,” Shadow said firmly. “The spells on my end of their bargain are still going strong. Their lack of memories of me is tied directly to my strength and magical abilities. One cannot exist without the other.”

“Well, what if you reversed both ends?” Sonic asked. 

Shadow turned to look at Sonic over his shoulder. “I’d be bedridden for the rest of my life,” he answered. 

They were all silent again after that, Amy reaching up and running her fingers gently through his quills, earning a soft purr as Shadow finally relaxed. There was still that heaviness in his chest, the hot stinging in his nose and eyes. Just taking a breath was difficult, as if there were something trying to crush his lungs and prevent him from getting a full breath no matter how deeply he inhaled.

He hadn’t missed his mother this badly in years.

When Shadow had been a child, he’d been quite vocal about how he missed his parents. He’d believed they’d eventually come back for him. That they loved him. Of course, they had, but it wasn’t until he was eight years old that Black Doom told him that they would never remember him and therefore would never come to his rescue. After that, Shadow never brought them up again.

A soft kiss on Shadow’s cheek brought him out of his thoughts, and his eyes flicked to the side to find Sonic looking at him briefly before gently nuzzling his cheek against Shadow’s. Shadow couldn’t help but smile a little. Sonic still wasn’t very good at comforting touch, especially not in the way Shadow often needed, but his efforts in trying were admittedly adorable. 

He turned his gaze back to Amy, who’s eyes were drifting closed, exhausted from the trip and the various spells she’d performed earlier. She looked peaceful, but even as she drifted to sleep, she held him tight. Behind him, Shadow could hear Sonic’s breaths slowing, felt his grip around his waist loosen just a little as he too fell asleep.

Shadow smiled softly as he closed his eyes, finally releasing the last tears he’d been holding back. He loved them both so much. 

There was a loud crash in the middle of the night, and Shadow shot up quickly, crawling awkwardly over Amy and stumbling in his haste to get out of the cabin. He opened the door and ran out onto the deck. “What was that?” he demanded. 

“I dunno, Caps!” Manic shouted back over the wind. “Somethin’ fell over by the mast! But it’s too dark to see from here!”

Shadow called his magic to his hands, red energy crackling into the shape of an arrow as he crept carefully towards the mast. His heart pounded a steady beat in his ears. His ear twitched as he caught a muffled curse. “Who is that?” he demanded, his voice a threatening growl. “Show yourself!” 

“Aww, great…” said the voice, and from behind the mast appeared the girl from the island they’d left hours before, a nervous, sheepish smile on her face. His sister. 

Fuck. 

Chapter Text

Shadow

Shadow stared at his sister, dumbfounded. “How the hell did you get on my ship?” he demanded. 

The girl smirked. “I snuck on board right before y’all cast off,” she said smugly. Then she pointed a finger at him. “There’s somethin’ weird going on here,” she said, and Shadow was half-tempted to smack the stupid little smirk off her face. Instead he let out a low growl of annoyance as she continued. “Who are you? And why is there a painting of you with my mom and dad in my basement?”

Shadow groaned and buried his face in his hands. “I don’t have time for this,” he said, then he lifted his face again and turned to walk towards the helm. “We’re turning around.”

“Oh, come on!” his sister whined as she hurried to cut him off. “I just wanna know who you are!” 

“Someone who you ought not to be dealing with,” Shadow grunted, pushing past her. “Mom must be worried sick.”

Her footsteps stopped following his as he continued making his way towards the helm. “Mom?” she asked. 

Shadow mentally cursed himself, but he continued as if he hadn’t heard her. “Manic!” he shouted. “Turn around! We’ve got another stowaway!”

He could hear Manic laughing as he said, “Aye, caps!” The ship began to list gently to the side, and Shadow’s sister wobbled for a moment before she found her balance again. 

Shadow finally turned to look at her, and his heart twisted at the sad look she gave him. “Look, kid,” he said. “This isn’t fun and games. I don’t have time to babysit another teenager.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “I’m sixteen,” she said, “And I have a name. It’s Summer.”

“I don’t care,” Shadow said. “You have cost me precious time that I could have spent at least trying to find Angel Island, and now I have to turn around because you couldn’t just let it go. No. You’re going back home.” 

Mom doesn’t need to lose another child. 

“But I can make myself useful! I can… I can help with laundry! And-and scrubbing the deck or whatever! Just let me stay!”

Just then, a hand appeared on Shadow’s shoulder, and he whirled around, startled as his eyes met Sonic’s heavy-lidded ones. “What’s goin’ on, Shads?” he asked, his voice groggy. 

“My sister snuck on board,” Shadow whispered, and Sonic’s eyes widened as he looked back and forth between Shadow and Summer. “We’re turning around so we can take her home. The last thing my mother needs is to lose her.”

“Shads, I really don’t think we have time to do that,” Sonic whispered back. “I don’t think Tikal has much time.”

“I know, ” Shadow said, his shoulders slumping in exasperation. “But what am I supposed to do? I can’t endanger some kid who got a bug up her ass and decided to sneak onto my ship. Especially not my sister.” 

“I get it, but if we don’t get there soon, Tikal is guaranteed to die,” Sonic countered. Then he pointed to Summer. “We can keep her out of the way,” he said. “Besides, I think Whisper might appreciate the help with the laundry.”

Shadow hesitated, then sighed. “Go tell your brother to turn back around,” he said, his tone resigned. Sonic smiled, then zipped up to the helm, and Shadow turned back to Summer, crossing his arms. “Alright, you’re staying,” he said. Her face lit up, and she opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. “But you will follow my orders, and if I catch you breaking any rules, I will throw your sorry ass overboard. Am I clear?”

Summer closed her mouth and nodded. 

“First off, my name is Captain Shadow, but you will call me Captain or Sir. You will stay out of my quarters unless I or one of my partners has given you permission to enter. And if I catch you starting fights with the crew, we will be having words. ” He fixed her with a narrow glare, earning a nervous smile in return. “Understood?”

“Got it,” Summer replied. “So… where am I gonna sleep?”

Good question. Shadow sighed as he thought for a moment. “There should be a couple extra blankets down in the hold. Take those and find a corner. Fair warning, Tangle snores like a bear.”

Summer groaned. “Great,” she said sarcastically. “Sounds like a recipe for the best sleep ever.”

Shadow raised a brow, and she closed her mouth.

Just then, Sonic came back, appearing next to Shadow. “Everything good?” he asked. 

“ Good is a strong word," Shadow said. “But we’ve sorted things out enough for now. We’ll deal with the rest of it in the morning.” He turned around, looking at Summer one last time over his shoulder as he made his way back towards his room. “Good night,” he finished curtly. 

Sonic followed him, chuckling a little. “What’s so funny?” Shadow asked, still irritated. 

“You’ve really got a problem with stowaways, don’t you, Shads,” Sonic teased. 

Shadow huffed. “I’m far too charitable for my own good,” he said, then shut the door quietly behind them as they both entered. Amy was still asleep on the bed. 

They both settled back in, and Sonic fell asleep within a few minutes. But Shadow’s mind kept spinning, turning the problem over and over in his mind. Summer was a new piece in a large puzzle that he felt already had too many pieces. Then again, the crew had come down considerably in number since Jet had mutinied and tossed him off his own ship (which he was still furious about). Perhaps she would be more helpful than he thought. Still, it was a long time before he finally fell asleep. 

The next morning, while Shadow went about his various tasks, he kept his eye on Summer’s every move. She seemed to be behaving herself, mostly following Whisper around, which seemed to make the latter rather uncomfortable. He was sorry to dump that on her so suddenly, but he didn’t have time to do much else. But at least Summer was mostly out of the way and doing something less risky than tying the sails. 

He couldn’t help but notice that she avoided direct sunlight as much as possible, which he understood. They had both inherited their father’s black fur, which was the main reason Shadow wore his hat most of the time. He made a mental note to see if he could find one for her later. 

A voice interrupted his thoughts as he surveyed the deck. “Who’s that?” they asked, and Shadow turned to find Sonia standing next to him, her one eye squinting at Summer. 

“Long story short, we found a stowaway last night,” Shadow said with a sigh. “Her name is Summer. She snuck onboard when we stopped for supplies.”

“Is she dangerous?” Sonia asked. 

“I doubt it,” Shadow replied. “I think she’s just a kid with a knack for trouble.”

“Aren’t you going to take her home?” Sonia raised an eyebrow. 

Shadow shook his head. “We don’t have time,” he said. 

Sonia was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll keep my eye on her as best I can,” she said, then she walked away. 

Shadow stayed where he was, watching Summer as she talked and laughed with some of the crew, as she jokingly put a pair of someone’s pants on her head, earning a smile from Whisper. He remembered doing those things when he was a child. He remembered getting in trouble for it when Black Doom would catch him. 

It hit him then that this was how he might have turned out had he been healthier, less of a burden for his parents. He could have grown up with a carefree smile instead of the constant screaming of fear and anger in his chest. He wouldn’t have so much blood on his hands. 

He could have been able to smile without feeling as if he were going to be punished for it. 

Resentment tied itself in a knot in his chest, and he finally looked away from his sister as a pair of boots approached him from behind. Sonic came up by his side, wrapping his arm around Shadow’s waist. “You doin’ okay, Shads?” he asked. 

Shadow shook his head, but said nothing. Sonic’s brows crinkled slightly in concern, but by now he’d learned not to push when Shadow didn’t want to talk. Instead, he wrapped both arms around him and squeezed tight, and Shadow returned the hug gratefully. “I love you,” Sonic whispered softly into his ear. “I’m here if you wanna talk, okay?” He pressed a gentle kiss to Shadow’s cheek, then pulled back slightly to look at him, a comforting smile on his face.

“I love you too,” Shadow whispered back. 

“We’ll figure things out,” Sonic said. “I promise.”

Shadow nodded softly and leaned back into Sonic’s embrace.

A little later, Shadow was going over inventory with Whisper down in the hold. Amy was in the corner with Tikal once again, singing quietly. Whisper was making suggestions for that evening’s meal and grabbing ingredients for the ones of which Shadow approved. Once that was done, he asked Whisper to take the ingredients over to the kitchen, which she did, leaving him alone with Amy. 

He approached her as she finished working her spell. His heart sank a little in his chest as he caught sight of Tikal. She looked worse today, her cheeks jutting out more. Every breath she took rattled in her chest. 

Amy sat back, resting on her heels, and rubbed her eyes with a heavy sigh. “Any luck on that passage?” she asked Shadow hopefully, looking up at him with a tiny smile. Shadow shook his head, and her smile faded. “Still nothing,” she guessed with a resigned sigh.

“We’re trying, but we’re still sailing blind,” Shadow said. “I know we planned on trying to ask the locals at our last stop if they knew anything, but I doubt they did. And it’s impossible to tell where any of this is without a guide…” He trailed off. All they could hope for at this point was that they would simply stumble upon it. But that was leaving too much up to luck. 

Amy’s shoulders slumped, and she looked sadly back at Tikal. “I’m doing everything I can,” she said. “But she hasn’t eaten in weeks.”

“I know,” Shadow said, kneeling down next to her. He reached out and gently ran his fingers through Amy’s quills before pulling her against him, letting her lean her head on his shoulder. “I know, and you’re doing amazing, love. Sonic and I are trying, but…” He sighed. “That book was unfortunately meant to entertain, not to inform.”

Amy nodded against him, and they settled into a heavy silence. Then, Shadow heard a sniffle and looked at Amy, panicking a little bit when he saw tears streaming down her cheeks. “Rose, what’s wrong?” he asked gently. 

“I’ve been trying everything and I just can’t…” Amy choked back a sob, and the sound alone broke Shadow’s heart in two. “I can’t heal her… And I don’t want her to die just because I’m not good enough at witchcraft.”

Shadow wrapped his arms around her, turning so he faced her as he pulled her close. “It’s not your fault, Rose,” he whispered. “We’re doing our best. But whether she lives or dies is not your fault. I need you to remember that.” Amy didn’t respond, and Shadow sighed. “I don’t think this is what this is about,” he said softly. 

“Kind of,” Amy said with a sniffle, though it sounded more as if she were asking a question. “I just… I don’t want to be responsible for someone else’s… for someone else’s death.” 

“Rose, Martin was attacking Miles and you stepped in to protect him,” Shadow said. 

“Martin was still a living person though,” Amy countered, her voice rising a little with emotion. “And I’ve… I’ve never done that with my hammer before. I’ve never wanted to. What if I accidentally do that to someone on the ship? What if I do it to you or Sonic?” Amy buried her face against Shadow’s chest. “I don’t want to hurt you guys.” 

