A/N: Hey, sorry this is late again, but WOW was this a long chapter, and with a lot of translations too. I hope you enjoy this chapter I spent all day working on. Things get a little intense here.

Chapter 8: Run Away

Day 7

Three days later, the two hedgehogs with their two Indian guides were still paddling down the river in their canoe. They had only made it a fourth down the river and still had so far to go to reach Eldorado. It's not like they were any hurry, they still had about four weeks to find and study the Devil Dragon, but let's remember, Sonic hates water.

"Will you at least try to relax?" Shadow frowned at the blue hedgehog, who was hanging onto the sides of the canoe for dear life.

"I'm trying Shads, I really am." Sonic gasped, trying his best not to hyperventilate as he stared at the water. "But it's not so easy to get over your fears so quickly."

"I understand." Shadow sighed, scooting closer over to his companion, placing his hands on his shoulders. Sonic paid no attention, unable to look away from the river. Shadow frowned at this. "Sonic, look at me."

Sonic's form stayed rigid.

"Look at me, Sonic."

Sonic, gulping fearfully, finally turned his head to Shadow, giving him his full attention when he saw the other smiling reassuringly.

"Remember my promise." Shadow smiled, pinky up. "Remember."

Sonic looked at Shadow and smiled warmly, wrapping his pinky around the ebony's.

"As long as you don't break your promise, I'll try to stay relaxed."

"I don't plan to."

"Sombra!"

At the shout of his name from one of their guides, Shadow turned his attention from Sonic over to the Indians in the front.

"O que é isso?" (What is it?) He asked.

"Outra pista do caminho do diabo à frente." (Another clue of the Devil's path up ahead.)

"What did he say?" Sonic asked.

"Another clue to the Devil Dragon." Shadow answered, turning his attention to where the guide was pointing. Ever since the group had started down the river, they had been finding more and more clues to the giant lizard. Footprints, nests, droppings, and even the occasional pile of animal bones that the hedgehogs both hoped were just normal animals and not unexpecting Mobians.

Sure enough, when Shadow looked to the bank by the river, a large pile of bones sat by the bank.

"Excelente. Vamos atracar e ver mais de perto." (Excellent. Let's dock and get a closer look.) Shadow nodded.

"We're getting a closer look?" Sonic questioned.

"Yep, have to." Shadow nodded, proud of his companion for recognizing some words of the foreign language after teaching a few to him. "Gotta see how long ago our Devil Dragon has eaten, to determine how close we are to it. That's what we've been doing this whole time."

"I know," Sonic sighed, his head hanging sadly with his ears pressed to his head. "I just don't like looking at dead bodies, no matter where the bones come from."

"... Me either."

With those final words, the Indians docked the canoe and the two hedgehogs got out, approaching the pile of bones laid scattered across the ground.

The bones were picked clean of all meat and tissue and completely sun bleached white. Little traces of untouched blood scattered across the bones, some dried black, some still a little fresh.

"I'd say it was here mostly 2 to 3 days ago." Shadow observed, picking up one of the bones. "Whatever it ate, it was a pretty sturdy animal.

"Sombra! Sônica!"

Sonic and Shadow turned to their guides when they shouted their foreign names, watching them as they picked through the bones and each pulled one out in particular. The boys gasped at what the older one was holding.

"It's... it's…" Sonic couldn't speak.

"It's Mobian." Shadow finished, just as shocked.

What the Indian was holding was the skull of a Mobian fox. They could tell because of the size of the eyes and the shape of the skull. In the other Indians hands was the fox's femur bone, a single large bite made with razor sharp teeth clearly prominent. It was obvious that this poor soul was the victim of the Devil Dragon's lethal blood poisoning bite.

It was really awful to look at, Sonic couldn't take it, and he proved it as he suddenly turned away from the group and started vomiting on the ground, emptying his stomach of whatever this morning's breakfast was still digesting.

"Sonic!" Shadow gasped as he stood by his companion, unconsciously rubbing soothing circles on the blue hedgehog's back. "Are you ok?"

"Take it away, take it away!" Sonic whined, refusing to look back at the bones. "I don't wanna see that! That skull reminds me too much of Tails!"

