As Silver stepped off the train, he noticed Holly already scolding Blur for standing too close to the edge of the platform. Blur took a single step back, then went right back to gawking at the view.

"Lookit the waterfall! And there's Tails' old workshop! You think the Egg Carrier crash is still out there?"

"We've got other things to worry about, Blur!" she pulled him along.

"Do I have to go down the stairs? I wanna see if I can jump down and land on my feet like dad can!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Can I slide down the stairs at least?"

"You are going to use the stairs like a normal, safe, non-daredevil person!"

Blur, of course, went down the stairs backwards. Just because he could. He made it down the first flights easily. And then he tripped on the second to last step and landed flat on his back in the grass.

Holly had no sympathy for him. "Uh huh. See what happens when you don't listen?"

"The only reason we're here is because we aren't listening. We're not supposed to be here! We're not supposed to do a rescue mission on our own! Dad said- "

"O-okay! That's enough. I don't want to think about it!" Holly quickly turned her attention to the map. "We need to take the cart through the caves and follow the trail in the jungle." She hurriedly led the group, keeping a close eye on Blur as they went by the waterfall.

Blur, as expected, bolted away from his sister. She reached to grab him, but he slipped out of reach and ran down to the pond.

She took off after him, "Come back here! One of these days you're gonna get so far away from me, you end up in another town! What are you gonna do then!?" She stopped at the edge of the water just as Blur jumped in, forcing her to backpedal to escape the splash. "Blur! Get over here! Now!"

The kid slapped the surface of the water noisily, "Come get me!"

"You better come here!"

"Grab me! I dare ya!" He spun around, splashing the water up.

Holly stood on the bank, absolutely fuming with annoyance.

"Are you scared? I think you are!" Blur teased.

"I'm not scared! I just don't like water!"

"Ha ha agh!" Blur yipped with surprise when Silver suddenly lifted him up. The little troublemaker sheepishly looked back at the older hedgehog, who had waded into the pond and snuck up behind him.

"You are in so much trouble when you get back over here!" Holly yelled.

Blur looked at Silver pleadingly, "Please don't."

"Sorry. You gotta stick with your sister. I don't make the rules."

The hoglet spent much of their walk frowning, whining, and sulking, but at least he didn't try to run off again. Not that he could if he wanted to, considering the death grip Holly had on his arm.

As they left the cave, reaching the more heavily forested part of the region, he couldn't resist the urge to yell into the jungle, sending birds scattering. Holly sighed.

"Don't worry. I'm done now." He assured her.

"You'd better be."

They followed the winding paths until they emerged from the jungle. Right by the cliff, there was a building with the same logo they had seen on the poster. And extending off the cliff's edge was a runway.

Silver smiled, pleased with their success so far. "We're making good progress. We'll have dad home in no time!"

"You make it sound so easy." Holly responded, only slightly sincerely.

As they boarded the plane, Silver kidded, "I hope you're not scared of heights."

"I'm not!" Blur announced. "I love riding in the Tornado! Dad won't let me ride on the wing with him, though."

"Thank goodness." Holly muttered.

While Blur stared out the window in awe, Holly and Silver considered their plan.

"So, you're expecting to learn chaos control within a day? Don't you think that's a little…um…difficult?"

"Well, no." Silver said defensively, "I don't expect to become a pro. I just need to be decent at it. I think the odds are good. My dad has a talent for chaos control. Sonic figured it out in a minute. And even if I can't learn everything, every little bit helps."

"Your dad's the ultimate lifeform. My dad has a connection to chaos energy. You don't have that advantage."

"Maybe you do."

"I can assure you that I don't."

"Well I believe that even if none of us are chaos control masters, we still have enough talent between us to get the job done."

"I sure hope so…"

The plane touched down, the doors opened, and Blur hopped out. Silver helped Holly down. She thanked him with a grin. Switching to the Angel Island map, she said, "Now we just need to get to the Master Emerald shrine and hope Knuckles is there."

"Why wouldn't he be there?" Silver asked, "He's the guardian!"

"He's training a new guardian. And I think he lets Tikal and Chaos fill in for him occasionally."

"Oh. Makes sense. I bet he must be happy to have a break."

Holly laughed, "You'd think. But every time he visits, he worries about the Emerald the entire time. He was the sole guardian for so long, I guess that mindset is habit by now."

"He's not there!" Blur shouted.

"And how do you know?"

"I ran over there and back real quick."

Silver looked at Holly. "That was fast."

"Son of the fastest thing alive." She explained with an amused look. She started walking toward the shrine. "And Blur, what did I say about leaving my sight?"

"You didn't even know I was gone!"

"Exactly! You could fall right off the island I wouldn't notice until it's too late!"

"That sounds kinda fun though. I wanna fall right off the island!"

"No, you don't!"

"Would it hurt to just try?"

"Yes, it would hurt. And I won't be able to help you!"

"Yeah. Cause I'd land in the ocean and you're too scared of water to come get me!" He took off at full speed, headed in the direction of the shrine.

"Blur!" She ran after him.

And Silver followed, catching up just in time to see Blur trip on the shaky bridge and faceplant. Holly picked him up and dragged him to his feet.

Stopping just short of stepping onto the Shrine Island, they took a moment to regain their bearings and approach the situation with proper dignity.

Silver looked at the siblings. Although he was brimming with excitement, Holly was clearly bothered by something.

Trying to cheer her up, Silver pointed out, "We made it to phase 2! It's getting exciting now!"

Holly didn't share his enthusiasm. "What if exciting is dangerous? Maybe I don't want exciting."

"You always sounded so enthusiastic when you talked about going on trips with your family. I thought you liked adventure."

"Well, yeah. Sometimes I do." Wringing her hands, she uncertainly added, "I'm just a little…nervous."

She lifted her head when Silver put a hand on her shoulder. He asked, "Do you want to go back?"

"We've gone so far…" More sure of herself, she said, "I'm not ready to turn back yet."

Silver gave an optimistic smile. "Then let's keep moving."

She stopped him as he started to walk onward, "Wait! When we're not back tonight, our parents will be worried sick!"

Blur didn't miss a beat. "Too late to turn back now." He confidently stepped off the bridge. "Let's go!"

Silver nodded to Holly, "Take a breath. We can do this. One step at a time."

She looked at him. Even though she still felt nervous, something else dampened her fear. Devotion? Trust? Silver's smile gave her confidence. She'd follow him right off the planet and into space if she had to.

With a sigh, she said, "Alright." And together, they began the walk to the Master Emerald shrine.

I was wrong. Here's a little more filler. But at least the next few chapters are gonna be a big change.