“You won’t,” Shadow said. “I know you won’t because I trust you with my life.” 

Amy was quiet after that, but the silence was still heavy. It killed Shadow that she was still holding the guilt so tightly, that she was hurting so much because of it. He wished he could erase all her fears, but the truth was, she did have a point. He did trust her, of course. They had been through too much together for him not to. She did pose a danger to those who she considered a threat, which Shadow thought was a good thing. But Amy was too sweet to truly want to cause any harm. He knew that. But the truth of the matter was that she had done it, and he didn’t know how to get her to let go of the guilt. 

He still hadn’t let go of his either. 

After a little bit, Shadow pressed a kiss to her forehead, pushing his own thoughts away. “Would you like me to make dinner tonight?” he asked. 

Amy sniffled and nodded. 

“Alright,” Shadow said, moving to stand, pressing a kiss to her lips and squeezing her just a little tighter one last time before he walked away towards the kitchen.

Chapter Text

Shadow

Sonic looked down at the stew in his bowl as Shadow served him up, raising an eyebrow. “Is Amy okay?” he asked. 

“She needed a break,” Shadow said. “She’s… still struggling.”

Sonic sighed as he turned to look for Amy, who was nowhere to be found. “Should I give her her food?” he asked. 

“I’ll do it,” Shadow said. “You can stay here and keep an eye on Summer.”

“But I’ve barely seen her all day,” Sonic protested. 

Shadow was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “Fair enough,” he said, handing him a second bowl. “I could probably do with talking to my sister myself anyway. Rose is still with Tikal.”

“Got it,” Sonic said, giving Shadow a kiss on the cheek before turning to leave. As he disappeared into the hold, Shadow sighed tiredly. Dread bubbled in his stomach at the prospect of having to talk with Summer, his appetite diminishing. He wasn’t a very good liar, and the truth was just… absurd. Even assuming she believed him, he didn’t want to have to explain all of the horrid details to her. 

He wouldn’t, he decided as he served himself a portion of the stew. If she asked too many questions, he’d just stop talking. With a small, tired sigh, he walked over to sit with the rest of his crew. 

It didn’t quite feel right without his partners there. Shadow had gotten so accustomed to them being there that it felt… strange in their absence. Amy needed some quiet though, and Sonic was right. Their chores had kept him and Amy separated all day. Sonic deserved some alone time with their girlfriend, even despite the occasional prickle of jealousy Shadow felt at the prospect. It wasn’t as bad now as it was at first though, which Shadow considered an improvement. The three of them had had to talk out several disagreements when it came to jealousy, but it was getting easier to handle now.

Someone sat next to Shadow, pulling him out of his thoughts. Much to his chagrin, it was Summer, her frame sagging with fatigue. She hadn’t even been doing that much today, Shadow remarked inwardly. She’d only really been tailing Whisper and helping with her chores, which mostly boiled down to laundry. 

“How did that wear you out?” Shadow asked. 

“Hmmm?” Summer responded, her mouth full. She took a moment to swallow. “How did what wear me out?”

“Laundry,” Shadow replied. 

Summer pointed at her dark quills. “Hot sun,” she said. 

“Right,” Shadow said, feeling a little sheepish. He stood, leaving his bowl untouched, and beckoned her. “Come with me. Leave the stew.”

“But I’m hungry…” Summer said, hesitantly doing what she was told and following Shadow over to his quarters. He opened the door and told her to come in, but not to touch anything as he rooted around in his belongings. Damn it. He didn’t have anything. Maybe he could ask Amy if Summer could borrow one of her hats?

“So…” Summer said. “What’s with you and Sonic?”

Shadow tossed a glare at her over his shoulder. “None of your business,” he said gruffly. 

“I was just wondering why he calls you ‘Shads’ is all,” Summer grumbled.

“Still none of your business,” Shadow countered as he finally found one of his old hats. It was a little ratty, but it was better than nothing. “Here,” he said, handing it to Summer. “Now you can go eat.”

“What’s this?” Summer asked, eyeing it suspiciously. 

“A hat,” Shadow replied, biting his cheek to keep from smiling when Summer rolled her eyes. 

“Obviously,” Summer said, annoyance in her voice. “But why?” 

“I don’t need you dying of sunstroke, that’s why. Now go eat.”

Summer put the hat on, still a little dubious about it, but said, “Thank you,” before turning to leave, only to hesitate in the doorway. “What was it you guys said you were looking for again?” she asked. 

Shadow was quiet for a moment. It wasn’t as if it were a secret among the crew that they were searching for Angel Island. Still, he hesitated. What would she do with the information? A few months ago, Shadow would have scoffed at the mere idea of an entire island floating by itself in the sky, despite all the magic coursing through his own veins. Still, it served him no real purpose to conceal it from her, so he answered truthfully.

“Angel Island,” he said. 

Summer turned to look at him, a confused look on her face. “Why would you waste your time looking for a bedtime story?” she asked. 

Shadow raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you want to stay here gabbing or do you want to go eat?” he asked, his patience wearing a little thin.

“Fine, fine,” Summer said, sighing as she finally turned and left. Shadow remained behind, putting his things back where they belonged. 

He wondered, for a moment, if perhaps Summer was right; that they were chasing little more than a story meant to entertain children. Sure, obviously it could very well be possible, but how likely was it that this was real? But then what else could explain Sonic’s recurring nightmares of a place he’d never been? There was no reason for Sonic to lie about that, nor for said nightmares to plague him so much. 

Unless there was something else going on that none of them could see. 

Rapid footsteps slapped across the deck, and Tangle appeared in the doorway, a grin spread wide across her face. “Captain!” she shouted, “Sonia’s spotted a ship a few miles off the port bow! I think we got him, sir!”

Shadow’s eyes widened as he rushed past Tangle, who barely managed to get out of his way as he made a beeline for the left side of the ship, his keen eyes already spotting the speck on the horizon. Something boiled in Shadow’s veins–slowly, but steadily stronger–and a smirk set itself upon his face. 

Not even a second later, Sonic was by his side, squinting in the same direction as Shadow. The speck was steadily growing larger, more defined as it took the shape of a ship. Sonia’s voice called out from the crow’s nest above. “I can see their flag, sir! It’s green with a dark feather on it!”

Shadow looked at Sonic, then Amy, who had caught up to them. Amy’s eyes widened before she frowned, unease settling over her features. Sonic on the other hand, looked as if he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as the ship drew nearer, the familiar billowing of the sails and the cresting wave carved into the bow greeting them. 

It was Shadow’s ship.

The one they sailed in now had been granted to them by the current regent of South Island, Sally Acorn, who was incidentally Sonic’s best friend since childhood. It was sturdy and fairly decent all things considered. But it was never truly his ship. No, Shadow’s ship had been stolen months ago. 

And the thief was finally about to pay his due. 

Sonic grinned at Shadow. “You ready for some payback?” he asked, practically vibrating with excitement. 

Shadow cracked his knuckles with a grunt and drew his pistol. “That little bastard will rue the day he stole my ship,” he growled. He turned towards the helm. “Miles!” he barked. “To port!”

“Aye-aye, Captain!” the fox shouted back, and immediately the ship tilted, sending Sonic and Amy stumbling forward, catching themselves on the rail. Even when the ship righted itself again, Shadow didn’t miss Amy’s white-knuckled grip on the rail. When he looked up, her jade eyes looked dull, as if even as she looked at the ship she saw nothing in front of her. In the nearly three years he had known her, Shadow had never seen her do anything like this.

He looked over at Sonic, who rocked on the balls of his feet, an excited grin on his face. He was such a stark contrast to Amy. 

Shadow knew what was wrong. But how could he fix it? How could he make her okay with fighting again? How could he convince her it wasn’t her fault? 

Before Shadow could say anything, the first shot was fired, a loud boom followed by a horrible crunch as the cannonball hit their hull, the surge of incoming water almost deafening. 

“All hands on deck!” Shadow barked. “Manic, Whisper, man the cannons! Miles, keep it steady! Summer, Sonia, get Tikal out of the hold! Sonic, Rose, Tangle, prepare to board!”

“Yes, sir!” everyone shouted, and they all scrambled into action, Sonic dashing off–probably to grab the gangplank–while Shadow loaded his pistol. Amy summoned her hammer, but instead of shifting into a fighting stance, she just stood there with it. Her eyes still looked distant, as if her mind was trying to remove her from the place she stood.

“Rose! Look alive!” Shadow shouted, guilt sinking in his chest at the fear in Amy’s eyes as she finally startled out of her trance. She finally–hesitantly–lowered herself into a fighting stance, rearing her hammer back. Sonic had come back with the gangplank in his arms, giving Amy a worried look as he held it up. Shadow wondered briefly if his expression mirrored Sonic’s at all.

A few feet away, Tangle dangled precariously over the rail, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. “See how he likes being knocked overboard,” she said with a hearty laugh. “Don’t worry, Whisp, I’ll deck ‘im nice ‘n hard for ya!”

Shadow kept his eyes fixed on the ship as they drew closer, his body wound up tensely. Already the ship was close enough now to hear the shouts of the people on her, calling for cannons and gunpowder. Shadow closed his eyes and let his magic rush through him in a snap of energy, and opened his eyes to find himself right where he wanted to be; in front of Jet’s stunned face. He kicked him hard in the face with the toe of his boot, knocking the hawk to the deck with a cry of pain. 

Shadow took a step forward as Jet scrambled, trying to get back up on his feet. But he put a boot on top of Jet’s chest, leaning his weight over it and pinning him to the deck. “Never,” he said, his voice a low growl, “steal from me.”

Jet rolled his eyes. “Ha!” he spat. “What took you so long? Your new boyfriend decide to make you a land-lubber?”

“Hmph,” Shadow huffed, then leaned more of his weight onto Jet, making the hawk wince. No need to respond to that. He’d already had enough of Jet’s smart beak as it was. Shadow lifted his boot off of Jet’s chest, then slammed it hard into his ribcage, a loud crunch sounding through the air.

“Ah!” Jet cried, curling in pain. “The hell–”

Before he could silence him, a body slammed into Shadow, tackling him and pinning him to the deck. Wave held him down, the cold steel of a gun barrel held hard against his temple. “Butt out,” she snarled. “This ship is ours now, asshole.” He couldn’t quite see her face, but he could hear the smirk on her beak just as plainly as if he could. 

Shadow snapped again, Wave dropping to the ground as he appeared in the air behind her, slamming the back of his heel into her spine. She went down with a cry and didn’t get back up again. Behind him something flew through the air and slammed into the wall below the helm, and he whipped his head around to find Sonic lying in a daze at the base of it. In the direction from which he had come stood Storm, the albatross’s figure hulking above them as he tried to land a punch on Tangle, who wrapped her tail around his fist and slammed it into his face. 

Amy was locked in combat with Bark up by the bow, the polar bear matching blows from her hammer that normally would have had him on the floor in an instant. As Shadow turned to try to help her, someone grabbed him by the ankle, tripping him and sending him sprawling onto the deck. Shadow turned to find Jet’s hand wrapped tight around his ankle, and he slammed his other boot into his hand to free himself, eliciting a scream of agony. A crack sounded through the air as a couple of the hawk’s fingers snapped. 

Someone else grabbed Shadow by the hand and tossed him hard into the wall right next to Sonic, who was still dazed. Shadow’s vision was spotty, and the breath had been knocked from his lungs. The figure who had thrown him drew closer, and after a moment Shadow was able to make out an armadillo with a scarlet shell. He scarcely seemed older than him, perhaps a year or two, and he had a pair of oval spectacles pinned on his snout. He wore the coat and cravat of a scholar, but surely a scholar wouldn’t have thrown him so hard. 

“Who are you?” demanded the armadillo, his voice affected with a thick, yet refined Northamerian drawl. “Why are you attacking us?”

“Ask this guy!” shouted Tangle, who had her tail wrapped so tightly around Jet that he looked as if he could hardly breathe. 

Good, Shadow thought weakly, still struggling to get air back into his own lungs. 

It was now that Amy finally came over, her breath coming in deep pants. “This is… our ship,” she said. She pointed at Jet, whose face was starting to turn a subtle shade of red. “That guy stole it from us.” 

Sonic finally seemed to have recovered enough to be aware of what was happening around him, and he flashed the armadillo a smile. He whistled appreciatively, which sent a jolt of a rather nasty feeling through Shadow’s veins as he narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend. “You’ve got a good punch,” he said. “What’s your name?”  

The armadillo seemed a little flustered, his eyes wide. “Er, Mighty,” he said. “I work for the archeological department of the University of Mirage Canyon.”