At the mention of Sonic's adopted fox brother, Shadow suddenly understood. He hissed and quickly looked over to their guides.

"Largue o crânio e enterre os ossos." (Drop the skull and bury the bones.) He ordered. "Sonic tem um irmão mais novo que é uma raposa, isso é demais para ele." (Sonic has a younger brother that is a fox, this is too much for him.)

At those news, the two Indians nodded before setting to work. However, after putting the skull down, the older Indian approached Shadow, looking like he wanted to say something.

"O que é isso?" (What is it?) The ebony hedgehog demanded as he went back to rubbing circles around Sonic's back, said azure hedgehog suddenly now hugging him, but Shadow didn't mind it. Sonic needed a hug after seeing that.

"Seu amigo parece angustiado e está começando a cair no anoitecer." (Your friend seems distressed and it's starting to become nightfall.) The Indian observed. "Talvez agora fosse um bom momento para montar acampamento e descansar para a manhã seguinte." (Perhaps now would be a good time to set up camp and rest for the coming morning.)

"Aqui não." (Not here.) Sonic suddenly said, looking up at the guide. After spending three days with these Indians and learning from Shadow, he knew enough about the language to understand that the Indian wanted to set up camp, and he knew enough words to respond. "Não perto dos ossos." (Not near the bones.)

"Claro." (Of course.) The Indian nodded. "Vamos viajar mais para a floresta, longe do túmulo." (We will travel further into the forest, away from the gravesite.)

"Better grab your pack, Faker." Shadow gently patted Sonic's back. "We're setting up for the night, but we're gonna go a little deeper into the forest to get away from here."

"Ok." Sonic nodded before following the ebony hedgehog back to the canoe to grab their necessary supplies.

Once they had their packs and the guides had tied up the canoe, the group started making their way deeper into the jungle, making sure they marked their path by hitting the blade of the machete against a tree so that they knew how to get back to the river. As they marched forward, a new voice suddenly made them stop.

"Olá amigos."

At the greeting, the group turned their heads to see a local Mobian hyena with a female Mobian coyote companion approaching them. They both looked tired and grimy, their clothes resembling of adventure, but they had smiles on their faces as they looked at the newcomers.

"O que é um grupo como você fazendo tão longe aqui na selva?" (What's a group like you doing so far out here in the jungle?) The hyena politely asked.

"Nada que diga respeito a você, estranho." (Nothing that concerns you, stranger.) Shadow answered quickly, distrust already filling his veins. "Estamos apenas passando." (We're just passing through.)

"Venha agora, não há necessidade de ser tão hostil." (Come now, there's no need to be so hostile.) The hyena chuckled. "Você claramente não é daqui. Então, o que te traz?" (You're clearly not from around here. So what brings you?)

Shadow growled lowly in the back of his throat. Something about these two just screamed danger at him. However, unfortunately, Sonic didn't have the same feeling as he looked from Shadow and to the strangers.

"We're on a mission from G.U.N." He explained, assuming that that's what the hyena wanted to know.

"Sonic." Shadow hissed.

"Uma missăo, huh?" (A mission, huh?) The hyena smiled, crossing his arms over his chest. "E qual poderia ser essa missão?" (And what might that mission be?)

"... Estamos procurando por uma nova espécie de animal que tenha sido recentemente vista na Amazônia." (We're looking for a new species of animal that's recently been spotted in the Amazon.) Shadow hesitantly explained. "Nós seguimos suas pegadas e parece que está indo para o Eldorado." (We've been following its tracks, and looks like it's headed for Eldorado.)

The hyena smiled.

"Eldorado." He chuckled, looking to his coyote companion.

"Que legal." (How exciting.) She giggled. "Como você está chegando lá?" (How are you getting there?)

"Estamos levando uma canoa até o rio para chegar lá." (We're taking a canoe up the river to get there.) One of the Indians answered before Shadow had a chance to shush him.

"Não, não, você vê meu amigo, o rio para Eldorado é um caminho perigoso." (No, no, you see my friend, the river to Eldorado is a dangerous course.) The hyena explained. "As corredeiras estão sempre à frente, o que pode ser perigoso para navegar sem experiência." (Rapids are straight up ahead which can be dangerous to navigate without experience.)

