Nimbus' Destined

Gotta Go, Fast!

After a few days, Sonic was back on his feet, and the excitement of their arrival faded out.

Sonic tried all sorts of ways to manifest his nonhereditary power, but most attempts only gave him gas. Shadow joked his power was super flatulence.

"Why is this so hard!?" He complained, stirring his tea rapidly. "What if my power's something stupid? What if it is super farts!?"

Venice giggled, "You're trying too hard, Sonic."

"Well, I still don't know what yours is."

"I told you. I'll use it when it's necessary."

"When is 'necessary...?'"

"Alright boys, enough fighting." Minerva said. "You'll be leaving to finish your journey tomorrow, so be sure you're all ready."

"Tomorrow!?" Sonic stood up. "And why do you say 'Your Journey' like you're not coming with us?"

"I'm leaving this afternoon to return to Sinseria. This is your chance to prove to Lazla that you're ready to take her on your own."

"But we're not ready!" Silver replied. "Mom, we barely know what we're doing!"

Minerva smiled, "You are ready... If you can take down Chaos, a biolizard and a futuristic madman, you can most certainly beat Lazla..."

Sonic smiled, but it faded as he remembered the fourth member. "What about Venice? The worst he's fought is a bad oil leak."

Minerva smirked. "Venice will find his power soon enough... Keep each other safe, okay?"

They looked to each other, then all nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

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

The next morning, just before dawn, the group packed up and headed out of the Misty Bogs. They took a different route out of the bogs than before, this one taking to the western edge, rather than the southern.

As the sky started to lighten, they reached the edge, and they could see Lazla's men camped right outside the trees.

"They knew we'd take this path...!" Sonic hissed.

"Not really..." Amanda said. "They've got idiots parked all the way around the part of the bog bordering Nimbus."

Sonic blinked. "Wow. So how do we get past them?"

"I could be a decoy and lead them away." Venice suggested.

Shadow shook his head. "Oooh no. I'm not having anybody play decoy. They might get caught."

"Except maybe the ghost followin' us." Tails replied.

"What?" Shadow looked around, then felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked to see a wispy shape of a female hedgehog grinning, barely managing not to scream. "Geez...!"

I'll psyche them out... She whispered. They'll freak, and while they're running, you pretend like you're running from me too. Nobody will suspect a thing in this hazy dawn.

Shadow had to admit, the ghost had a good plan. "Alright...be careful."

She winked, then floated off towards the camp.

"How long has she been following us, Tails?" Sonic asked.

Tails blushed, tapping his fingers together. "Since she helped Amy and I to find you guys back on Mobius...?"

"And you only mentioned her to us just now...why?!"

Before an answer could be given, a terrified shriek escaped the camp. They slowly crept forward, waiting until the right moment to start running, screaming and waving their arms around as if trying to bat the ghost away.
It worked. With the whole camp in an uproar, nobody noticed the teenagers dashing through the camp. This was no time for cheesy acting, they screamed and looked as authentic as they could.

They kept running until the screams were out of earshot, then collapsed into the grass to rest. Despite being out of breath, a few giggles escaped as they laid there, smiles on their faces.

"I have never felt joy in pretending to be scared..." Venice murmured. "...but that was AWESOME!"

Sonic snickered. "Nice to see you lightening up, kiddo!"

"We've still got some ways to go." Silver opened the new map their mother had given them, drawn in a glowing ink so they could see it in the dark. "We've still got to cross the Sea of Grass and Wicketier's ridge before we reach Sinseria's walls."

"'Sea of Grass...?'" Sonic smirked. "Doesn't sound too hard."

"Open hilly fields for miles in end." Amanda explained. "Looks like a raging sea of grass from Sinseria."

"Hills, but hardly any cover." Shadow said. "Lazla's men will have the advantage from here on out. You ready?"

Sonic grinned. "Let's do it to it...!"

Silver paused, pointing at his brother. "I will pay you... to never say that again."

While Sonic stood staring in confusion, Shadow grinned, then motioned for them to keep moving.