“Ooh, school boy,” Sonic said. “Where’s Mirage Canyon by the way?”

Mighty adjusted his spectacles. “Right smack dab in the middle of Northamer, not too far from Empire City,” he replied. He was quiet for a moment. “Where are y’all from?” he finally asked. 

“South Island,” Shadow replied, finally able to speak. He stood, brushing the dirt off of his coat “Now if you don’t mind, I’m taking control of this ship. I am your new captain and as such you will call me Captain or Sir, am I clear? If you don’t like it, then leave.”

“But—!” Mighty said. 

“Is there a problem?” Shadow growled. 

Mighty pointed nervously to the ship Shadow’s crew had been sailing for the duration of their trip until now. “What about that one? It seems like a perfectly good ship to me.”

“The birdbrain stole this from us,” Sonic piped up. 

“I see…” Mighty said hesitantly. “Well, I guess we’d better make a choice then.” He looked over at the birds and the polar bear, all four of which were now out of commission, Tangle putting down a now unconscious Jet and muttering to herself. Then he looked back at Shadow and his crew. “We have some cargo we’re trying to transport,” he said. “Would you be willing–”

“No,” Shadow said flatly. “We’re on a mission. I just wanted my own damn ship back.” He turned to Sonic. “Do you think Sally would be mad if we just left it to these assholes?”

“I know she’d be mad,” Sonic said. “And I love you but I’m not takin’ the raps for this when we get back to South Island.”

“Fair enough,” Shadow grunted. He turned to Mighty. “Think it over while we haul our cargo. Maybe start hauling yours.” He started to walk over to the gangplank, then called, “Tangle!”

“Yes, sir?” the lemur replied. 

“Find Bean and get him up here. Preferably restrained.”

Tangle saluted with her tail and hurried below deck to comply. 

Chapter Text

Sonic

Sonic helped load the cargo from the new ship onto the old one, trying to push how angry Sally would be at losing the ship out of his mind. Was there any way they could maybe send somebody with them to take them back? Sonic shook his head. They needed the crew they had; otherwise they wouldn’t even be able to sail. 

As he brought one of the crates of food down into the cargo hold, he was struck by an onslaught of memories. Waking up here with nausea and a splitting headache. Finding Mimic’s mirror of communication tucked behind wine barrels in the very back of the space. Even with the pleasant memories tied to this vessel, there were bad ones too.

A muffled curse brought him out of his thoughts, and he peeked over the crate in his arms to find the armadillo from earlier, Mighty, shaking his hand out, grimacing in pain. “You okay over there?” Sonic asked. 

Mighty looked up, almost startled, and nodded, readjusting his spectacles. “Er, yeah,” he said. “Just got a splinter is all.”

Sonic hissed in sympathy. “Not fun,” he said. “You need any help?”

Mighty shook his head and picked up the crate in front of him with barely a wince before he walked out of the hold. Sonic found it strange to think that someone so strong could be so quiet and shy. He’d barely been able to get a word out of him, and not for a lack of trying. 

Oh well, Sonic thought. Not like he’s gonna be sticking around. 

Just then, quick bootsteps thumped through the hold, and a little yellow blur hurried past, tripping Sonic and nearly sending him tumbling to the floor. “Hey, watch it!” Sonic shouted after them. 

“Sorry!” shouted a little boy’s voice in return. “Mighty! Wait! There’s something wrong with the–!”

Someone hurried to shush him, probably the armadillo in question. Sonic’s ear perked as he strained to hear the whispered conversation that followed. He was too far away to hear it properly though, so he set down the crate in his arms and moved to get closer. Something twinkled out of the corner of his eye, pulling at his attention. He turned his head to find a white light shining from something behind the other crates that still hadn’t been unloaded. His quills crossed as he crept closer, his eyes narrowing at the strange light. Was it another spy mirror? Was it some object that had been cursed?

Before he could get too close though, something shoved him to the side, knocking him quills-first into a wall. He was dazed for a moment, but unharmed as Mighty stood between him and the light. “I don’t want to fight you,” he said, fiddling with his glasses. “But I will if you steal our cargo.”

“Geez, relax, I wasn’t gonna steal anything,” Sonic said with a groan, the scrape of his quills against the wooden wall grating on his ears as he extricated himself. “I was just curious.”

Mighty seemed to relax a little as he continued to regard Sonic warily. Then he adjusted his glasses once more. “What do you know about ancient civilizations?” he asked. 

Sonic shrugged. “Not much,” he said with a chuckle. “My sister would be a better person to ask. She’s probably the only one who paid any attention to our history lessons growing up.” 

“Then I doubt you’d even be interested in what’s in there anyway,” Mighty said, turning around and grabbing a crate. “Ray!” he called, and a yellow head peeked into the entrance. “Come on, we’ve got to leave by the end of the day. You need to chip in.”

“Awww,” said the boyish voice, and the flying squirrel walked in with slumped shoulders. So this was the kid that had nearly tripped Sonic earlier. He was maybe a couple years younger than Tails, and the way he held himself spoke volumes of the kind of childhood he’d had in comparison. Where Tails had often slumped and cowered around people, Ray didn’t seem to fear anyone. Despite his obvious disappointment in having to help haul cargo, his bushy tail swished in a cheerful manner, and he took the boxes Mighty handed him with gusto. 

Sonic wondered if Tails would have been the same way if things had been different. 

“Wait!” Sonic called out. “We could actually use your help on that!”

Mighty turned back around, raising an eyebrow. “You need help studying ancient civilizations?” he asked. 

“Sort of,” Sonic replied. “More like, we’re trying to find someplace. We’ve been sailing in circles for weeks, and we’ve got an injured echidna on board–”

“Did you say ‘echidna’?” Mighty said, dropping the crate he’d been holding with a thump and rushing to grab Sonic’s arms, almost as if he were trying to keep him from running away. “The echidnas went extinct after the Destruction! How is it possible you have one on board?”

Sonic gently tried to extricate himself from Mighty’s grip to no avail. “Well, if you’d let go of me, I can show you.”

Mighty nodded and smiled, sheepishly letting go of Sonic’s arms. “Sorry,” he said.

“‘S fine,” Sonic replied. “Come on. She’s probably still in the cargo hold on the ship we came in on.”

He led the way, Mighty following him eagerly. Honestly, it was kind of adorable in a weird way–how excited he was. It reminded Sonic of a puppy chasing after someone with a toy. But maybe this was what they’d really been looking for. Mighty seemed to be at the very least an aficionado on ancient history so far, which meant he might already know something they didn’t. Sonic realized it probably wouldn’t hurt to also ask after credentials though. Just to see how useful he might actually turn out to be.

“So, you said you work for a university, right?” Sonic asked. “Do you have like a diploma or something?” 

“I’m actually trying to get my Master’s,” Mighty said. “So yes, I have one already and I’m working on getting another.”

Sonic turned around to look at Mighty for a moment, then he whistled appreciatively. “Nice,” he said. “You must be pretty smart then.”

Mighty blushed and looked away. “Not really,” he said. “I just enjoy reading about history.”

“Hey, no need to be so humble,” Sonic said. “I think you and my buddy Miles would get along great!” That was, if they were still buddies.

“What does he do?” Mighty asked as they finally reached the cargo hold. 

A voice shushed both of them, and Sonic turned to see Amy preparing to cast another spell on Tikal. She still looked tired, almost swaying a little even as she knelt, and Sonic tiptoed closer to her so he could catch her in case she fell over. Behind him, Sonic could practically hear Mighty’s jaw drop as he stared at Tikal’s unconscious form. 

Mighty tried to take a few steps forward, but Sonic held out his arm to stop him. “She’s casting,” Sonic whispered. 

“Is there something wrong with her?” Mighty whispered back, pointing at Tikal. 

Sonic nodded. “Long story short, she’s barely eaten in months, and she was barely hanging on when we found her. We haven’t been able to get her to wake up in weeks.”

Mighty seemed to deflate a little bit. “Oh…” he said. “That’s terrible.”

Sonic nodded again. “She’s been sending me dreams,” he said. “We’re trying to get her to Angel Island. Hopefully there’s something there that'll heal her, because if things keep going like this, she’s not gonna last much longer.”

Mighty’s eyes widened as he turned to look at Sonic. “Angel Island?” he asked, his voice full of awe. “So it is real…” He looked back at Tikal, then turned around and hurried out of the hold. 

“Whoa whoa whoa, where are you going?” Sonic asked, scrambling after him. 

“If the legends are true,” Mighty said, rushing across the gangplank that still connected the two ships, “then I might have something that can help her!”

“What is it?” Sonic asked, but Mighty didn’t answer. The armadillo stopped briefly, whipping his head around in search of something for a moment before he dashed off in another direction, leaving Sonic with little choice but to follow. 

“What’s going on?” shouted Shadow, and Sonic stumbled to a stop to look at him. Shadow’s brow was furrowed, and he was looking at Sonic like he’d done something, but what it could be Sonic had no idea. 

“Mighty says he’s got something that could help Tikal!” Sonic said. “And I think he can help us get to Angel Island!”

Shadow’s eyes widened, and he hurried off in the direction Mighty had gone, leaving Sonic to catch up. 

Mighty was back in the cargo hold Sonic had found him in, prying apart a crate with his bare hands, even despite Ray holding up a crowbar behind him. “What is in that crate?” Shadow asked, the intensity of his voice startling Ray and making Mighty stop what he was doing and look up at him. “Sonic told me you thought it might help Tikal, but I would rather know what it is first…” Shadow trailed off, blinking and frowning. “What–?”

Mighty had pried off the top of the crate, and in his hands he now held a white gem that glowed so brightly Sonic could barely look at it. It was almost like staring at a mini sun. “What is that?” Sonic asked. 

“Have you ever heard of the legend of Chaos the Destructor?” Mighty asked. 

Sonic shook his head at the same time Shadow nodded. “A friend of mine… she used to tell me about those stories,” he said. He took a step closer to the gem. “Is that…?”

Mighty nodded. “One of the seven Chaos emeralds,” he said. “We found it on an island off the coast of Mazuri.” Mighty frowned at the emerald. “I’ve never seen it glow this brightly though,” he remarked. 

Shadow reached a hand out towards the emerald, and Mighty started to pull it away until the emerald began to move towards Shadow, as if to meet him halfway. The moment Shadow’s fingers touched the emerald, he gasped, his eyes widening, and Sonic’s pulse spiked as the gem began to shine even brighter. 

But then the moment was over, the emerald’s light dying down to dull glow. Shadow shivered, then seemed to relax as he continued to hold the gem, and Sonic breathed a sigh of relief. They were all silent for a moment before Shadow spoke. “We’re taking this with us,” he said. “Do you have any idea where the other six are? Or where Angel Island is?”

Mighty bit his lip. “I might,” he replied. “I’m not sure. I’ve been making guesses based on the notes I’ve taken over the years, but there’s still a lot of information I simply don’t have. Not to mention, if we were to find the other six emeralds, there’s no telling what could happen if we were to keep them all in one place. What happens if the ship goes down and they all sink to the bottom of the sea?”

Shadow scoffed. “I wouldn’t let that happen,” he said, his tone almost offended. 

“But that much magical power in one place is bound to attract something,” Mighty insisted. 

“And if that power can save Tikal or get us to Angel Island, then it’s a problem worth having,” Shadow said. “Now come with me. Let’s see if that birdbrain left any of my old maps intact. You!” He pointed at Sonic. “Help Rose bring Tikal over once she’s done with her spellcasting.”

Sonic nodded and turned to leave, but then he noticed Ray still standing behind the empty crate with a crowbar. He stared at Sonic. “You guys are just gonna take our emerald?” the squirrel asked, his tone a little angry. 

Sonic frowned. “I think Shadow plans on keeping you guys around, so I don’t think we’re necessarily taking it…” he said. 

“You guys still didn’t ask!” Ray countered. “And why should we trust you anyway?”

“You probably shouldn’t,” Sonic said with a smile. “But so far, which captain would you prefer? Shadow, who’s actually trying to take care of his crew? Or Jet, who kicked all of us off our own ship and threw us overboard?”

Ray muttered something Sonic couldn’t hear, then sighed and put the crowbar down. “Fair enough,” he said. “Does Shadow throw kids overboard?”

Sonic’s eyes widened. “How many times did Jet try to throw you overboard?” he asked. 

Ray shrugged. “It never worked, because, y’know, I can fly, but it felt like a few times a week until Mighty just told me to hide below deck all the time.”

Sonic stared at the kid for a moment. “Yeah, you’re way better off with us, kid,” he said. “Shadow doesn’t do that. Geez…” 

He left the cargo hold, hurrying back over to the other ship. Amy was in the process of gently scooping Tikal up in her arms. She looked at Sonic and gave him a tired smile. “Can you pick up the blankets and the supplies over here for me please?” she asked. 