"What's he saying, Shads?" Sonic quietly asked.

"He's saying that there are dangerous rapids in the river up ahead to Eldorado."

"D-dangerous r-rapids?" Sonic shook, terrified just thinking about falling into one of those.

"No entanto, posso ajudá-lo." (However, I may be able to help you.) The hyena continued. "Você vê, eu sou um explorador experiente que lidou com muitas corredeiras no meu tempo. Se você estiver disposto, posso assumir como seu guia e orientá-lo pelas corredeiras à frente." (You see, I'm an experienced explorer that has dealt with many river rapids in my time. If you are willing, I can take over as your guide and coach you through the rapids up ahead.)

"He's offering to be our guide through the rapids." Shadow explained to Sonic.

"Do you really think he can get us through?" Sonic asked.

"... I'm not sure."

"... Well, I say we should at least give him a chance." Sonic suggested before looking to the hyena. "Sim." (Yes.)

"Maravilhoso!" (Wonderful!) The hyena clapped before Shadow could say anything. "Venha, siga-me de volta ao nosso acampamento. Podemos descansar antes de ir para as corredeiras amanhã." (Come, follow me back to our camp. We can rest up before heading for the rapids tomorrow.)

…

That night, while Sonic and the Indians slept, Shadow laid awake in the hammock that he was sharing with the blue hedgehog. The hyena only had the one spare in case he and the coyote came across a lone traveler lost in the jungle. Sonic had immediately offered the hammock to Shadow, claiming he'll be perfectly comfortable on the ground, but Shadow knew that was a lie. The ground wasn't very comfortable at all. He had insisted that Sonic sleep in the hammock instead, and suddenly, they were in this position, with Shadow lying awake with his hands behind his head, while Sonic slept soundly, unconsciously cuddling up to the ebony hedgehog.

Shadow never thought he would find himself this way, but for some strange reason he didn't mind it. Maybe he was just cutting the blue some slack, he had a pretty rough day today.

However, this was not what was keeping him awake though. His thoughts were on the hyena and the coyote. He didn't trust them for some odd reason. It was strange to see them so far away from civilization. Sure, the hyena said he was an adventurer, but something about their approach just kept sending warning flags in the ebony's head. It certainly didn't help when the two suddenly got up and went into the jungle together.

Suddenly, the hedgehog had the strangest urge to go check up on things, to make sure everything was ok. Being as carefully quiet as he could, Shadow got up from the hammock without disturbing Sonic and tiptoed into the forest after the two strange Mobians. As he got closer, he could hear their voices, laughing and joking loudly to each other. Finally, he saw them just a few feet away. He jumped behind some ferns before they could see him, as he watched from a distance.

"Eles são tolos para pensar que eles podem realmente chegar a Eldorado." (They're fools to think that they can actually reach Eldorado.) The coyote laughed as she took a swig of cheap rum from a bottle.

"Ah, mas veja, não é para isso que eles estão aqui." (Ah, but you see, that's not what they're here for.) The hyena chuckled, taking the rum as the coyote passed it to him. "Eles estão aqui pelo Dragão do Diabo." (They're here for the Devil Dragon.)

Shadow inwardly gasped at that. How did he know about the Devil Dragon?

"E isso é outra coisa." (And that's another thing.) The coyote rolled her eyes. "Eles não viram os restos de Trails' ao longo da margem do rio depois que ele finalmente sucumbiu à mordida do diabo?" (Did they not see Trails' remains over by the river bank after he finally succumbed to the Devil's bite?)

"Oh não, eles fizeram. Voltei para conferir a canoa e descobri que haviam enterrado seus ossos na areia." (Oh no, they did. I went back to check out their canoe, and I discovered that they had buried his bones in the sand.)

Now this was suspicious. If they knew that poor fox, then perhaps the hammock wasn't a spare after all.

"Talvez você esteja certo." (Perhaps you're right.) The hyena continued before taking another swig of rum. "Talvez eles sejam realmente idiotas." (Perhaps they really are just idiots.)

