Sleeping in an actual bed was the most wonderful thing for Shadow. He woke up well-rested, ready for the next leg of their journey.

Amanda was to guard them on their way to the Misty Bogs, the next 'safehouse' in the direction of Sinseria. Assisting her would be her partner, Quetzal, who hadn't accompanied her to the castle, but was in town.

The boys got up early to say goodbye to their uncle and cousin, who'd be heading back to Sinseria with the more direct route.

"Be careful," Shadow told Mephiles. "I wanna see you again."

Mephiles nodded. "Same here, Shadow..." He took Shadow's hands tightly. "Shadow, please help Venice. He feels awfully left out with you guys."

Shadow nodded, then he leaned closer. "Are you telepathic too?" He whispered.

Mephiles shook his head. "I...I sometimes see things that might come to pass, and... I saw Venice get seriously hurt trying to prove himself to you. I don't want that to happen."

Shadow nodded slowly, then turned as Blaze walked over to Silver. They seemed in deep conversation, then Blaze tightly hugged Silver. "Looks like Blaze is staying here."

"Her journey is over..." Lord Pierre shook each of the boys' hands. "Good luck, you're gonna need it."

Shadow nodded, then Mephiles and his father left the castle. "We've got a long way ahead of us, guys."

"Indeed, your highness." Amanda replied.

"Don't call us that, Mandie!" Sonic grinned, "Call us whatever you want, but not that."

Amanda smirked. "I could call you what your mother called you as a toddler."

Shadow saw that impish grin. "What?"

"Chili Cheeks."

Sonic's cheeks immediately burned as Shadow, Silver, Venice and Tails burst out laughing, Silver falling to his knees and Venice having tears streaming down his face. "Oh, like you guys didn't have embarrassing names as kids!"

"That's great!" Shadow squeaked. "Where'd that one come from?"

"He got caught with his mouth full of chili in the kitchen." Amanda looked at Shadow. "Yours weren't as embarrassing."

"It's only fair that if you know mine, I get to know yours." Sonic fumed.

"Fine, Chili."

"Shadow's was 'Red Rover,' Silver's was 'Frillie,' and Venice's was 'Vee.'"

"Not too bad..." Venice shrugged. "Let's just get going, we have some ground to cover."

"Agreed."
They turned as a blond hedgehog stepped in, her blue eyes clearly hiding deep secrets. "Greetings, princes. I am Quetzal."

"Welcome to the party, Q!" Sonic held out his hand, but Quetzal simply nodded to him. "Okay..."

"Don't feel bad, Sonic. Quetzal's just like that." Amanda whispered. "Now, let's get outta here and you guys back home."

.......................................................................

It felt strange to leave Blaze behind in Zipherwixo, especially for Silver. He'd always had her by his side, and now they'd be in separate kingdoms.
He'd sworn to her that he'd send her a letter as soon as he was home, though.

Amanda led them from the air, looking for danger ahead and periodically checking in through Venice's telepathy.

Silver hung close to Venice, trying to make him feel like part of the group. "So...what do you think of Amanda?" He asked.

Venice blushed. "I uh...I think she's nice. I haven't had much time to get to know her yet." He looked back at Quetzal, who was guarding the rear. "Quetzal, however...she seems to be hiding something."

"Why not look in her mind and check?"

Venice stopped, grabbing Silver's shoulders. "Are you nuts!? That's the first rule of telepathy! 'Don't enter someone's mind without their knowledge and permission.'"

"Everything alright?" Shadow called from the front.

"Y-Yeah!" Silver answered. "Just talking."

"Uh huh." Shadow didn't sound convinced.

Silver shrugged, then suddenly felt a throbbing pain in his head. "Uh...!"

"Silver?" Sonic asked.
Silver looked up into the sky, then everything went black as he felt himself falling...

........................................................................

"SILVER!" Shadow ran back, picking his little brother up, who was now limp in his arms. "Come on, kid...!"

Venice reached towards Silver's temples, then pulled back with a yelp. "S-Something's keeping me from entering his mind! I swear this isn't my fault."

"We need to keep moving if we're going to make it by nightfall." Quetzal explained.

Shadow nodded slowly, letting Silver's head rest on his shoulder. "Let's keep going, I'll carry him until he recovers..."