It had been a decent couple of hours since the plantation was attacked. All the slaves had been removed from the mines and placed in one of the many groups surrounded by the soldiers- and Sonic was starting to worry. He still had no idea why these people were here, what they were doing, or what their intentions were. They could be doing anything- kidnapping the slaves to sell on the market, killing the slaves in attempts to sabotage the country they were in, or maybe this kind of thing was routine...

...Sonic looked to the slowly growing pile of corpses as more and more bodies of the overseers were found scattered in the mines- and, rarely, one of the slaves who was caught in the crossfire. No- this was not planned by the plantation. Did that make it good, or bad? Sonic didn't know what to think of it- and all he was really sure of at this moment was that he was scared.

The last time things had changed so suddenly, and he had been put into a bad situation, it had ended horridly- as well as the time before that. It had just been another day spent fighting Eggman, and his arm had been seriously injured- his mind was filled with pain, and no other thoughts! He shouldn't have tried to use chaos control when he could not focus! ...But if he hadn't, he would have been killed by the explosives Eggman left after his escape. What was worse- death or someone living your life for you?

His thoughts were momentarily interrupted as Amy let go of his hand to gently stroke a finger against the bare and sensitive skin of his stomach and chest. Sonic knew that she was trying to help him relax, but right now he was beyond help; Amy couldn't answer his questions no matter how good she could make him feel.

Trying to relax, he nestled further against Amy- for there was no wall to lean on- and tried to find a suitable place to rest his head upon her shoulder. After making himself comfortable, his thoughts returned to the matter at hand- what was going on?

He remembered the words of the solider who had taken him here- "Helotry is wrong. The people said 'no more'. And so here we are"

What did that mean? The people said 'no more' ... no more what? And how did that justify... whatever it was they were doing? As for 'Helotry is wrong', Sonic didn't even know what that meant... maybe Amy knew- anyway he needed more information about what was going on.

"Amy," He began, still nestled into the warm mew of her arms. "What's helotry?"

Amy looked down at him, her expression slightly surprised, then sad. She pulled Sonic a little closer, and let her eyes fall to the ground.

"Sonic, helotry is slavery..." She explained. Sonic's eyes widened, and he rethought what the solider had said.

'Slavery is wrong. The people said 'no more' and so here we are...'

The answer came easier than he would have expected- and he put the pieces of the sentence together. The people- meaning the civilians of this planet- had voted for... whatever this military was doing. Could it be that the people living on this world had voted for the halt of slavery? He had no way of knowing- for certain, that is- about the situation; but if what the solider had said proved to be true, only good things would come of it.

Sonic's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a voice, obviously directed at him, from his right. He and Amy both turned around- to see a solider standing above them. This person then kneeled down next to the two hedgehogs.

"Are you guys okay?" Came the familiar voice- and Sonic deducted that this was the same solider that had taken him from the mines. At first Sonic was wary and skeptic- he still had no knowledge as to what to expect from them, so it would be safest to talk with caution, act with caution and stay close to Amy at all times. Together these three decisions had never let him down, and so he had faith that they would protect him in this scenario as well.

The solider sat down, lifting her hands to her head and taking off her helmet, setting it on the ground next to her.

Her hair, a fiery orange, fell around her face and began with unusually light-colored strands of hair in the front. Other than that there was little unusual about her. She grinned warmly and reached into one of the many pockets on her military-standard pants, pulling out two granola bars and holding them out towards the hedgehogs.

Sonic at first jumped back and merely stared at the food as if she had just pointed a gun at him; his eyes darted from the food, to the girl holding it and then to Amy, who was sitting beside him. Confused, the solider drew her arm slightly back- the motion causing Sonic to flinch- and stared at the two with a puzzled expression.

"...You don't want any? I thought you would be hungry." She said, her voice still thick with accent as it had been three hours ago. Sonic didn't respond, but moved further into Amy's embrace and glared suspiciously at the food. True, he was hungry- very hungry- but he wasn't about to tell her that! Sonic was beginning to take his firsts steps into what felt like freedom- he had a grip, however small and slippery it was- on the situation. It was very satisfying, and at the same time something disturbed him.

He felt a longing, deep inside him, to be independent, but he also felt incapable of doing so. It was still his desire to know what was going on and be able to make decisions- but at the same time, the idea was disturbingly frightening! But there was no one here he could trust with his fate- certainly not the solider, or the military they worked for, or the civilians of the world who had enslaved him. So he was going to have to brave this fear himself. And at the same time he was absolutely terrified of the idea! For five months he had made not one decision on any aspect of his life- and now with the simple decision to take this food or turn it away was driving him crazy. It scared him- to no end- but he simply told himself he needed time to adjust and calm down. That was it; he just needed some sleep... and some food...