Shadow couldn't help but lowly growl at the insult. Thankfully, he was too far away for them to hear him.

"Eu digo que, se eles forem mortos de qualquer maneira, nós devemos apenas colocá-los fora de sua miséria." (I say, that if they're just gonna get themselves killed anyway, we should just put them out of their misery.)

"Mas e os indianos?" (But what about the Indians?)

"Você realmente acha que eles vão se importar com um par de ouriços Mobian?" (Do you really think they're gonna care about a couple of Mobian hedgehogs?)

The coyote stared at the hyena, a mischievous glint in her eyes. The hyena stared back, and he smiled.

"Não, suponho que não." (No, I suppose not.) He answered. The coyote chuckled.

"Então, quem vai ser o único a fazer isso?" (So, who's gonna be the one to do it?) She asked.

"Eu vou fazer isso. Eu vou cortar suas gargantas durante o sono. ... Mas primeiro…" (I'll do it. I'll slit their throats in their sleep. ... But first…)

Suddenly, a harsh wind blew past Shadow's face, causing him to give a startled yelp. He heard something hit a tree behind him, and he turned to see what it was. His eyes couldn't believe it. He had barely just dodged a machete to the face! His attention quickly whipped back over to the locals, his eyes widening when he saw them staring directly at him.

"Você realmente achou que nós não sabíamos que você estava lá?" (Did you really think we didn't know you were there?) The hyena growled. "Acho melhor você pensar em mudar a cor das suas listras. O vermelho é um morto doar." (I think you better consider changing the color of your stripes. The red is a dead give away.)

For the first time in his life, Shadow cursed the color of his stripes. Thinking quickly, Shadow turned back and ran as quick as he could through the obstacle course that was the jungle, grabbing the machete back as he passed it. He could hear the hyena and coyote quickly following him from behind, but even if he wasn't running at his mach speed, he was still able to leave them behind.

Shadow quickly got back to camp and went over to Sonic, thinking about his sleeping companion first. He had promised to protect him, and he wasn't about to break it now.

"Sonic!" He cried to the azure hedgehog. "Sonic, wake up!"

"Huh?" Sonic grumbled sleepily, opening his eyes to see Shadow staring fearfully down at him. "Shadow? What's going on?"

"We were wrong about the strangers." Shadow explained quickly. "I just overheard a conversation between them. They're gonna kill us, Sonic!"

Seeing and hearing the fear within Shadow was all that Sonic needed to believe him as his eyes suddenly shot open, looking as if he had been awake the whole time without needing sleep.

"Oh dear lord Chaos!" He gasped.

"Quick, grab your bag and let's go before they get here!" Shadow ordered as he pick up both of their bags, handing Sonic his.

"What about the Indians?" Sonic asked as he put his bag on.

"They don't care about them, it's only us they're after. Come on, we gotta go!"

Sonic nodded and quickly followed Shadow through the jungle back to the river, whimpering when he suddenly heard angry shouts coming from behind him. Oh, how he wished they could run faster without worrying about tripping over jungle roots.

"Shads, they're coming!"

"Keep running, we're almost there!"

And just like that, they were back at the bank where they started. Wasting no time, the two hedgehogs threw their bags into the canoe and untied the rope, working together to push the boat into the water. Once it was in, they quickly climbed into the canoe and began to paddle away from the shore, quickly reaching the middle of the river where the two canine Mobians couldn't reach them.

"They won't be able to get us from here." Shadow sighed in relief.

"Yeah, but now we have another problem." Sonic pointed out.

"And what's that?"

"We're in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest, in the middle of the Amazon River, at night time and with no guides."

"Don't worry Sonic," Shadow smiled reassuringly. "We'll paddle just a little further up the river to surely be away from the strangers and then we'll dock and set up camp. Then, in the morning, we'll go over the map and our supplies to see what we got. We can survive this without guides. They've taught us enough, don't you think?"

With that, Shadow grabbed his paddle and began rowing through the water. Sonic sighed and brought up his own paddle, rowing in tune with the ebony hedgehog.

"I hope you're right, Shads."