Chapter Text
A slam was quickly followed by a thud. The creak of a chair turned in place, then a loud scoff tried to cover the crinkling of paper being shoved somewhere.
“You could’ve easily opened the door. You know that, right?”
Silver almost tripped in place due to how fast he blindlessly ran. His breathing got faster by the second as he quickly composed himself and sped up the progress even if his limbs and muscles screamed at him to stop.
“Who cares, I can fix it.” An all too familiar sound echoed in his ears before a creak repeatedly looped afterwards. “See? Fixed. Anyway-” Excited footsteps approached, startling him for a second. “I have to show you something, it’s very important.”
An annoyed hum, then the creak of the chair. “How important? If you can’t see, I’m clearly busy right now.”
Damn it all, how long was this vision? He had been running for a minute now, his chest felt numb. Was this his personal hell? If he dared open his eyes, he would’ve been flashed by a bright turquoise light that HURT. Yet if he dared closing his eyes for too long… the image of Shadow’s remains bleeding out staring back at him, a lifeless body twitching.
“Very important.” The footsteps get even closer again.
“Really?”
“Like…’This could change our lives and the whole world as we know it’ kind of important.” A casual snicker.
Another creak of the damned chair. “...Time Wanderer, what the hell did you do?” The voice was deeper and quieter, a clear sign of the unknown years. Yet Silver could still recognize the voice of his so-called friend.
“More like what the hell I am going to do.” Another casual snicker, shameless as well this time. “Stand up, I wanna show you a little something I found. You’re gonna love it.” The footsteps finally retreated before playing the slam and thud. “Sorry, I love doing that. Don’t you?”
“No.” He sighed as he stood up from the chair… assuming by the noise. “It better not be another prank.” More retreating footsteps.
“You’re such a brod.”
“...That’s not what that means!!”
A flash appeared in the corner of his vision. But it was of different, warmer colors. A relief of the never faltering tunnel. The flash appeared, again and again. Which prompted Silver to turn his head to the side, to the walls of the vision. They… had cracks! Through the cracks he could see a still image that somehow never changed despite Silver’s weak running. It looked like a small room made of cement and slightly lit with candles.
The hedgehog couldn’t focus more on the details, instead of the reflection staring back. Time Wanderer’s glance almost gave him a heart attack. Long enough, he noticed he wasn’t being stared at directly, but stared through. Time Wanderer couldn’t see him, instead he was looking at the wall in curiosity as if he could sense something.
“You coming?” Shadow’s voice echoed from the outside of the… house? Building? Store?
“Duh.” Time Wanderer shrugged before turning around in place, walking towards the exit.
The cracks were starting to disappear.
“Wait-” The hedgehog desperately placed his gloved hand inside one of the cracks, attempting to stop himself as he didn’t have control over his own legs anymore. Unfortunately it only stopped his upper half and messed up his balance. Silver fell and slammed his head against the ground then continued rolling through the end.
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The hedgehog was flung out of the portal, which quickly closed after his departure as if to add salt to the wound. He rolled around in place for some more, scratching his skin against the pavement afore he forced himself to a stop using his powers.
“Wait!” He called out again to no one in particular. Scurrying to stand as fast as he could, yet it was all futile. The portal had already closed, the vision never to be seen again.
His hand stayed motionless in the air, reaching for something that doesn’t exist anymore. Silver blurted out a broken chuckle, then he suddenly fell on his knees. His palms were the only thing protecting him from slamming his face in once more.
The words in the vision… Shadow referred to him as Time Wanderer, then Time Wanderer mentioned something that could change the world as they knew it and wanted to show it to Shadow, so this must be before he… Just before he…
The hedgehog shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the mental image of the shorter hedgehog being stabbed with his own weapon. He repeatedly punched himself in the head as he forced himself to think of something else. He could feel tears sliding down his face and immediately wiped them away aggressively, almost scratching his eyes.
How dare he. How dare he act like he was the victim here. Shadow is, he had every right to cry and feel absolute hatred and throw a tantrum whenever he felt like it. Not Silver, Silver was a murderer, a false hero, a hypocrite and a lunatic. It doesn’t matter how much he tried to deny it, Time Wanderer had some traits and characteristics that painfully showed that deep down he is still just Silver.
