A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry for this chapter being so late today! I was having trouble figuring out how exactly I wanted this chapter to go. I also feel that this chapter is a little short, but it's also perfect for what's supposed to happen. A perfect look into the future. Anyways, again, sorry for the late update.

Chapter 6: River Crossing

Day 3

It was day three on the group's journey to the Amazon River and the Indian tribe that rested by it. The day had started out as any normal, well, normal enough to be waking up in the middle of the rainforest, but as time went by, the sky began to darken, indicating, much to Shadow's annoyance, that it was going to rain. The day was only halfway over, when the first drop of the storm started the full-on downpour.

"Great, just what we need." The ebony hedgehog hissed in annoyance.

"Like I said, Shads, it's a 'rain'forest." Sonic shrugged.

"Yes, so you've indicated before." Shadow growled back.

As they continued to walk, the storm began to worsen, hitting the palm leaves like a million bullets a second. The group was grateful for the shelter of the forest, but it did little to protect the ground beneath them. In less than a minute, the ground they walked upon was soggy and wet, forming mud as exposed dirt mixed with the sky water. Their shoes sunk into the mushy ground more than once as they walked, creating loud suction sounds as they pulled out to continue forward. Suddenly, Karl stopped, and the two hedgehogs' ears flicked in the rain at the sound of rushing water.

"Sonic, you still got that rope in your bag?" The guide asked the blue hedgehog.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Good, cause we're gonna need it."

Curious to know why, Sonic looked ahead of the human and his eyes widened as his face paled.

Right in front of them, was a river of water rushing right by them, the currents becoming stronger with the rain that fed it. It wasn't overly large, about maybe as big as an American soccer field, but that still didn't mean Sonic was any more willing to go in himself.

"Well Faker, you gonna give him the rope? Or am I gonna have to go digging through your bag myself?" Shadow huffed, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at his companion.

"Oh, uh, yeah, right." Sonic blushed as he took his bag off and opened it up, digging into the pocket to bring out the rope. "Here you go, Karl."

"Thank you." Karl smiled before taking the rope and tying an end of it to a nearby tree closest to the river. "I'll be right back."

Before anyone could question on what he was about to do, the crazy human jumped into the river and began to quickly swim over to the other side, holding tightly onto the rope so he wouldn't be swept away by the strong currents. When he finally made it to the other side, he climbed up the bank and tied the other end of the rope he was holding to another nearby tree. Making sure the knot was tight, he turned back to the group on the other side of the river.

"Alright you guys!" He shouted through his hands. "Grab the rope and start making your way over. Once you're on this side, I'll go back and untie it and bring it back."

"Affirmative, Karl!" Shadow shouted back before turning to Sonic and Charles. "Alright you two, let's get going and get this over with."

"U-Umm," Sonic stuttered, his gaze going from Shadow, to the river, to the rope, and back again, his face still pale with fear. "M-maybe I should stay on this side, and make sure the rope doesn't untie itself?"

"Not an option, Faker." Shadow frowned. "Besides, even if it does untie itself, we can just do what Karl did and just hang onto the rope."

"Yeah, it's as simple as that." Charles shrugged, slapping a firm hand onto Sonic's shoulder. "Nothing to worry about."

Sonic, however, was not convinced. He kept staring at the rushing water, his fear slowly starting to become more obvious. Charles knew nothing about the blue hedgehog's hydrophobia, but Shadow did. He should've known that he would be hesitant, if not downright terrified, to simply walk into the river, despite there being something to hold onto. Shadow continued to stare at his companion, the fear become more and more apparent the more Sonic stared at the river. Ebony sighed. He had to convince the blue somehow.

"Look, Sonic," He started as he approached the younger hedgehog, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder in reassurance. "I know you're scared, but in order to continue our mission, we have to cross this river. If I could, I would simply Chaos Control us to the other side, but I don't have my Chaos Emerald with me, so that's not an option. You need to be brave this time."

"But…" Sonic shuddered. "What if I accidently let go of the rope? What if the river just simply takes me away? I can't swim, Shads. I'll drown!"