Sonic nodded and grabbed the items, following Amy back to the other ship and helping her set Tikal down gently in a corner below deck. 

Chapter Text

Shadow

Once they’d switched everything over to their original ship, Shadow’s ship, Shadow let the other crew drift away on the newer ship, leaving enough rations to see them to the next island if they used them wisely. Anything after that wasn’t their problem. Shadow was rather annoyed to discover Jet had turned the captain’s quarters into a pigsty, however he didn’t have time to clean it at the moment as he ushered Mighty in. 

The maps were tucked into a drawer, along with Amy’s old tarot deck. His eyes had widened in brief surprise at that; he had thought Jet would have either burned them or tossed them overboard. Amy would certainly be happy to see them. All of the drawer’s contents were covered in dust, as if it had barely even been opened in the past few months. Most of the maps were still perfectly unharmed, if a little dirty. The ones Jet had used were full of slits; he’d been stabbing them with knives. Shadow rolled his eyes. Jet had always had a bit of a flair for the dramatic.

Shadow pulled one of the maps out, coughing as a cloud of dust went up in plumes when he rolled it out flat. He pointed to a spot in the ocean that was more or less where they were currently. “Where is the next closest emerald from here?” he asked Mighty. 

Mighty leaned over, holding his spectacles up as he peered at the map. “Hmmm,” he hummed, his brow furrowed. He pointed to a larger land mass that would probably be about three days worth of sailing to get there. “I believe there’s a temple here,” he said. “Although that would be the last temple we haven’t checked. All the rest aside from the one temple in Mazuri were empty. They must have gotten looted over the past millennia.”

“Hmmm.” Shadow frowned at where Mighty was pointing. “How many temples are there?”

“Seven. We’ve checked all the others already.”

“And where are they?”

Mighty adjusted his spectacles again before he started pointing at different spots on the map. “There was one in Apotos, Spagonia… uh… Holoska, Mazuri, Adabat, and Shamar. The only one we could find anything in was Mazuri. That one had more traps on the outside of it though, so they may have tried and decided it wasn’t worth it.”

“So then the last temple is in Chun Nan?” Shadow asked. 

“As far as I know, yes,” Mighty replied. “But there’s no guarantee that the chaos emerald will be in it.”

Shadow took a pen and ink and some paper and scribbled down instructions on how to get to Chun Nan from their current position, then dismissed Mighty, telling him he’d send for him later if he needed more information. Mighty took his leave, and Shadow stood up, groaning as he took in the mess Jet had left behind. 

Clothes were piled in random places, around the floor, and on the bed. There were papers and spent bullets, and there was even a molding plate of what might have been boiled potatoes hidden in a corner behind a trunk of clothes. He had to suppress a gag when he found more rotten food in the corner between the wall and Amy’s desk. But despite all of that, and some of Shadow’s belongings just being straight-up gone, it was nice to find some of his old clothes, the chest where he and Amy had kept them, the lavender and rose scents still on the clothes. It was the only thing that Jet hadn’t seemed to have touched, which brought him a little bit of comfort.

So many memories were tied to the scents in that chest alone. The day he’d first set sail, grief and anger holding his heart tight. The night he came to the realization that he was in love with Amy, at the time just a young witch on the run from an overbearing life of a noble. The night he told her so. Their first night together. And the day Sonic had come onto his ship, seasick and far from home. 

But above all, he finally felt… right. He felt safe . 

After Shadow had been cleaning for a while, he prepared to dust the surfaces in the room. That was when Sonic stepped into Shadow’s quarters, his eyes straying around the room. He whistled, his nose wrinkled in disgust. “Man, Jet really did a number on this place, didn’t he.” His gaze shifted over to the desk, and he pointed at it with a chuckle. “You were sitting at that desk when you triggered our romance crisis, you know,” he said. 

Shadow raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked. 

Sonic smiled sheepishly. “Remember when I first met you guys? Amy brought me in here, and you know, I’d already kind of… noticed her, but I remember I saw you sitting there and… something about you was just…” Sonic’s cheeks flushed, and Shadow knew he was going to say something corny, but he smiled a little wider, his heart warming in his chest. Corny was still nice. Shadow would be lying if he said he didn’t like it when Sonic gushed; whether it was about him or Amy, it was adorable. 

“You looked… effortlessly gorgeous and like if I said the wrong thing I’d be in a world of trouble,” Sonic said. 

Amy laughed in the doorway behind him. “So you’re saying you fell for the bad boy act too, huh?” she said. 

“Act?” Shadow asked, leveling a mild glare at her. 

Amy giggled. “Oh come on, you’re the cuddliest out of all of us at night,” she said. “And you spoil us when you can afford it. You’re a sweetheart, hon.” 

Shadow rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said with a smile. “Are you two going to help me clean up in here or what? And where are your things?”

Sonic saluted, then winked. “On it,” he said, then darted out of the room, Amy following behind with playful protests against his speed.

It was late, the sun having gone down hours ago before they finally got to a stopping point. It took all three of them to do it, but they managed to get their bed from the other ship in with very little damage to the doorframe or the desks. They would have put on a set of bedsheets, but it was late and they were all tired, so they had put a couple of their blankets over the mattress and lay down on top of them. Shadow lay down first, scooting the closest to the wall, and Amy crawled in next, scooting up close against him to make room for Sonic, who crawled in last and put his arm over her waist. 

Shadow gently laced his fingers in Amy’s and pressed a kiss to her forehead as his eyes drifted closed. He would have done the same for Sonic if he could reach him, but instead he let his other hand rest gently on Sonic’s. This was always his favorite part of the day, the part where he felt the safest, the part where he felt the most loved. It was much needed after such a long day. 

He was already drifting off when a knock sounded at their door, and he groaned as Sonic crawled out of the bed to answer it. He hesitantly let go of Amy’s hand and climbed carefully over her, turning to find Mighty standing in the doorway, his face turning red. “I hope I’m not… er, interrupting anything,” he said. “But I thought… there’s something I think you should see, Captain.” 

Shadow sighed and followed Mighty, his partners following behind him as the armadillo led them down into the hold, towards the corner they’d set Tikal in. With her lay the chaos emerald, which was glowing brightly again as it hovered a few inches above her. Shadow’s eyes widened, then shut tight as the light grew blinding again before dying down, back to its subtle glow. Amy hurried over, checking on the echidna. After a moment, Amy frowned. “She’s… breathing better,” she said, almost as if she couldn’t believe it.

Shadow walked over to investigate himself. True enough, Tikal’s breaths were just a touch easier now, the shudder with each one less noticeable, as if some of her strength had returned. 

“What… What did that do?” Sonic asked, taking a step towards the emerald. 

“It’s reacting to her, and her to it,” Mighty said. “But I don’t know what this could mean in terms of our objective to find the others. If we find all seven of them, she could potentially wake fully and tell you where Angel Island is, especially since this seems to have healed her some.”

“Yeah, but she’s not the only reason we’re trying to find it,” Sonic said, and Shadow was surprised at how serious his expression suddenly seemed. “A very dangerous person is on that island and we have to stop him before he unleashes something catastrophic.”

Mighty’s eyes widened. “You mean he’s trying to unleash the Destructor?” he asked. 

Shadow wasn’t sure what exactly that was referring to, but Sonic nodded. “I’ve seen it so many times in my dreams, there’s no question that’s what he’s trying to do,” he said. Then he looked at Shadow. “I think he might have Black Doom with him too,” he said softly. 

Shadow looked away, his gaze going back to Tikal and the emerald as the words echoed through his mind. He might have Black Doom with him. Suddenly, the room seemed to spin, and Shadow’s knees nearly buckled. Nausea rolled through his stomach; not only were they going after Kintobor, the man who had ordered the slaughter of his best friend, but the creature who had sought to turn him into a monster. 

The creature who would have succeeded, had he never met Maria or Amy. Especially if he had never met Amy. 

“Shads, you okay?” Sonic asked gently, but Shadow couldn’t answer. It was like something had stolen his voice, immobilized his vocal cords. He couldn’t even manage a nod or a shake of his head. He was simply… stuck. 

“Captain, is there something wrong?” Mighty asked, and there was something about how kind both their voices were, especially Mighty’s–a mere stranger–that finally shook him out of his trance. He turned away, towards Amy, whom he pushed past as he exited the hold, his heart thumping in his chest. He felt like he couldn’t get enough air, like the big gulps he was taking in weren’t reaching the bottom of his lungs. When had he started breathing so hard? When had his eyes started stinging? 

“Captain?” asked a voice, and Shadow whipped around to find Summer looking at him, her hand reaching out tentatively. “What’s wrong?”

“Go away!” Shadow snapped, and his heart lurched as Summer winced, but he couldn’t get enough air to apologize, his head starting to swim with the effort. Dimly, he registered the sound of boots running up stairs, the warmth of someone’s hands on his shoulders, Amy’s voice from far away telling him to… do something, but he couldn’t hear what. Then someone was pulling him away, into his quarters. 

Safe, said somewhere in his mind. “Shadow, honey, you’re safe,” came Amy’s muffled voice as he all but collapsed to the floor of the room. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

“What happened?” he heard Sonic ask as his breaths finally slowed, as he finally felt like his lungs were filling again. Once he was able to think, he was struck by how ridiculous this was. He shouldn’t have been reacting this way, right? It felt so… weak. 

And yet he just couldn’t help it. He hated that. 

“I’ll explain later,” Amy replied. She gently massaged behind Shadow’s ear, running her fingers gently through his quills as the dam finally broke and tears trickled down his cheeks. He curled into himself, his shoulders shaking. For all of the strength he’d been given by Doom, all the resilience… he still felt like that scared little boy, waiting for a family that never came back. 

The scent of roses and an arm around his shoulder told him that Amy was right next to him, holding him tight. “Shhhhh,” she crooned. “Everything’s gonna be okay, hon. It’s all going to be alright.”

A moment later, there was an arm on his other side, a kiss to his tear stained cheek. “I’m sorry,” Sonic whispered. “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

Shadow just shook his head, pulling both his partners closer. He was safe. He was with two of his favorite people in the world. He just wanted to pretend Black Doom didn’t exist and stay like this forever. 

But that didn’t stop the memories that swam in his head. Black Doom laughing as Shadow spat blood, Black Doom speaking horrible things in his mind, gruesome images of the people Shadow had tormented, the people Shadow had been forced to kill. 

The idea of seeing Black Doom again terrified him to his core. 

“Shadow, look at me,” Amy said, and he obeyed as she caressed his face gently, her jade eyes boring into his. “You’re safe here. Nothing is going to happen to you, alright? Deep breaths. In… Out…” 

Shadow inhaled and exhaled with her, his heartbeat slowly deescalating as it finally hit him just how exhausted he was now. Things seemed sharper, sounds no longer muffled, the things he touched more concrete. The blur in his vision was all but gone. But still, he focused on Amy’s eyes in front of him, their beautiful shade of green; on her steady breaths as he mimicked their rhythm. 

At last, he finally felt calm again. Sonic leaned his head against his shoulder, the weight a slight comfort. “You okay now, Shads?”

Shadow managed a nod, but he still couldn’t speak. Amy leaned into him on his other side, both their touch grounding him as he let his head rest against hers. He was okay. He was safe here. He repeated that thought over and over again as he finally started to relax. He was safe. 

“Do you want to try to sleep, hon?” Amy asked softly. 

Shadow nodded and pulled away, heading back over to the bed as Sonic let go and climbed onto it, scooting over close to the wall. He looked at Shadow and patted the spot next to him, and the tired concern in his eyes was almost too much for Shadow to handle, so he looked down as he crawled in next to him, Amy following. They both wrapped their arms around him, Sonic following Amy’s lead, and after a few minutes, Shadow was asleep.

Chapter Text

Sonic

“He’s already fractured the seal,” Tikal’s voice said, clearer than it had ever been. “We’re running out of time!”

“I know, I know!” Sonic shouted. “But where is the island?”

Images appeared of a cavern, glowing crystals all around him. Vents of flames went off occasionally, releasing spears of fire that–had Sonic actually been there–would have singed his fur. Tikal’s flickering form appeared in front of him, her blue eyes almost piercing through him. “The emeralds are calling,” she said.

“Ya know, I’m getting really tired of your cryptic message shtick,” Sonic grumbled as everything began to fade away, swallowed in a wash of bright light. 

“Heed the emeralds’ call!” shouted Tikal one last time. 