How was he supposed to fix an ‘event’ like this? Time Wanderer had the same powers that he did and worse - experience. Anything Silver threw at him could easily be undone by him. As seen in the fight, Time Wanderer knew how to actually defend himself too, not like weak Silver that kept getting surprised by future selves and being easily killed by them. The ultimate lifeform even lost to him! If that happened, what chance could Silver possibly have against him? There’s no way Silver could challenge Time Wanderer and live to tell the tale, if he failed he would doom the world too. As no one would be able to oppose Time Wanderer except him who would be dead, but then again if he- Ugh!
He was exhausted, oh so so exhausted of feeling so helpless. Of feeling like he doesn’t have a choice in any part of his life. No matter what he did, no matter how much he tried, he messed it up. His whole origins, Crisis City, he couldn’t even defeat Iblis properly if it wasn’t for Blaze. Same thing with Soleanna and Solaris, if it wasn’t for Sonic and Shadow…
Silver was completely useless. What did he ever do to be cursed like this? …Never mind, he knew now. Time Wanderer. So all this time, the illusion of power and choice - all of his suffering was because of Time Wanderer? A decision he hadn’t even made yet. That was just the cherry on top, he didn’t even get to choose the reason he was to be punished for.
The hedgehog wished he never existed. It’s not like he made an actual difference in the world, did he? Crisis City is still Crisis City. Sonic and co. are miraculous-like, they would’ve probably figured out a way to fix all those events on their own if Silver had never showed up. He’s just delaying the inevitable. Why was he ever born at all? From the moment he had memory, he had to work and fix the Iblis event. His whole life he had burned himself out trying to futilely save a doomed present. Why was he tasked with these powers? With these responsibilities? Was it for the amusement of a god? The entertainment of the universe? His sacrifice so no one else had to suffer like he did?
But that’s not fair. That’s not fair.
“...Why?” He was disgusted at his own wavering voice. Which caused his fists to clench further before smashing onto the dried ground. He accidentally released a shockwave that shook the whole planet and left cracks on the floor, it startled him. It didn’t matter, he could easily fix it later, he always had to do so. “Why!? Whywhywhywhywhy!?” He repeatedly punched the floor, not caring if his knuckles ached and his gloves became tainted with crimson.
…Although, there was a way to get rid of Time Wanderer. For good, without the previously mentioned even noticing.
Something Silver the hedgehog should’ve done a long time ago.
He forced himself to stand off the ground. Then, with the remaining energy he had, he summoned a psychic knife and held it in place, closing his fist as he forced the chaotic energy into his will. To turn it into something malleable. He slowly turned the turquoise light into a spear, a poor mimicry of Shadow’s. Then he proceeded to turn it around and make the sharp end face his chest. Silver waved it away with his hands and made the psychic spear float backwards slowly, gaining distance from him.
He was an expert at doing this, it should be easy as pie, no?
This time it was going to be for a good cause too, not some delusion. With him gone, Time Wanderer will be too. Time Wanderer wouldn’t be able to do his plan and won't be able to murder Shadow. Everyone will be safe, safe because of him.
It will work, it should work. Sure, Silver had murdered past versions of himself before yet he was fine. It was probably because of his existence being a paradox, the universe allowed him to exist simply so it didn’t collapse on itself. Nevertheless, that was when he went to the past, the future killed the past. Now it's different. There’s no time traveling involved. Silver killing himself wouldn’t cause a paradox this time. Which means that if he died right here, right now, Time Wanderer should do so too. He must.
Thus he shall too.
…Would anyone even notice if he died here?
Silver shook his head, trying to get rid of the thought in his mind as he commanded the spear to lunge forward. The hedgehog stayed perfectly still in his spot as he forced his eyes closed, an ugly sob escaped him once more.
He had time-travelled all the way from 2006 to 2160 prior to this moment. Even if he died here now, he would still show up to help everyone in 2011. Even if he died here now, he would still show up to help everyone in 2037. Even if he died here now, he would still show up to help everyone in 2006. Nobody would be able to tell he was dead if he was appearing left and right. Nobody would know they were hugging a dead man.
Nobody would know if he died here, nobody would notice, nobody would care. He truly was alone.
He slowly opened his teary eyes as he noticed the spear took too long to finish the job. Staring down, he saw the spear stuck in place in front of him. The blade was mere inches away from his torso. Why did it stop? What happened?
He growled before grabbing the damn thing himself, full of frustration and anger. Silver could feel his spikes standing on end as he pulled the spear towards himself - just stopping before he was actually poked.