The thought of food brought him again to the matter at hand- the solider was still offering the granola bars, and he still found himself unable to make a decision. And so, a thought struck him- Amy. What would she like to do?

He wordlessly stared up at the prementioned hedgehog, his eyes asking what his voice could not- should they accept the offer or still be skeptical? Amy, as if surprised he had turned to her for the decision, at first paused, but then looked to the granola bars, and slowly took them, looking them over and taking a slow bite.

After determining that there was no harm in eating it, she handed the other one to Sonic and turned to the solider.

"...Thank you... but... may I ask- what's happening?" Amy inquired, wrapping an arm around Sonic's waist. The blue hedgehog was pleased with the secure feeling he got from being in her arms- and thusly complied, resting his head placidly upon her shoulder.

The solider smiled, and reached out to pet Sonic's quills, for whatever reason. However, the blue hedgehog scowled and pulled away, still nervous...

"A revolutionary movement, that's what. The U.W.O. decided that mass slavery was wrong, whether they were human or not. But this particular plantation didn't want to go quietly. We had no choice but to break in and rescue the animals here." She said. Sonic's ears perked, but his expression remained negative.

"Animals?" He argued. Is that all he was thought of as? The solider, seeing that she had offended him, laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry- It's just what we call you... " she said, taking another granola bar from her pocket and starting to eat it. "Anyway, now that we've gotten you out of the evil grasp of this illegal plantation, we're going to give the land to private farmers, use the funds for slave relocation, and give you guys some good homes." She said. Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"...I already have a home. I want to go back- to Mobius." Sonic argued. The solider shook her head.

"...I'm sorry, but the battle against alien slavery hasn't truly been won yet- yes, we outlawed slavery in places such as this- where you're treated horridly, but we couldn't stop the market altogether- can you imagine if we did? Ha! We'd need a lot more than a 2/3-majority vote and an army to do that." She took a hearty bite of her granola bar. "Slavery is still allowed on plantations and households- in moderation- we're shutting down huge corporate hellholes like this one. Also, we're trying to-"

"What!" Shouted Sonic. "You've saved us- just to put us back into slavery?" He yelled, nearly bolting to his feet, but finding that Amy held him down. The soldier held up her hands, shrugging, and shook her head.

"Well aren't you the pessimist. I don't make the news, I just enforce it- don't steam me out for hate of my kind! ...Besides, being a slave to a family provides much better care than here. When a slave serves in a domestic household or farm and not a corporation, it is required that they are provided with sufficient food, a minimal amount of abuse, proper medical care, humane shelter- It's much better than what you are going through now." She argued. Sonic glared.

"I don't care. It's still slavery. I'm not going back... I won't let them take her from me again... " he trailed off, clinging to Amy tighter with each word. "I'm not!" He shouted.

The soldier's eyes widened, and she looked between the two hedgehogs with a face full of conflict and pity. It was obvious she had her ideas about the alien slave policy herself- ones similar to that of Sonic's. But still, the solider kept a straight face.

"Whoa- back up their, spitfire. ...I'm sorry, but there's nothing I could do." She said. "I may be able to make sure you two go to the same farm, if it will-"

"I'm not going back! And my name isn't hedgehog!" He snapped. Amy, surprised by his anger, pulled her arms tighter around the blue hedgehog and gave him a stern glance. He should use some diplomacy- after all; the solider was doing the best she could. If they couldn't keep a cool head about them they would end up worse off than when they started.

"I'm sorry." The camouflage-garbed girl replied. "My name's Duva. Yours is... ?"

Her question still hanging in the air, she held out a hand. Sonic, still skeptic, pulled away, and glared at the handshake offered to him. Amy, however, sighed and shook Duva's hand, ignoring as Sonic stared at her confused and wordless.

"His name is Sonic. And mine's-"

"Amy!" Sonic protested, as she had just given his name- without his permission- to this person he was sure he could not trust. The pink hedgehog sighed, and playfully ruffled his quills, at which he complained audibly and struggled to smooth them back down.

"It's okay, Sonic... Come on, you know I wouldn't do anything that would put you in danger. You know that- we can trust Duva. She has good intentions." Amy said, smiling as she saw Sonic loosen up on the subject. Duva, however, laughed.