Sonic startled awake again, calming a little when he realized Shadow was still asleep next to him, his breaths deep and even. He carefully climbed over both his partners, making sure not to wake them. His footsteps creaked softly as he grabbed his boots and left their room, cold late night air seeping in past his fur and making him shiver. It helped wake him up a little more, making it easier to process Tikal’s message.

“Hey, bro!” said Manic, who stood at the helm just in front of the captain’s quarters. “What are you doin’ up? The sun won’t be up for a while.”

“Hey,” Sonic replied. “Just… weird dreams…” He was quiet for a moment as he stood behind his brother. “Have you heard anything about the chaos emerald?” he finally asked. 

“Not really,” Manic said. “Just scuttlebutt. I know Mighty’s kind of protective of it, but I mean, I heard it’s pretty damn valuable, so I can see why. You know I’d pocket it if I thought I could get away with it.”

Sonic rolled his eyes a little, punching his brother lightly in the arm. “What is it with you and stealing lately?”

“Camp habit,” Manic said, and they both fell silent. Manic hadn’t talked much about his own experiences in the camp. Sonia hadn’t either, not at first. But there was something deeper, heavier, in the way Manic avoided looking at Sonic, keeping his eyes trained on the horizon. 

Sonic had asked what had happened, but Manic would go silent and get a faraway look in his eyes every time, and after a while he’d stopped. For now, he and Sonia could only guess at what happened to their brother. 

“It seems to have made Tikal stronger than we thought,” he said, breaking the silence. “Her voice was a lot clearer in my dreams just now.”

Manic blinked, then shrugged. “Sounds like a good thing,” he said, though he lifted his intonation at the end so it sounded more like a question. They were both quiet again until he asked, “Is the Caps okay?”

Sonic sighed. “I think so,” he said. “At least, he is now. He and Ames are still asleep. But… I don’t know what that was about earlier. I’ve never seen him look so… terrified before. I mean, a few months ago we kept running into Infinite, who literally gave me the worst nightmares in my life, but Shadow looked like he was tempted to eat him for breakfast. He didn’t even flinch once. Not a single time. But then I mention Black Doom and he just… panics. I feel awful.” 

“Hey,” Manic said, reaching out and pulling Sonic into a side hug, the best he could do while he was still holding onto the helm. “It’s not your fault, Nic. I’m sure you guys can figure it out in the morning, okay?”

Sonic nodded, but that didn’t erase the guilt squirming in his stomach. The way Shadow had looked as he’d scrambled away, how awful it must have been to have been reminded of… whatever he went through, made his heart split in two. 

Manic seemed to know exactly what he was thinking, and sighed. “Don’t beat yourself up too much, bro,” he said. Then he turned his eyes back to the horizon. He squinted for a moment, then bit back a laugh. “Oop, she’s hiding behind the mast again.” 

“Who is?” Sonic asked. 

“Summer,” Manic replied. “You wanna try and convince her to go back below?”

Sonic nodded and descended the steps to the deck. Summer seemed to try to duck further behind the mast, but her quills were a similar shape to Shadows, meaning they stuck out to the sides anyway. “I can see you,” he said. 

Summer emerged with a groan, her expression a hard, almost pouting glare. “What do you want?” she asked, her tone icy. 

“You’re supposed to be asleep,” Sonic said. 

“Well, so are you!” she fired back loudly, then covered her mouth with her hands. “Sorry.”

You and your brother are so similar sometimes, Sonic thought. Same temper. “Yeah, well, I have nightmares as an excuse,” he replied. “How ‘bout you?”

Summer sighed. “Tangle’s snoring is loud,” she grumbled. “And… I’m wondering what I did to piss off the captain earlier I guess… It feels like he hates me actually. Like, one minute I think I’m getting somewhere and figuring him out and getting him to like me, and then the next he’s barking orders at me and looking at me like I’m… a waste of space.” She leaned up against the mast, her gaze cast forlornly at the deck beneath her feet. “What’s his deal?” 

Sonic bit his lip as he thought for a moment. “He’s… got a lot on his plate,” he said. “He’s got a whole crew to take care of, which means you, and none of us were prepared for that. He’s also been trying to help me with what’s been causing my nightmares, and that means trying to find Angel island.” 

Summer scoffed. “What makes you think finding Angel Island is going to get rid of your nightmares?” she asked. “It’s not even real.” She leaned back against the mast, hugging her arms and sighing heavily. “Why did I even come here?” she asked quietly, and Sonic got the feeling it was directed more at herself than him. “I mean yeah, he looked cool and I was curious, but then there’s all this and… Gaia, Mom must be worried sick. I didn’t tell her anything and… and…” Tears pooled in her eyes. “I shouldn’t be here,” she finished. 

Sonic didn’t know how to respond to that. Yes, by all means, she should not have been on this boat, especially at this point in time. But the reality was that she was here now, and they all had to adapt. Sonic wasn’t going to force her and Shadow to get along–they were siblings, but they barely knew each other–but maybe… 

“You might be able to help more than you think,” Sonic said. “But first…” He leaned down in front of her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder and giving her a soft smile. “You need to get some sleep, okay?” 

Summer took a shuddering breath in, then nodded. “Okay,” she said quietly, then walked past him and back down into the hold. 

Sonic sighed and walked tiredly back towards the helm, climbing back up the steps. He waved good night to Manic as he carefully opened the door to the captain’s quarters. He breathed a soft sigh of relief when he saw that Amy and Shadow were both still asleep, and he shut the door behind him as softly as he could before he took his boots off again. He climbed over the two sleeping hedgehogs, settling back into his spot and closing his eyes. 

He focused on Shadow’s breathing, the soft even rhythm lulling him back to sleep. 

The next morning after breakfast, Amy pulled Sonic aside, the pair of them ducking down into a rope coil. It took him a moment to remember that this was where he’d found Amy hiding, after she and Shadow had had a fight. He hadn’t even been on board for a week at that point. So much had changed since then. 

What mattered at the moment though was that it was a secluded enough spot that no one would see or hear them if they kept their heads and voices down. 

“About last night,” Amy began hesitantly. “Look, it’s not your fault, hon. I want to make that very very clear. He just…” 

“I know,” Sonic said quietly. “Black Doom must have been worse than I thought.” 

Amy sighed and nodded. “He put him through a lot,” she said. “He hasn’t even told me everything he did, and I mean I’ve never pushed too far on that, but still.”

Sonic was quiet for a moment. The longer he thought about it, the hotter the anger beneath the surface became. Finally, his voice deathly quiet, he asked, “What did that monster do to him?”

Amy bit her lip. “It’s not my place to say,” she said. “It’s up to Shadow to tell you.” 

The silence between them grew thick. There was so much anger, Sonic’s blood practically boiling with it. 

How dare he... How dare he hurt Shadow. 

“I know,” Amy said gently, taking Sonic’s hand in hers and grasping it tightly. Fire blazed behind her jade eyes. “I know. I hate it just as much as you do.”

In that moment, he knew, long  ago, Amy had made the same vow he did now. If they ran into Black Doom, he would not escape their wrath . 

They stayed there for several moments, until Amy stood, holding out a hand to pull Sonic to his feet. He took it, and once he was up, she nodded once, then walked away, off to tend to other tasks. 

Sonic took a breath, then left to trim the sails. 

It was a while before Sonic caught sight of Shadow near the helm. He was holding up a map in front of Tails, who was frowning as he looked back and forth between it and the horizon. Tails said something, and Shadow nodded as he stowed his map away in one of his coat pockets. He happened to look up, smiling at Sonic, who was still up on the mast. 

Sonic smiled back, his cheeks warming, and he stumbled, nearly falling all the way down to the deck before Tangle caught him with her tail. 

He gave her a sheepish grin, and Tangle laughed. “No biggie,” she said. “I did the same thing with Whisper for months. Try and keep your grip tighter though.” 

Sonic laughed as she unwrapped her tail. “Why do I get the feeling some of the stumbling was on purpose?” he teased, earning a playful punch to the arm. “Anyway, I actually gotta go talk to him about something. You good if I leave?”

Tangle nodded and took hold of the ropes he’d been holding. “Go ahead, loverboy,” she said with a teasing smile. 

Sonic climbed carefully down the mast, letting himself drop the last couple feet with a solid thump on the deck. “Shads!” he shouted, zipping up to Shadow, who looked almost startled at first. “Hey… Can we talk?” 

Slowly, Shadow nodded, herding Sonic over to their quarters. He shut the door behind them and looked warily at Sonic. “Alright,” he said. “What is it?”

“Look, about last night, I’m–” 

“No need.”

Sonic blinked. “What?” 

“There’s no need to apologize,” Shadow said. “I wasn’t expecting to have that reaction either. It’s not your fault.” 

“Still, I’m sorry,” Sonic said. “I didn’t mean to drudge up such bad memories.”

“Once again, it’s not your fault,” Shadow said. “I’m not upset with you.” 

They lapsed into silence, Sonic’s heart still heavy with guilt and smoldering rage. But after a moment, he took a breath. “Summer’s been having a tough time too,” he said. “...I think you might just wanna tell her the truth.”

Shadow raised an eyebrow. “What leads you to that conclusion?” he asked dubiously. 

“Look, she’s been miserable trying to figure out why you’re always so mad at her, Shads.” 

“I’m not mad at her.” 

“Well she doesn’t know that! And she doesn’t get why you keep yelling at her.” 

Shadow sighed. “How do you propose I tell her?” he asked, and Sonic didn’t miss the sarcastic edge to his voice. “‘Oh, by the way, I’m your older brother, except our parents forgot about me because they gave me away to a sadistic mage.’ What will make that make any sense?”

“Shadow, mages are everywhere, I’m sure she’ll–” 

“There are no mages on that island,” Shadow said. “My parents had to get passage to South Island just to get to Black Doom, and I’m fairly certain they weren’t even sure he existed until they found him. No one on that island believes in magic. They were just desperate.” 

Sonic sighed. “I get what you’re saying,” he said. “But I think actually telling her what’s going on would be better than going hot and cold on her like this, Shads.” 

Shadow looked down. “That’s fair,” he admitted begrudgingly. “It’s just been… a lot.” 

“I know,” Sonic said. “It’s been a lot for everyone. I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep in months. Amy’s been struggling with her own problems on top of having to take care of Tikal all the time. And to top it off, you suddenly have a little sister you didn’t even know about dumped in your lap. I get it. But it doesn’t mean you can treat her like that.” 

Shadow was quiet for a moment, then nodded. “You’re right,” he said. “But I still don’t know if telling her is the right thing to do.”

Sonic leaned in toward him, lifting Shadow’s chin carefully before pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “Just think about it, okay?” he whispered. 

Shadow nodded, then pulled away hesitantly. He reached down and grasped Sonic’s hand, squeezing it tightly, before stepping out of their quarters and getting back to work. At least, that was what their original intentions were, until Mighty stumbled up onto the deck. 

“Captain!” he said. “The emerald is moving!”

Chapter Text

Sonic

Sonic and Shadow ran down into the hold, appearing by Tikal’s side in seconds. The emerald hovered above her, shining brightly as it shook in the air. There was a low hum reverberating in the small space, so thick it was almost as if it were pulsing through Sonic’s head. Mighty rushed down the steps, panting as he reached them. “It started doing that a few moments ago,” he explained. “I don’t know why.” 

Sonic reached out to touch it, only for Shadow to grab his hand. “Don’t,” he said, his voice a low warning. 

The emerald flickered, then surged, filling the space with blinding light. Sonic cried out, trying to shield his eyes to no avail. But then… images appeared in the white, flipping through so fast even he could barely catch one before it shifted to the next, each one almost piercing through his mind. There was another gem. Caverns. Dense green foliage. An altar. And a face. 

The face belonged to a mobian, but not one he’d ever seen. She was a tenrec with electric green quills and a menacing, sharp-toothed grin. It lingered longer than the others, until the world came crashing back around him.

Sonic found himself on the floor, his head aching acutely as he fought to catch his breath. Shadow knelt nearby, clutching his head and grimacing. Sonic crawled over, reaching out for Shadow’s hand. “Did you see it too?” he asked. 

Shadow swallowed. “See what?” he asked. 

“The other emerald? And that tenrec?” 

“I saw…” Shadow groaned painfully. “I saw an emerald… but no tenrec…” He looked up then, finally meeting Sonic’s eyes. “You were right,” he said, his voice shaky. “He’s with him.”

Black Doom. 

Sonic squeezed Shadow’s hand. “We’re gonna make it through this, Shads,” he said.

Shadow nodded, taking a deep breath. “I don’t… I don’t know why he’s still working with Kintobor. There can’t possibly be anything he could gain from it.” 