“...” He blinked in confusion, then tried again and again. It just… didn’t. His hands refused to follow his command to stab him.
Silver shrieked in anger before tossing the spear away, it mockingly stabbed itself into the dirt before it unsummoned itself. The turquoise energy dispersed away. After witnessing this, the hedgehog resumed hitting his head and repeatedly threw himself to the ground like an actual lunatic now.
Got cold feet now, why? He so easily murdered past versions, he so easily killed his best friend, there was nothing Silver desired more than dying. Why can’t he simply end it all?
It would be so easy, in the end he was just a mobian. Delicate flesh that could be torn and destroyed by his own hand. He needs to, it might be the only way he could actually stop Time Wanderer. Yet… Yet…
Silver is so pathetic he cannot do a single thing right. He cannot even kill himself properly.
The hedgehog hugged himself tightly as he fell on his knees, sobbing as pure hatred and disgust flew through his veins. Feeling immeasurable levels of self-loathing. His hand shook before he squeezed his own head tightly, plucked some spines and pulled at his ears.
Silver shrieks again, so loud this time that the planet shook from his voice alone. An echo rang in his ears to mock him of how he sounded, just like the pathetic little nothing that he was.
“...”
This is humiliating. He should stop being dramatic already, he’s not the victim here. He’s the one to blame.
Silver forced himself to stand up once more. He attempted to slap himself out of it, yet the pain caused more tears to flow. He angrily wiped them away but more just came out, this was useless. Thanks to this inconvenience, his vision was blurry. Which is why he was startled as he felt something crunchy under his foot.
He glanced down hesitantly, surprised at seeing a patch of green. Aggressively blinking tears away again, the hedgehog was found perplexed as he discovered something akin to grass, yet not quite. Silver immediately hunched over, tearing his glove off to press against the soft plant. If he wasn’t mistaken… this was moss.
Moss came before grass, didn’t it? Then after grass came flowers and saplings, then trees then fruits then life and-
He knows he shouldn’t be getting his hopes up. Knows he should be focusing on the more important things. But he couldn’t help himself. He never saw nature start to take over in Crisis City before. This was incredible progress! Was Crisis City finally safe? Can he stop going to the past now? Silver quickly stood up again, looking around to see what other changes there were.
His building was gone.
Silver’s smile faded away, his shoulders lowered. That never happened before, he always had rebuilt it or made sure that it was in the best condition possible-
This wasn’t his Crisis City.
It made sense now, he was never this lucky. That… vision too. How could he have seen it if he was supposed to travel back to 2206? The visions he saw happened between the two times Silver was travelling through. Obviously, Time Wanderer was never in Silver’s time. Thus… this isn’t his home, it's Time Wanderer’s. Of course, both his past and future got the good things. Everyone was gifted with nature, life, opportunities and families. Everyone except Silver. Because Silver the hedgehog didn’t deserve it, it was his punishment for being a murderer, a false hero, a hypocrite and a lunatic.
He should probably get out of here before he gets spotted.
Silver felt numb as he summoned the portal back, passing through with his ears against his head and his tail between his legs.
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“.evael uoy tel t’nac I …t’nac I woN” A pause.
“!!yawa lla ti werht uoy woN !sdlrow dna senilemit lla ni tsegnorts eht neeb ev’dluoc eW !lla ti dah ev’dluoc eW-W ?!siht od uoy dluow yhW… !wodahS” A distressed groan. “.truh teg ot desoppus t’nerew uoY”
The wet coughs mocked him with accusation.
“!!od em edam uoy kooL ?!llits dnats tsuj uoy did yhW -I -hW !!wodahS”
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The hedgehog took in a shaky breath as he stepped onto the stone tiles. He subtly covered his eyes as the warm sunlight directly hit him. He glanced around the familiar kingdom before he started to walk forward. If he did his calculations correct…
Soleanna - 2011
Silver was slightly surprised to see a couple of mobians. Soleanna was in Mobius, sure, but it started out as a human colony. So seeing some diversity felt refreshing. He decided to take things slow, he walked over the bridges, across the plaza. Then eventually reached his destination.
He paused as two guards stood in his path. Awkwardly looking up at the humans, Silver hummed as he occasionally glanced at the castle entrance behind them.
“State your purpose.”