"No you won't." Shadow frowned, grabbing Sonic's shoulders to spin him around and face him. Ruby met green, one filled with terror, the other filled with promise. "Because I won't let you."

Sonic was speechless. Shadow basically just told Sonic he would protect him and save him if any trouble crossing the river were to happen! It made a warm fuzzy feeling to fill his stomach, making him smile just slightly.

"Promise?" He asked, holding his pinky finger up to seal the deal.

Shadow rolled his eyes, but he brought his own pinky finger up and wrapped it around Sonic's, a slight smile stretching across his muzzle at the childish, but reassuring gesture.

"I promise."

Sonic smiled and let go of Shadow's finger, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves as he turned back to the rushing river.

"So are we going?" Charles asked, deciding not to talk about what just happened.

"Yes, we are." Shadow nodded. "Sonic, you're up front so that you can get out of the river first, I'll go next right behind you, and Officer Charles, you stick behind me, everybody got that?"

"Yes sir." Sonic and Charles both answered in unison.

"Then let's go."

With that, Sonic hesitantly grabbed onto the rope and slowly began descending into the water, holding onto the rope as tightly as he could. He was visibly shaking, but he swallowed up his fear and continued forth, remembering that Shadow had promised to keep him safe. Shadow grabbed onto the rope after Sonic and held on just as tight as he went into the water as well. Charles shortly followed after.

The process was slow, considering that Sonic was up front, shaking terribly in fear, but Shadow decided not to rush him. It would only make his fear worse.

Instead, the ebony hedgehog encouraged him.

"It's alright Sonic, you're doing great. Just keep going forward, and we'll all be over to the other side in no time. That's it. Just hold onto that rope. Remember, I'm right here."

"S-Shadow, I'm s-scared!" Sonic whimpered. "The current is t-too strong!"

"I'm right here, Sonic, remember that. I promised you that you wouldn't drown, and I intend to keep that promise. You're doing just fine. Just keep going. That's it. We're almost there."

Suddenly, a loud splash came from behind Shadow, causing both hedgehogs to look back. Their eyes widened at what they saw.

The current had swept over Officer Charles, bringing his entire body down into the water. Only his hands holding tightly onto the rope were visible, and they could clearly see him struggling.

"Officer Charles!" Sonic cried.

"Sonic, get to the bank!" Shadow ordered. "I'll get him, just get out of the water!"

Nodding quickly, Sonic, as quick as he could, climbed up the rope onto the riverbank, where Karl was waiting patiently to help pull them out. After seeing that Sonic had safely made it to the other side, Shadow quickly turned his attention back to the other human and quickly made his way over to him.

Charles pulled onto the rope with as much strength as he could in the rushing water, barely pulling his head above the surface. Shadow quickly reached him and dove his hand underneath the water, searching for something to grab onto the man and help pull him back up.

With sheer strength only the Ultimate Life form could possess, Shadow pulled Charles out of the water and laid his upper body hanging over the rope. Charles coughed and sputtered as he spit water back up out of his system, taking deep breaths of air that had been knocked out of him after that wave had submerged him.

"What's wrong with you?" Shadow hissed at the man once he could make himself heard.

"What do you mean?" Charles frowned back, not sure where the American G.U.N agent was getting at.

"You know exactly what I mean," Obsidian growled. "you're not enjoying this one bit. You're refusing to eat and you're getting weaker while the rest of us grow stronger. I mean, look at Sonic. He's absolutely terrified by water, and yet he was able to swallow his fear to cross this river, and that's the most strength I've ever seen from him. Why don't you just turn back? You're obviously not cut out for the jungle."

"Just go, I'll be fine." Charles growled back. "I was born and raised here in the Amazon, so don't you dare say I'm not cut out. Go!"

Shadow huffed and turned away from the South American G.U.N agent, quickly pulling himself across the river and onto the bank, Charles following close behind.

After everyone was standing on the other side of the river, Karl swam back to the other side and retrieved the rope before swimming back. After wrapping the rope back up and putting it away, Karl quickly rechecked the map before they moved ahead again, determined to reach the Indian tribe in the next day.