"The road to hell is paved in good intentions, you know. Breaking down the major plantations is going to deal a major blow- but slavery is wrong... it was either economic security or morality- I think you can tell why it took us so long to choose." The solider again took a bite of her granola bar. "If we're lucky, we'll eventually kill enough of ourselves off so that the planet can provide for what's left of us."

The hedgehogs stared at her with wide-eyes, and she again chuckled nervously.

"I'm sorry- I can get pretty negative sometimes... " She explained. Sonic's eyes narrowed and he moved away from her, pulling Amy with him. Actually he just kind of pulled on her arm, but Amy got the message and moved over next to him.

"Duva! Ano hungah tyem! Faran dragh deamun tolo!" Came a shout from behind them, and Sonic and Amy turned around to see what appeared to be the general of the squadron. Duva groaned and stood up, intentfuly ruffling Sonic's quills before he could react and walking off.

"Well, I've got a job to do- but as for you guys- get some rest. We'll be moving out of here once we get the green light from the U.W.O." Duva called as she walked away, joining a group of soldiers that were hopping onto military-standard automobiles and apparently riding to the wall of the plantation. After climbing onboard to the back of one of the many jeeps, she turned back and quickly waved to a few of the troops, before the car pulled away and eventually out of view.

Sonic still glared at the small dust cloud that the jeeps kicked up in their wake, and groaned lightly, turning back to Amy and resting his head in her lap. He looked up at her, shaking his head.

"They're no different. We haven't been rescued, we've just been move around- and they actually think they've done something good." The blue hedgehog glared into the dirt, and lifted a hand to smooth his ruffled quills- Duva thought of him the same way everyone else did- like an un-sentient animal- like a pet. He hated it. "They might as well not have come at all."

Amy frowned slightly, and stared down at the blue hedgehog leaning into her arms.

"Have you ever heard the phrase 'be careful what you wish for'?" She began, lifting a hand from around his waist to place against his shoulder, gently pulling him closer to her. He scoffed lightly and looked away.

"I've heard it- but it doesn't mean anything now. I wish for freedom- how could anyone rightfully tell me to be 'careful' with that?" Sonic asked, letting his shoulders sink and his ears flatten- more signs that he was quite unhappy. "They keep preaching and scolding and speaking in riddles- usually about things that aren't even true! I don't owe them a thing!"

"I want to go home too, Sonic- like you wouldn't believe." Amy interrupted, placing a hand to Sonic's cheek and forcing him to look up at her as she spoke. "I miss them- all of them. I would have given anything for these people to do what you say they should have. I do want them to send us all back home- but Sonic, and it pains me to say this- they wont." The pink hedgehog declared, her voice growing louder.

Sonic froze- she almost sounded like she was angry with him. Although he tried to keep a cool demeanor- the idea of Amy being mad at him, when she was all he had left... His eyes sank to the floor and he pulled away, sitting upright and folding his knees to his chest- he must have looked quite like an injured puppy at the moment. He at least had the same affect- Amy almost immediately swallowed her words and jumped to his side, her hand flying to his shoulder.

"Oh no, Sonic..." She muttered quietly, running her hand up and down his arm. "No, no- you're right, you're right about all this. This is wrong... It's all wrong." Sonic still wouldn't look up at her, and she gave out a sigh, gathering him up in her arms and gently placing her chin onto his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled... all of this time in the mines... I don't know- you... You get used to yelling. It's the only way anyone will listen." She explained, gently rocking the blue hedgehog in her arms as she spoke. Sonic wordlessly lifted a hand and placed it on her right arm- the one wrapped around his chest.

"It's okay... really... I'm sorry, too..." He mumbled, once again positioning himself so that his head rested in her lap. "You're right, you know. It's not getting any better, is it?"

Amy was silenced, her hand floating above where she was about to place it on Sonic's back. Her eyes sunk to the ground, and she carefully rested her palm against the un-agitated quills, wordless.

"...That's what I thought. We're going to be slaves for the rest of our lives, aren't we, Amy?" He asked, remembering his fears of only days earlier. Fears that he would never get out. Fears that he might be forgetting. "It'll never be any better- because it never does."

The pink hedgehog scowled lightly, and looked out at the tiny black specks on the horizon- the military jeeps, camouflaged against the dark wall of the plantation.

"...Sure it will. You found me, didn't you?"

Sonic opened his eyes, and looked up at her- but he had no words to answer with, and simply stared. He had nearly forgotten. Sonic hoped that he hadn't hurt her feelings. Did he? If so, he hadn't meant to...

Amy noticed him staring, and looked back down at him, smiling lightly. She leaned down and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek.

"Get some sleep, Sonic. I'll wake you up if anything happens."