The hedgehog cleared his throat. “Uhm, I wish to see the queen if that’s alright.”
One of them shook their head. “To seek a presence with the queen you must first get your permission and give a two week notice. Besides, she is currently on a stroll right now.”
Why did he even bother? He barely saw her, it's not like she would casually welcome him with open arms anyway.
“Silver?” Well I’ll be damned.
The hedgehog slowly turned around in place, eyes wide at the soft voice. In front of him stood a tall woman. She was a human with warm red hair that fell gracefully over her shoulders. The waterfall of red was entirely covered in white roses and lotuses. Her crown was more of a circlet. A pattern of iron carefully decorated with beads and the softest feathers that perfectly followed the outline of her face. She also wore long fingerless lace gloves that matched with the rest of her attire. She wore a white gown with loose sleeves, ones that exposed her shoulders. The whole dress had floral patterns and designs, some beads had been sown on as well and the bottom of the skirt had more laced layers too. The dress was so long you couldn’t even see her heels, although they made themselves known via sound.
She looked beautiful, as if she was an angel that just walked out of a wedding.
“Y-Your majesty!” Both knights immediately bowed in place, sounding both apologetic and curious. “Do you know this mobian?”
Her laughter immediately calmed down their nerves. “Of course.” Then she beamed a smile down at Silver. “He’s my friend.”
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“I’m terribly sorry for the wait. If I knew you were visiting, I would’ve finished the meetings sooner.”
Silver stood up from the stool once he noticed the queen rushing his way, the clack of her heels comically fast. He simply smiled reassuringly and dismissed her with a lazy wave of his gloved hand.
“It’s alright, your majesty. I have all the time in the world.” A comedic genius.
“Oh, please.” She shook her head in disapproval. “You’re my friend, call me Elise.” Then she hurriedly fixed her gloves properly. “Besides, I am not royalty-like right now. Since I had planned to keep strolling afterwards, I am in a more casual attire.”
The hedgehog choked on mere air. “I’m sorry- THAT’S your casual attire???”
“...” Elise blinked in stunned silence, then burst into a fit of giggles. “Ah, I get that a lot. Your fashion sense might change after your subjects design your entire wardrobe for you.”
“Damn…” Silver was struggling to imagine an even fancier outfit. He just couldn’t.
The queen hummed as she looked at the sunlight through one of her many leaded glass windows. “Has the kingdom treated you well?” She calmly moved her hands together as she started to walk away casually.
“I- huh?” The hedgehog stupidly chased after her, needing to walk slightly faster as he was shorter and couldn’t quite take the same steps as the queen. “What do you mean?”
She giggled. “Well, you’re one of my subjects, are you not? As your ruler and friend, I simply desire to know that you have the most wonderful time.”
Silver didn’t have the heart to tell her that he moved a while ago, thus technically he was a citizen of Emerald Town, not Soleanna anymore. He also didn’t have the heart to tell her that Soleanna still didn’t exist in 200 years or so.
“...Yeah.” What could he say? He barely spent time here, most of it was waiting on a stool. “The guards were respectful, the sights were lovely too.”
“I’m glad.” Her expression showed content.
Both stopped in front of a balustrade railing. Their destination was one of the many balconies of the castle. Elise remained in the same position, except that this time she closed her eyes. As if enjoying the soft breezes of her kingdom. Silver rested his hands on top of the handrail, barely peeking over it as he stared down at the city. At the citizens walking by and having their own separated lives, all with nature, opportunities and families. All of them had their own small conversations, lived entire worlds different from Silver’s. Their biggest worries being reaching a place in time or if they forgot to pack lunch this time.
His fist closed harder this time.
“Can I ask for a piece of advice, my friend?” Her soft voice snapped him out of it, prompting the hedgehog to quickly shake his head before turning to look at her. One of his small ears twitched as she continued. “I’ve been troubled by something related to my kingdom, I was wondering if you could help me choose.”
Silver blinked, completely dumbfounded. “...Me???” He pointed at his own chest in disbelief. He was only just a mobian, what did he know about royals or serious decisions?
“Yes.” Elise chuckled, fluttering her eyes open once more before beaming a smile down at the hedgehog. “It’s about the housing situation.”
He turned around and leaned back against the railings, getting into a more comfortable position to let her know he was paying attention.