Sonic shrugged. “Power?” he suggested. “I mean, if there’s power to be had, you know Kintobor’s gonna go after it.” 

Slowly, Shadow shook his head. “No… It’s not… It’s not power that Doom wants. He’s never really sought power before, near as I can tell. If anything, he shies away from it.” He grimaced, holding his hand to his head. “There… there has to be something else. He always has an end goal in mind… but what is it?”

Sonic had no idea, but before they could even attempt to speculate further, Whisper’s voice cut through the air, startlingly loud. “Captain!” She stood behind them, her expression grim as she donned her mask. “We’re under attack.” 

Sonic and Shadow looked at each other for a split second, then helped each other to their feet before scrambling back up to the deck. Sonic zipped up to the crow’s nest, wedging himself in against Sonia, who was peering through a spyglass with her good eye. ”How many?”

“One ship, twenty cannons, two mages,” Sonia replied. 

“What kind of mages?” 

“Water and lightning, near as I can tell.” 

Sonic sucked in a breath between his teeth. “I wouldn’t think they’d even need the water mage if they’ve got a lightning mage in the middle of the ocean.” 

Sonia shrugged. “I’ll shout if anything else comes up, but those are the biggest threats I’ve seen so far.” 

Sonic nodded and jumped back down the mast and hurried over to Shadow, who stood by the port rail, barking orders to the crew. “They’ve got a lightning mage,” Sonic told him. 

Shadow groaned. “Fantastic,” he muttered. Then he turned around and began to yell even louder. “Tangle! Summer! Load the cannons! Whisper! Fire a warning shot!” 

“Aye aye!” Tangle shouted, and the three of them hurried below deck. 

“Rose!” Shadow barked, and in less than an instant Amy stood in front of him. “Protect Tikal and the emerald.” 

“Yes, sir!” Amy said, immediately rushing down to Tikal. 

Shadow turned to Sonic then. “Get your brother up and tell him to help Prower dodge cannonballs,” he said. 

Sonic gave him a quick salute and rushed to comply, running below deck and shaking Manic awake. “Get up, we’ve got company,” he said. 

Manic tried to wave him away. “Just keep ‘em outta here…” he muttered sleepily. 

“Not that kinda company! Enemies! Death! Explosions! Fire!”

Manic blinked, then scrambled to his feet, swearing as he reached for his boots. “Where does the caps want me?”

“Help Tails dodge their fire.”. 

Manic nodded, and Sonic followed him as he made his way up to the deck. “You think they’re gonna try and board?” 

Sonic shrugged. “No clue, but the fact they’re coming at us at all isn’t good.” 

Once they were back up on deck, they separated, Manic heading up to the helm and Sonic heading back over to Shadow, who was loading his pistol. He glanced at Sonic, his expression grim. “You ready?”

Sonic grinned. “You know it. Let’s kick some ass!”

Shadow’s lips quirked in a small smile as they drew even with the ship, getting just inside their cannons’ range. “Open fire!” he shouted, then disappeared, reappearing in a flash on the other ship. 

Sonic zipped up to the rail and jumped across the water. He landed in a crouch on the enemy deck, immediately sizing up their opponents. Two large skunks stood waiting for them, one shorter with a blue and white pelt, while the other taller and an all white pelt and red eyes. Both their pistols were cocked and aimed at their heads. 

Shadow swore and disappeared right as the first shots rang out, Sonic barely managing to dodge the sudden gunfire. Then, Shadow reappeared, holding his gun to the blue skunk’s head. “What the hell is going on?” he demanded. 

The white skunk was aiming his pistol at Shadow, and Sonic rushed at him, grabbing his gun arm and twisting it behind his back, letting the skunk shoot a few bullets into the deck before breaking his grip on it and tossing it into the waters below. 

Before he could do anything else, something slammed into him hard, knocking Sonic into the rail. The acrid smell of singed fur overwhelmed his nose, and he coughed as someone cast a shadow over him. A familiar face leaned over him, her sharky grin wide. Blue-ish white lightning crackled in her hands and between her ears, illuminating the lime green and black patterns of the tenrec’s fur. “Ha!” she exclaimed, her voice loud and brash. “Nice try!”

Sonic curled up and rushed at her, but she zipped out of the way at the last minute, leaving him to slam into the mast. He uncurled, his entire body ringing from the impact. “What’s the matter, bitch?” the tenrec taunted, lighting curling up her arms. “Too fast for ya?”

Growling, Sonic hurried to his feet, only to slam right back down, his teeth rattling as his jaw collided with the wood. He barely managed a gasp of pain before he was enveloped in water, and it was as if it were forcing its way into his startled mouth and nose, flowing unobstructed to his lungs no matter how hard he tried to get it back out. The blurred outline of the tenrec crept closer as his vision began to tunnel. 

Suddenly, Sonic dropped to the deck, the water splashing away as he coughed and retched.

“Damn it!” the tenrec growled. “Kit, what the hell-?” She was cut off as something hit her hard in the gut, sending her flying across the deck with a groan. 

Amy stood above Sonic, breathing hard, her hammer raised high. Then, she dismissed it and knelt down next to him. “Are you okay?” she asked quickly. 

“Fine,” Sonic said with another cough. “What about Tikal?”

Before Amy could answer, there was a tsking sound, like a disappointed parent. A platypus stood in front of them, well-dressed in a brown waistcoat with gold buttons across the front. His hair was perched almost perfectly across his brow, and his spectacles glinted in the sunlight. He smiled at them, and if Sonic didn’t know any better he would have said he looked friendly. Too friendly. “What a disaster,” he said, his voice perfectly composed. Calculated. He extended a hand out to Sonic, who refused it, opting to take Amy’s hand instead. 

The platypus’s smile faltered as Sonic got back to his feet.

“You think your little toy can stop me?!” cried a voice, and the tenrec girl was back, nothing more than a blur as she slammed into Amy, knocking her back into the railing. 

“Get off her!” Sonic growled, rushing at the tenrec and pinning her down against the deck. She grinned as something jolted through his body, his muscles spasming as he collapsed on top of her. The tenrec shoved him off her, getting up with a grin. She began to build up a ball of lightning, her eyes opening wider as she laughed. Sonic’s heart pounded, and his muscles wouldn’t listen when he told them to move. He shut his eyes, bracing himself. 

“Surge!” 

She froze, the lightning ball faltering. 

The platypus narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t recall giving anyone on this ship permission for such barbaric behavior, especially not my second in command.” 

Surge’s eyes darted between him and Sonic, her grin slowly twisting into a snarl. But the lightning shrank to nothing more than an annoyed crackle. She muttered something Sonic couldn’t hear, then turned her back to him. “Sorry, sir,” she spat. 

The platypus glared at her for a moment, then carefully pasted his smile back on his bill. "I'm terribly sorry. My second in command can be a little hasty at times. Is there anything we can offer in repayment of damages?" 

He held his hand out to Sonic, who ignored it once again as he pushed himself to his feet, his legs shaking beneath him. "I'm not the guy you wanna talk to about that," he said. 

"I am!" Shadow shouted across the deck, glaring hard at the platypus. "What the hell were you attacking us for?" 

"A false signal," the platypus answered dismissively. "Surge doesn't often think before she acts, nor does she clear things with me.” He looked over his shoulder in her direction. “We’ll be having a talk about that later.” He cleared his throat and turned his attention back to Shadow. “We're searching for something. You wouldn't happen to have heard of the chaos emeralds, have you?" 

What the hell did this guy want with the emeralds?

"No," Shadow said, and Sonic nodded, catching on quickly. 

The platypus smiled again. "I thought not. My name is Doctor Starline. I'm a history researcher from Spagonia University." 

Sonic frowned. "Your accent doesn't sound Spagonian," he said. 

Starline chuckled. "Well, I'm originally from another country not too far from the region, but I work in Spagonia. When I'm not in the field, that is." 

Sonic and Shadow exchanged a skeptical glance, and he knew they were thinking the same thing. 

Liar. 

"Please, allow me to offer repayment for any damages I've caused to your vessel. It's the least I could do!" 

Before Sonic or Shadow could reply, Amy approached Starline. "One of our crew members is injured," she said. "If you have any medicinal herbs to spare, we'd be willing to take them." 

Starline grinned. "But of course! Follow me, if you please. Gentlemen, you are free to go. The lady and I will return shortly." 

Shadow narrowed his eyes as Starline turned and led Amy away to what looked like the captain's quarters. He walked over to Sonic and whispered, "There's something fishy going on here." 

"Agreed." 

"I want you to follow her, make sure she's alright. Help her if she needs it." 

Sonic nodded. "What about you?" 

"I'm gonna see if I can find what they're hiding." 

They separated then, Sonic following Amy and Starline, and Shadow disappearing from sight. 

Sonic tried to stay within earshot, but out of sight as he trailed them. "--Must have been traveling such a long way from South Island," Starline was saying. "How are your food stores?"

"Fine, thank you," Amy replied. "And how did you know we were from South Island?" 

"Your accents, my dear. Though your captain’s accent seems to be a mix of South Island and somewhere else, but I can’t quite place it. Do you know where he’s from?" 

"Not really. He doesn’t talk much about his personal life."

Good, Sonic thought. She’s deflecting.  

Starline didn't seem to be trying anything funny so far at least, but Sonic's quills kept crossing as he watched him. "Are you an enchantress by any chance?" Starline asked. 

Amy bristled, but kept her tone calm as she responded. "I don’t really see how that’s any of your business.” 

"I didn't mean to offend, I was just wondering what nature of medicine you might have been seeking." 

"Anything to help with a coma." 

Starline hissed a breath between his teeth. "Ah... I'm afraid I don't have very much. I have things for bruises, trauma, that sort of thing. But I'm afraid the patient would be beyond my area of knowledge." 

Amy's shoulders slumped, and Sonic's heart dropped with disappointment. They were right back to where they started. 

"Well, I could still use some herbs at least," Amy said with a sigh. "I've been running out of stomach settlers." 

Starline smiled. "Ah, yes, the never-ending battle against seasickness." 

"And sensitive stomachs. And the occasional food poisoning." 

"Can't go through perishables fast enough?" 

"Sometimes." 

Starline dug through some drawers, handing Amy various pouches and vials full of things Sonic couldn't even begin to identify. "That should help you until you make another stop for supplies." 

"Thank you," Amy replied. "You're too kind." 

Starline scoffed. "No such thing, my dear. Now, feel free to report back to your captain. We'll be departing once everything's in order." 

Amy nodded and turned to leave, briefly making eye contact with Sonic before walking out of the room. Sonic turned to leave, only to hear Starline behind him. "You're rubbish at stealth, I hope you're aware." 

Sonic pasted on a smile and turned back around, stepping fully into view. "Maybe I wasn't trying." Then he dropped the smile. "What do you want?" 

"Nothing. Unless you have any idea where the last emerald is." 

Sonic shook his head, trying not to betray his thoughts on his face. 

If he's looking for the last one, that must mean he’s already got the other six. 

Starline looked at him for a long moment. "Well, then I suppose you should get back to your ship and be on your way." 

Sonic nodded and walked out of the room, trying to keep his gaze steady as he made his way across the deck. 

He had to tell Shadow. Now.  

Chapter Text

Miles

Miles watched Sonic out of the corner of his eye as he approached the rail of the enemy ship, climbing on top of it and crouching. He took a deep breath, then sprang towards the deck upon which Miles stood. Something reached up and grabbed Sonic’s ankle, and in the blink of an eye he was gone, sinking below the waves. 

Miles ran to the rail, his heart in his throat. Sonic was nowhere to be seen, the waters too deep to peer into. A steady stream of bubbles burst at the surface. 

“Man overboard!” Miles screamed, his voice cracking into a high shriek. He searched about for some rope, anything Sonic could maybe grab onto if it wasn’t already too late. 

A spot of marine blue on the other ship caught his eye, and a chill went down Miles’s spine. A fennec fox who couldn’t have been more than a year or two older than him stood at the rail, staring down into the abyss. His magenta gaze was focused, his hands gripping the rail tightly. 

Him. 

Without even thinking, Miles took flight. He had no weapon, nothing to fight with save his fists and boots. The fennec was unarmed, and evidently so focused that he didn’t even register Miles’s presence until he got a swift kick to the temple. He cried out in pain and surprise, but Miles didn’t stick around to let him get his bearings and attack him. All he had needed to do was break his concentration. 

