The next day, the Team Chaotix members were almost fully prepared. In his room, Vector put his personal belongings in a bag. He was still forlorn.

Suddenly, Charmy burst in. "Are you ready yet?!"

Vector was so startled that he tossed his backpack in the air and briefly juggled it. "Gah! Don't pop up outta nowhere like that!"

Charmy pushed Vector out of his room and towards the door, where Espio was waiting. "Go, go, go, go!"

Vector opened the door, and there was Cream. Cheese was perched on her shoulder.

"Hello," she said, bowing. "I've decided to come with you."

"Oh, no way," Vector shook his head. "A little kid like you could get into real trouble, you know."

"But this is really important," Cream insisted. "I really, really want to see my dad as soon as possible. It's been so long, and there's so much to catch up on. And what about Cheese? They didn't know him too long before he got lost. They want to get to know him more."

Cheese put up their best puppy-dog eyes. Vector was starting to have second thoughts.

Espio questioned, "Did you get your mother's permission?"

"Mmhmm," Cream affirmed. "Also, Charmy's a kid too, and you let him join you all the time."

Charmy looked at Vector smugly. "Can't argue with that, can ya, big guy?"

Vector exhaled. "Alright, you can join."

"Yay!" Cream cheered. Cheese squealed with glee. Off they all went.

Later, they arrived at the mountain and hiked up the path that led to the cabins. There were some dark clouds forming together in the sky.

"Where do you think he could be?" Cream wondered.

"It's hard to say," Espio told her. "We'll have to look for clues such as footprints or crumbs."

"They'll lead us to him in no time flat," Vector declared. "The answer's gonna hit us like lightning."

Just then, there was a loud clap of thunder, and a bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of them, causing them to jump back and Cheese to shriek.

"Way to go, big guy!" Charmy snarked.

They were about to run off, but Espio held his hand out to stop them. "Wait. There's an electrical current on the ground, we can't cross here."

Vector held onto Cream's ankles while Cheese held onto her and helped her fly. Espio also hung from Charmy's ankles, and they all took flight. Lightning bolts were still advancing in their direction, so the flying three kids dodged them. Another crack of thunder was heard, and a lightning bolt struck Charmy on the wing. Charmy screamed in pain, and he and Espio began to fall.

Cream and Cheese swooped downwards at a rapid speed. Vector reached out, attempting to grab Espio and Charmy. Charmy screamed as another lightning bolt started to come for him and Espio. Espio thought fast and extended his tail. Vector grabbed hold of it. With all this weight, Cream and Cheese found it difficult to carry everyone, so Cream became tired and landed on the ground. Thankfully, a cave was nearby, so they all ran inside. Vector held the whimpering Charmy in his arms.

"Hey," Vector whispered. "Are you alright?"

"No!" Charmy began to cry. "It hurts! It really hurts!"

Even though they often found Charmy annoying, Espio and Vector were concerned for him. Cream was tearing up out of sympathy and she held his hand. Vector gave Charmy a hug and rubbed his back. Right then, Espio noticed that Charmy had a burn mark on his wing.

"Where's the first aid kit?" Espio asked.

Vector started to look in a duffel bag, but Cheese held their hand up. Vector looked at them. "You wanna do the honors?"

Cheese nodded and dug into the bag. They took out the kit and found some gauze. They tied it around Charmy's wing. Cream handed Charmy a tissue.

Charmy wiped his eyes and blew his nose. "Thanks, needed that."

"You will have to stay off that wing for quite some time," Espio advised.

"Aw, but it's fun," Charmy pouted.

"He's got a point, y'know," Vector said firmly. "You don't wanna hurt it even more, do ya?"

"Uh-uh," Charmy answered.

"Um, guys?" Cream said. "I think we'll have to stay here for the night."

"The thunderstorm will probably pass by the morning," Espio noted.

"It's probably good that Tails wasn't here," Vector cracked. "He would've freaked out."

They took out their sleeping bags. Cream looked nervous, so she lay right next to Vector, who had Charmy right by his side.

Vector turned towards her. "Something up, kiddo?"

"This is the first time I've spent the night away from home without my mom, Amy or Big," she told him. "It feels different."

"You're not alone, smallfry," Vector said, petting her on the head. "There's a first time for everythin', and we're here for ya every step of the way."

Cream was touched by his words. She smiled and gave him a small hug. Espio was in his sleeping bag as well and was parked a bit further away from them, but Vector reached over and brought him over to them. Espio was a little surprised, but he smiled too because of how nice and warm it felt. Soon, the team all fell asleep together.