Nimbus' Destined

Larger Problems

Shadow wished he could sleep that night, but he couldn't.

Sonic had unveiled a terrifying concept. Shadow was the oldest prince.
He was meant to be the next king.

All his life, Shadow had been a soldier. Doing what he was told, getting stuff done. To be a king would mean he'd be in charge...
He didn't like that idea, but he kept it a secret from the others.

How could Venice be so excited for a life of rules and regulations? Then again, he'd have a family again... did Shadow want to meet his parents?

"Can't sleep?"

Shadow broke from his thoughts, seeing Sonic was also still awake. "No...you?"

"Too curious about home. What do you think it's like?"

"Warm... a temperate climate."

Sonic suddenly sat up with a gasp. "You don't think Mom and Dad will make us wear clothes, do you?"

"Pants, at least."

"Oh no..."

Shadow smirked. "What is it with you and clothes?"

"We tried to make it work once, didn't happen."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Goodnight, Faker."

"Goodnight, Shadow."

Shadow settled down in the grass again. It was only a few minutes later when Shadow felt something was wrong. "Sonic."

"What...?"

"Something's out there."
Suddenly something snapped around his neck from behind, cutting off his air supply. "Awk! S-Sonic...!"

"We're under attack!" Sonic shouted, and suddenly everyone was awake.

Shadow struggled to free himself as they were swarmed by soldiers, his lungs already burning. Everyone else was busy with their own attackers.

He had to do this himself.

He remembered that he had other powers, those that not even he knew what they were. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to ignite a spark or something.

His whole body tensed, then he threw himself into a spindash, knocking the object loose from his neck. But as his feet met the ground, he was taller...

In fact, his ears were reaching the branches ten feet from the ground.

He grinned. "Found it!" He said, knocking back his attackers. "Guys! Let's go!"

The others nodded, dashing into the trees while he covered the rear. He'd found his nonhereditary power...he could increase his size. Could he shrink too? He'd have to test that later.

The sounds of the soldiers faded into the woods, and they slowed to a walk. Shadow paused for a moment, panting as his body reverted back to normal size. "Whew...that was crazy...!"

"Are you kidding!?" Sonic put an arm around his brother. "That was awesome! You can totally squash Egghead's bots doing that!"

Shadow smiled a little. "How much farther, Chaos?"

"We're here." Chaos replied, stopping. "From here I can warp you all to the right dimension. Once you're there, your allies will assist you in getting to Sinseria."

"You're not coming with us?" Venice asked.

Chip nodded. "We have to make sure that Lazla's men don't block off the gates...good luck, guys!"

Shadow allowed Rouge to wrap her arms around his waist, the others all holding hands to keep from getting separated.

Chaos lifted his hands, an energy washing around them like a fog. "Chaos...Control!"

Shadow flinched as the energy swept over him, and he fought not to panic as the ground vanished from underneath him and he fell.
This Chaos Control was different, tossing him into a whole other world.

He felt Rouge digging her head into his shoulder, trying to muffle her squeals. Lights flew by them then suddenly they were gone, and Shadow hit the grassy slope before rolling down the hillside. "Whoa whoa whoa!"

They finally came a stop, with Rouge looking down at him. She grinned and leaned closer to him, but he stopped her. "Not now."

Rouge sighed, then they sat up and looked around.

The landscape was grassy with sand below it, and from the east Shadow could smell salt water. The sky was slowly getting darker, the stars peeping out from behind wispy clouds.

"Where the heck are we?" Sonic asked, then yelped as something hit him from above. "OW!"

Venice picked up the object, a rolled bundle of paper. "Looks like a map." He replied, then looked to the sky. "Thank you, gravity! Silver, some light?"
Silver nodded, igniting his hands and allowing them to see. "Okay..."

"How do you use a map if you don't even know where you are in the first place!?" Amy complained.

"The ocean's to the east." Shadow pointed to the map. "So we're not in Nimbus, but either Jikierhri, Zipherwixo, or the Unclaimed Territory."

"If it's unclaimed, why hasn't anyone taken it?" Silver asked.

Shadow shrugged. "Let's rest, then we can look for civilization in the morning..."