He dove down, the salt water stinging his eyes as he paddled downward with all his might. Cold quickly seeped unpleasantly past his fur, but he fought the impulse to surface for warmth and air. His tails propelled him downward, and soon enough, he could just make out Sonic’s limp form, slowly drifting back up towards him. Miles grabbed Sonic’s wrists and shot back up toward the surface with his tails, ignoring the burning in his lungs as the light grew brighter. 

Miles gasped the moment his head was above water, praying to Gaia that Sonic was still alive as he hauled him up out of the water and onto their ship. He collapsed, all but spilling Sonic on the deck as he struggled to get back onto his hands and knees. “Help!” he screamed.  “Please, someone help!” 

Boots thumped loudly against the deck, and in almost an instant, Whisper turned a corner into view and  ran over, Summer and Tangle hot on her heels. She knelt down, pressing her ear to Sonic’s chest, and Miles held his breath, his own heart thumping wildly in his chest. Whisper cursed quietly in a language Miles didn’t understand, then put her hands on his chest, thrusting them into his ribs over and over, keeping a quick rhythm with each thrust. 

A sick feeling pooled in Miles’s gut. 

They hadn’t spoken in weeks . 

Miles knew Sonic hadn’t meant it was better that Martin had died. He knew he’d only said that out of relief that no one was hunting him down anymore. But that didn’t erase the pain of losing his brother. 

Then again, the Martin Miles had grown up with had been dead for a long time. 

The brother that would read him bedtime stories, who would take on the bullies who yanked his tails, who would steal food for them after their parents were gone… 

The spell had killed him long before Rosy ever did. 

Miles was already alone in the world. 

Until Sonic had showed up at least. 

Now all he could do was fight back the tears flooding his vision and hold his breath while Whisper tried to revive his first real friend. 

Please, he prayed, to anyone who would listen. Please let him wake up. 

The minutes that passed could have been years. Whisper was flagging, but her expression was determined as she gave it one last try. She pinched Sonic’s nose shut and exhaled into his mouth. 

Sonic retched, and Miles rushed forward to help Whisper turn him on his side as he expelled the water from his lungs. Cool relief flooded his chest, and he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Before he knew it he was sobbing, his whole body shaking. 

“What happened?” Captain Shadow’s voice boomed through the air like thunder as he appeared next to them. 

Miles pointed to the enemy ship where the fennec still stood, dazed. “He tried to drown him,” he said, startling himself with how calm he sounded even as rage bubbled in his chest, chasing away the relief from just a moment ago. 

Shadow’s gaze snapped to the fennec, his eyes narrowing, and in a flash he was gone. He reappeared on the other ship, grabbing the fennec by his neck and pinning him against the mast. Miles took flight, ignoring the burning in his muscles as he rushed over, landing harder than he meant to on the deck. He fell to his knees, gritting his teeth as pain burst through his legs. But he made himself get up and run over. 

“You had no right attacking him like that!” Shadow screamed. 

“What’s happening?” Captain Starline approached from behind the mast. “Why are you laying hands on a member of my crew?” 

Miles puffed up his chest and did his best to look intimidating, despite his short stature. “He attacked Sonic,” he said, his hackles finally rising with his rage. 

Starline’s eyes widened, but something about it made Miles uneasy. There was a flicker of a smile at the edge of his beak, gone almost as quickly as it had appeared. 

Almost. 

“Is that so, Kit?” Starline asked. 

“If Surge hates him, that’s good enough for me,” Kit replied, then he winced. “Let him rot at the bottom of the sea.” 

Starline rolled his eyes. “You may take him prisoner if you like,” he said. “I have no use for a mage who disobeys orders.” 

Horror dawned in Kit’s eyes. “What? But–” 

“Now now, Kit. I know how much you idolize Surge, but killing a man just because he peeves her?” He tutted. “That’s a bit much now, don’t you think?” 

“But I–” 

“Silence!” Starline did something then that Miles almost didn’t even catch. He waved his hand, just a little wiggle of his fingers, and a strange fog settled over his mind, there and gone in the blink of an eye. He shook his head, then watched Starline carefully. There was something set into his glove, but before he could get a closer look at it, he put his hands behind his back, pasting on a smile. “Take him. I insist.” 

Miles had a bad feeling about this, but before he could protest, Shadow vanished, taking Kit with him, leaving him no choice but to head back to their ship. Soon after he landed on the deck, his knees protesting soundly, Amy returned, hurrying Sonic to the captain’s quarters and barring anyone other than her and Shadow from entering. 

Miles spent the rest of the day at the helm, losing himself in thought when the pain in his knees wasn’t icy hot. Amy had seen to him, given him a healing spell. It would speed up the healing and make sure things set correctly, but it was still slow. He’d nearly broken his kneecaps, and it would take several painful days until they were fully healed. 

It wasn’t until dinner that evening that he finally saw Sonic again. 

He still looked pale, but he was making himself eat, and he even chuckled at Tangle’s antics. For the first time in months, Miles sat down next to him. 

Sonic’s eyes widened. “Hey,” he said. 

“Hey,” Miles replied. 

Silence stretched tight between them, apologies and excuses too heavy on Miles’s tongue to say. His tails flicked nervously behind him. Finally, he took a breath and said, “I know you didn’t mean it like that.” 

Strangely, Sonic didn’t say anything, only blinking in surprise. Miles kept going, afraid to lose his momentum. “I guess… I’d been hoping that… I don’t know…” He sighed. “I hoped that he’d… come around… eventually. And then, when he died, it… It felt like something snapped. All that tension, all that hope. It was just… gone, and that had been the only thing I’d wanted… for so long.” 

“You just wanted your brother back,” Sonic said, his voice soft. 

Miles nodded, wiping away the tears in his eyes. “What you said… I wasn’t ready to hear it. You were right, and I know you didn’t mean to hurt me.” 

“I should have thought before I opened my trap,” Sonic said. 

“Maybe,” Miles agreed. “But I shouldn’t have given you the cold shoulder over it. Especially with how many times you’ve already apologized. I’m sorry.” 

“Apology accepted.” Sonic paused for a moment. “So I hear it was you who saved me?” 

Miles nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Well, kind of. I saw Kit holding you under. I kicked him in the face and dragged you back up. Then Whisper revived you.” 

“Weird kid,” Sonic remarked. “Kit, I mean. Shads says he’s spent the whole time in his cell panicking and muttering to himself. Makes me wonder what he’s had to deal with…” 

“I don’t like Starline,” Miles said. 

“Me neither.” 

“He’s gonna try something.” 

Sonic nodded. “I know…” 

They both fell into contemplative silence, Miles’s tails flicking back and forth as he thought. Something about Kit being on the ship just didn’t sit right with him, but before he could puzzle it out, Shadow approached them, the set of his shoulders weary as he sat down on Sonic’s other side. 

“I swear to Gaia if one more thing pops up today I will throw someone overboard,” Shadow said with a groan, rubbing his palms against his eyes. He leaned his head on Sonic’s shoulder, and though Sonic was probably just as exhausted, if not even more so, he wrapped his arm softly around Shadow’s waist, pulling him closer. 

Miles offered a half-hearted smile as he stood up, not wanting to intrude on their moment. 

As he was walking away, Sonic said, “We’ll talk more later, okay bud?”

Miles nodded, then sat down next to Summer–who didn’t even seem to notice–to finish his meal. 

Miles spent most of the night tossing and turning, rotating the problem of Starline in his head over and over until it almost made him dizzy. It even invaded his dreams in those moments when he was half-asleep. Finally, he sighed and rolled out of his cot below deck and tip-toed up the stairs. There was no way he was getting to sleep tonight; already, the sun was beginning to lighten the edge of the eastern horizon with a blue-green tinge. 

On the deck, Summer leaned up against the rail, staring up at the fading stars. Her ear twitched at his footsteps, and she turned around. “Can’t sleep either?” she asked. 

Miles shook his head. 

Summer hummed and turned back to continue stargazing. “This whole thing is way different than I expected,” she said. “I mean, I guess I just didn’t think of how… scary being in a fight really is. I couldn’t even do anything earlier. I froze. And then Sonic almost died earlier and… I never thought about that either. I realized… if I’m not careful that could be me.” She sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be dumping this on you.” 

Miles came up next to her and rested his chin on the rail. The waters below were calm for the moment, the spray of the hull cutting through them a soft hush. The sea wind ruffled his fur soothingly, like the way his mother used to stroke his head when he would lay in her lap. 

Martin used to do that too, after she died. He supposed he was trying to make up for her absence, even though surely he needed that comfort too. 

The memory sent a pang of loss through his chest, and he kept his gaze away from Summer so she wouldn’t see the tears beginning to sting his eyes. “You don’t have to apologize,” he said. “We all need someone to talk to sometimes.” 

“Yeah, but you’re just a kid. I don’t know what you’re even doing here. You’re younger than me and they didn’t want me on this ship.” 

“Rosy had to convince Shadow,” Miles said. “But I had someone I was running away from. If I hadn’t gotten on this ship, I don’t think I’d be here now.” 

“Oh… that’s awful.” 

Miles shrugged. “Well, it’s over now. He’s dead.” Miles was surprised at how casual the words felt coming out of his mouth, even though inside he wanted to scream, to cry. He wanted to hate Martin, he wanted to feel nothing about it, to be numb. He was sick of missing him. 

But then he’d remember the days before Black Doom’s curse and he would break apart all over again. 

Summer didn’t say anything else for a while, staring up at the stars as the sky steadily grew lighter. Miles was about to walk away and see if maybe he could finally get some sleep now that his brain wasn’t looping on the same thing over and over, when she said, “Do you think anyone here would be willing to teach me to fight?” 

Miles nodded. “Anyone,” he said. “You can ask anyone. Tangle or Shadow would be your best bets.” 

Summer hummed, then nodded slowly. “Thanks,” she said. 

“No problem.” 

After that, Miles retreated below, and though he only got a couple hours of sleep after that, at least it was full sleep.

Chapter Text

Shadow

Trying to get a useful word out of Kit was proving nigh impossible. Shadow had wasted hours just this morning trying to get him to say his name. All he would say were things like, “She needs me.” and “I hate him I hate him I hate him.” It was like he was in his own little world, trapped in his own mind. There was one word that Shadow had been able to check with Sonic.

Emeralds.  

“Starline has to have the other six already,” Sonic said, tapping his foot on the floor of their quarters as he thought. “I don’t think he knows we have the last one. But he might have been suspicious.”

“He hasn’t been following us, right?” Shadow asked, once again checking his maps in an attempt to get the ship’s bearings. The attack last week had wasted precious time, and if he could find a shorter route, even shaving off just a little bit of time could be a godsend.

Sonic shook his head. “Sonia and I have been checking every few hours. There’s no one behind us.”

Unease prickled Shadow’s spine, but he pushed it aside as he scribbled something on the map with a quill. “I guess I’ll try and talk to the kid again when I go down to feed him today,” he said with a sigh.

Sonic smiled. “Let me try!” he said. “Everybody loves me!”

He wasn’t wrong, but Shadow hesitated. He couldn't help but have noticed how much more nervous Sonic was just leaving their quarters after the incident. The slightest pitch of the ship sent him running towards the center, his eyes wide and panicked until the waters calmed again. The idea of putting him down in a closed room with a water mage, especially one who had already tried to kill him once, was painfully stupid. 

"No," Shadow said firmly. "I don't think that would be the best idea. I'll try again later, see if he's more receptive after dinner maybe." 

Sonic tilted his head. "Aww, come on, Shads, I just--" 

Shadow shook his head. "I know you want to help, love, but I’m not letting you near him." 

Sonic sighed and sat back down on the bed. "Fine..." he said. 

Shadow got up from his chair and sat down next to him. He reached over and grabbed his hand, lacing their fingers together and squeezing gently. "Is there something else that's bothering you?" he asked, his voice quiet. 

Sonic shrugged. "Tails and I were talking, and the more I think about it the more I'm sure Starline's gonna try something. I just have no clue what and I hate it." 

"What makes you so certain?" Shadow asked. 

"Like I said, I think he knew I was lying. I think he knows we have an emerald, but the fact that we haven't seen any signs of him is... unnerving." 

"Agreed," Shadow said. "But maybe we can get some answers out of Kit before he makes his move." 

"Maybe," Sonic said, but he wasn’t looking Shadow in the eye. A heavy silence stretched between them, and after a moment, Sonic leaned his head softly against Shadow's shoulder. "I hope so," he said. 

Shadow nodded, then pressed a kiss to the top of Sonic's head. He still smelled faintly of saltwater, even after Amy had helped him take a warm bath (as warm a bath as possible given they were at sea). But underneath that was Sonic's normal scent, a soft, airy sort of scent, like the wind carrying the petals of wildflowers. Shadow rested his chin on Sonic's head, closing his eyes as he took Sonic in; his heartbeat, his scent, the sound of his breathing. 

He sighed, then pulled away, the action squeezing his heart painfully. "I have some things to check on," he said. 

Sonic smiled wistfully, and Shadow knew he didn’t want him to leave either. "Okay,” he said softly. “I'll see you later.”

They kissed briefly, and Sonic stayed behind while Shadow left the room, emerging to find Miles at the helm, squinting at the horizon. "Anything significant?" he asked. 

Miles shook his head. "Been pretty smooth sailing today, sir," he replied. "Just hoping it's not too much farther." 

"We all hope so," Shadow said. He walked down the steps leading down to the deck, squinting up at Tangle, who was managing the sails on her own today. Sonic would probably try to come out and help later out of sheer boredom, but she seemed to be doing fine, and he wasn't going to push Sonic unless it was absolutely necessary. He needed a little more time to recover. 

"Captain?" 

Shadow whirled around, startled to find Summer right behind him. Her hat was worn at the edges, and it was clear why when she nervously started pinching the brim with her fingers and bending it. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just... I uh..." 

"What is it?" Shadow prompted. 

"Summer's shoulders stiffened, and she looked him in the eye. "I want to learn to fight. I don't wanna be dead weight. It's my fault I'm here and... I don't want to be a burden on everyone." 

Guilt pricked at Shadow's insides, and he sighed. "You're not a burden," he said. "I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I'm... not terribly fond of surprises." 

Summer shook her head. "I shouldn't have come along anyway. You were right. But I'm here and... if I'm gonna be here I don't want to be a liability if we get boarded again." 

Shadow blinked. "And you're asking me to teach you?" he asked. 

"If you're willing," Summer replied. 

Shadow nodded, then turned and left. "Sundown," he shouted over his shoulder. "Meet me on the fore-deck." 

"Yes, sir!" Summer shouted, and Shadow wasn't sure if he was imagining the smile in her voice. 

A while later, Shadow went below deck. Amy knelt once again at Tikal's side, singing quietly. Shadow sat down a little ways away, watching her work. The emerald still bobbed slightly in the air above the echidna, though its brilliance was once again at a normal level. Tikal didn't seem to have improved much since they first exposed her to the emerald, but she hadn't appeared to get any worse either. It was a small victory, but any victory was appreciated at this point. 

When Amy stopped to rest, Shadow sat down next to her. He reached out his hand and held hers wordlessly, earning a small smile from Amy as she wrapped her fingers around his. A moment later, a pair of boots came thumping down into the hold, and they both turned around.

Sonic stood at the base of the steps, smirking. "I thought you had things to take care of," he teased. 

"Oh, like you haven't snuck away to spend time with one of us every now and then," Shadow said with a huff. 

"Busted," Amy said, stifling a giggle. "I think we could all use a bit of a break though. Just for a little bit." 

"Fine by me," Sonic said. He walked over to them and sat on Amy's other side, bumping into her shoulder and knocking her into Shadow as if they were dominoes. "I don't think we've gotten much quality time all together for a bit." 

"We haven't," Amy agreed with a sigh. "Tikal's been taking up almost all of my time and energy. Between that and all the chaos, I can't seem to pull myself away for more than a moment." 

"I'm hoping that soon that won't be as much of an issue," Shadow said. "If that fennec can give us any information on Starline, we might be able to get more emeralds. If we get all seven..." 

"We could heal her," Amy finished. "The question is, how are we going to get anything useful?" 

"I'm still working on that." 

"Ugh, enough work talk," Sonic said, flopping his head dramatically into Amy's lap. "Let's just chill for a minute." 

Amy smiled. "Okay," she said. She took a deep breath in, then sighed as she leaned her head against Shadow's shoulder. "I've missed you both." 

"Me too," Sonic and Shadow both said at once, making each other laugh. 

"Gaia…” Sonic sighed. “When this is all over, I wanna go back to South Island and stay there for at least a year. No craziness. Just the three of us." He shifted, turning so he was facing Amy's stomach, and started fidgeting with the laces of her corset, not in a way that threatened to untie them, but just sort of pinching them between his fingers. "And I wanna taste all the pastries you've talked about making." 

Amy blushed. "Really?" she asked. 

"I've been curious about them too," Shadow said. "We've never had enough time when we've docked to stay much longer than a day. And I’ve never had most of the things you’ve talked about. They always sound amazing." 

Amy smiled bashfully. "They're just little pastries," she said. "It's nothing spe--" 

"Nuh uh," Sonic interrupted, putting his finger up against her lips. "They're special because you'll have made them, Ames." 

Amy said nothing else after that, her cheeks flushed, her expression too stunned to form words. 

Shadow smiled and kissed her cheek, earning a startled squeak. "What's wrong? You don't usually get so flustered." 

"Yeah, well I have both of you ganging up on me and Sonic isn't usually like this" Amy said, laughing nervously. 

Shadow frowned. "Is there something wrong, Rose?" he asked. 

Amy shook her head quickly. "No, nothing's wrong," she said. 

"You sure?" 

"Mhmm!" 

Something told Shadow that that wasn't quite the case, but he knew better than to push. Sonic's doubtful expression told him he was likely thinking the same thing. But neither of them said anything, instead choosing to relax and let it lie. They spent several more minutes chatting. Minutes turned to an hour, and the only reason they finally parted was Whisper coming down to take inventory, which meant Summer was tailing her. 

Shadow still wasn't keen on the idea of her knowing about their relationship, not out of a sense of shame, but because he barely knew her. Sonic and Amy both knew that though, so they tried to avoid showing too much affection in front of her. Well, as much as either of them could, considering how often they followed him around talking, or tried to whisper very decidedly unprofessional things in his ear (mostly Amy, though Sonic was starting to do it more often as well). 

Perhaps that would change though, if he got to know her better. 

"How are the supplies?" Shadow asked Whisper, who was noting down numbers on a piece of parchment. 

"Decent," she replied. "But we should make another stop for fruits. We're even running out of preserves." 

Shadow sighed. "Noted," he said, then went back up to the deck. He noticed Sonic stayed below with Amy, leaving Shadow alone to fulfill his duties undistracted for the time being. There was a glint of gold in the crow's nest, the sun reflecting off of Sonia's spyglass. 

"Sonia!" Shadow called. "Anything new?" 

"Negative!" Sonia shouted back. "Not a ship nor island in sight, sir!" 

Shadow grunted, then walked away, heading back to his cabin to determine whether they were going to change course.  

Hours later, as the sun sank lower in the sky, Shadow waited on the deck. He'd elected to take off his coat in favor of ease of movement, though the cold breeze seeped in a little past his undershirt. The seasons seemed to be shifting toward fall now. They’d been at sea for over three months then. 

Summer emerged from below deck without her hat, watching him almost apprehensively as she approached. "So, where do we start?" she asked. 

"Make a fist," Shadow said. 

Summer looked startled, but did as she was told, curling her fingers up with her thumb sticking out in front to the side. 

Shadow cringed just looking at it. "Tuck that thumb in now!" he barked. 

Summer tucked her thumb beneath her other fingers, effectively making it even worse. 

Shadow's snout wrinkled in disgust. "No," he said. He demonstrated with his own hand. His thumb was resting underneath his knuckles, the tip of it barely touching his middle finger. "Like this," he said. He mimicked her first attempt, pointing his thumb forward and outward. "If you try to punch with that, you're either gonna break your thumb in half or hyperextend it. And if you try to punch with this--" he tucked his thumb within his fist, covering it with his other fingers "--You're gonna break the shit out of it all the way down from the impact, or even dislocate it. Look." He pointed to the base of his thumb. "This is gonna hurt like a mother." 

Summer nodded, then tried to make a proper fist, though her thumb rested almost against her ring finger, and Shadow gently corrected it. Then he held his hand out in front of her, his palm open. "Hit me," he said. 

Tentatively, Summer reached out and tapped his hand. 

"Harder." 

Summer hit a little harder, but not even enough to make his hand sting. 

"Harder," he growled. "Hit me like you mean it!" 

Marginal improvement. After a few more times, Shadow threw his hand down in disgust and walked away. "We're done," he said. 

Summer's boots thumped against the deck as she hurried after him. "Wait, you said--!" 

"Do you want to learn to fight or not?" 

"Well, yeah, but--" 

"Then you have to be okay with hurting people." Shadow stopped and turned around, forcing Summer to grind to a halt. "You have to be willing to hurt them. You have to be willing to kill them if you have to because it's either them or you. And if you can't make yourself hit somebody hard enough to break something, you're better off cowering in a fucking corner." 

Summer was quiet, tears welling in her eyes, but Shadow said nothing else. He would not apologize for telling her the truth, even if it was brutal. He was not going to let his sister go into a fight she was not ready for and get slaughtered. 

Summer wiped her eyes, then took a breath. "You're right," she said. "But maybe I'm just not strong enough for that." 

"Bullshit," Shadow said. "You're plenty strong." He raised his hand. "Now fucking hit me!" 

With a growl, Summer punched at his hand, finally enough to make his hand sting. He smiled. "Harder!" he said. "As hard as you fucking can!" 

"But I don't--" 

"Just do it!" 

Summer finally reared back her fist and punched him with everything she had, cracking a couple metacarpals in his hand and breaking a couple of her own. She screamed, both out of pain and frustration, Shadow guessed, based on how angry she looked. She clutched her injured hand to her chest. 

Already, Shadow's bones were sealing the cracks, but Summer needed medical attention. He held out his uninjured hand to her. "That's enough for now," he said. "I heard the crack. Let's go fix up your hand." 

Summer swallowed, then took Shadow's hand and let him pull her to her feet. "Did that even do anything to you?" she asked. 

"You cracked something," he said. "It's a good start. We're gonna have to build up your fists. And teach you how to punch properly." 

"What do you mean, 'punch properly'?" Summer demanded. "You just said I cracked your hand!" 

"Yes, and I could see that coming a mile away. I could have blocked and countered so easily if I had wanted to. But I just wanted you to get aggressive." 

Summer didn't say anything after that, wincing in pain every now and then. Aside from that though, she showed little signs of having broken her hand. 

Stoic, Shadow noted. Interesting. 

They reached the captain's quarters, and Shadow ushered her in. "Normally Rose would be here to cast a spell, but she's busy at the moment and I don't want her overworking herself." He grabbed Amy's chair and put it near his desk, then sat down. "Sit," he commanded. 

Summer hesitated, but sat down in Amy's chair, looking around the room curiously. "So... is Rosy really a witch like everyone says she is? Cause I mean, I don't buy it. She seems really nice, and like... There's no way... Wait. Wait, no." 

"What?" Shadow asked. 

"I was gonna say that magic isn't real, but then again, I've seen how fast Sonic moves and I've seen you disappear into thin air, so I guess there's something... unless you're all con artists." 

Shadow laughed, a loud, full-bellied sound. "Con artists? Really?" 

Summer blushed. "Well, I was always told that mages and witches and stuff were fairy tales," she said. 

"Oh, I know. I'm choosing to laugh rather than be insulted at the idea of my crew and I being con artists. Can you imagine Sonic trying to con people out of their money?" 

"No," Summer admitted with a chuckle. 

Once Shadow stopped laughing, he gestured towards Summer. "Give me your hand," he said. 

Summer raised an eyebrow, but complied, wincing as Shadow held it as gently as he could. "Now this might hurt for a minute, but I promise your hand will heal just fine." 

Summer nodded. 

Shadow took a deep breath, then forced his magic into Summer's bones, grabbing at them and making them knit back together. He could feel every nerve, every blood vessel in her hand. The effort made him a little dizzy, but Summer's gasp told him it was working. Within a few minutes, her hand was fully healed, and Shadow sat back and took another deep breath. "Done," he said. 

Summer stared at her hand, marveling at Shadow's work. "How the hell did you do that?" she asked, her voice almost a whisper. 

"It's a long story." 

Summer stared at him, then laid back. "Lay it on me. Sir," she added as an afterthought. 

Shadow huffed a small laugh, then shook his head. "Not today," he said. "Another time, perhaps. In the meantime, I'll see what I can do about training exercises for your hands. And I'll be teaching you proper technique tomorrow." 

Summer sighed, then nodded. "Alright," she said. "But I wanna know how you can do all that stuff." 

"Eventually," Shadow said. "I'll tell you what you need to know." 

"Fine." 

"Now go ahead and get back to your chores." 

Summer shook her head, but she stood up and headed towards the door. "You sound like my mom," she said, but Shadow could tell there was no bite to it. Not that he would have taken it as an insult either way. 

He would take any comparison to his parents with no argument. Only pride.