She hummed, phrasing the problem in her mind as she stared down the city. “...Over the years our population has grown more and more. Native citizens started feeling safer once the Iblis situation was taken care of, and since there more people have started to move into Soleanna for better opportunities. Which I’m completely glad, don’t get me wrong. I’m so relieved to see all my subjects happy and for my nation to be cherished.”
“...But?” He prompted.
The queen sighed. “We’re starting to have an overpopulation problem. We already expanded twice to make space but already reached borders. I attempted to make amends or deals with the neighboring kingdoms, of course - Spagonia and Kingdom Of Acorn rightfully don’t want to give any piece of land over. Because of this, my royal council has given me two options. One, I rebuilt already existing buildings into sky scrappers to be able to hold more people. Two, I stop the free housing program. My council has given me both pros and cons to either option and they make great points. I truly don’t know… which one to choose.”
“Well…” The mobian hummed in thought, that was indeed a conundrum. “Either option will definitely make someone unhappy.” He pointed out.
“I am aware of that.” She sighed.
“...You said that the main causes of the overpopulation were people having families or moving in for opportunities, correct?”
“Correct.”
“If that’s the case, I don’t think getting rid of free housing is the best solution here. That’s a huge help for them. Not that I know much, but isn’t raising kids expensive?”
“I believe so.”
“So…yeah.” Silver shrugged, how did he get into this situation? “I think the best solution here is the second one.” He hated this, please don’t turn into tall buildings, please don’t turn into the neverending fire. “That way more people will be able to be in the same area comfortably, and with free housing still.”
Elise nodded in understanding. “I thought so too. But one of my council members gave me two counterpoints. He mentioned that there wasn’t anywhere we could place the citizens in while we rebuilt and that they would definitely be upset at being temporarily homeless. Also that some native citizens could be outraged as we destroy cultural architecture and buildings of our kingdom for more modern ones. I desire nothing more but for a happy and flourishing kingdom, so I’m not sure how to proceed with this.”
Being a governor must be so tiring. How does Blaze deal with this everyday?
“Can’t the constructors just…” Silver nervously smiled. “...build the sky scrappers similarly to the rest of Soleanna?”
“That would cost both more budget and materials. Also would leave the citizens homeless for longer.” The queen stated so in matter of fact.
Yikes. “...Right.” C’mon, think. “Well, if not all the way, maybe do only some small decorations instead? Like… things on top of the roofs, color schemes and the cool railings…”
“That could work.” Elise nodded, happy to find a solution to this one problem. “I shall discuss it with the council, although… What about the temporary homelessness problem?”
Silver stupidly looked around the place. “...” He bashfully pointed at the huge ballroom with a strained smile, not knowing if he was crossing the line here. “...Maybe host them inside the castle???”
Elise gasped, which mortified Silver for a bit. But then she had the biggest smile on her face, which gave him mixed feelings. She suddenly took a step forward, grabbing both of his hands in hers. “That’s an excellent idea!! …Why didn’t I think of that?”
The rest of the day went by the same way. Elise immediately held a council meeting to push her idea and used Silver’s counterpoints against the counterpoints. Silver, of course, was invited inside the room because why not. The others weren’t exactly too happy about this, neither was Silver, he had no right being here. But who was he to defy the queen’s orders? The council had a small discussion about the plan until it was somehow accepted and sustained.
Cue Elise immediately hosted an assembly afterwards to give the announcement to the citizens. Telling them to pack their things and prepare because the castle will welcome them in with open arms. Somehow most people didn’t seem to hate the idea. After that, Elise went to her office to sign some paperwork related to the situation - went to the city to discuss the plan with the architects and other staff. Then eventually managed to continue her stroll, although this time with Silver.
“...” He still couldn’t believe all of that happened, he was still feeling bamboozled that the queen eagerly discussed such trivial matters with him. With Silver the hedgehog. Him?? For all Elise knew, Silver was just a random civilian from a futuristic Soleanna. Yet she trusted his word like he was wise and all knowing. Almost like she actually believed his facade.
“...Silver?” She randomly stopped in the center of the garden.
His boots scraped against the stone tiles as he turned to face her properly. They were both surrounded by bushes of white roses and giant cruises passing by in the distance. The saltiness combined with sweetness in the air made his nose hurt but he managed. Soleanna was truly beautiful, the combination of nature with manmade creations left the hedgehog as mesmerized as he had been back in 2006. It is truly a shame that Soleanna became Crisis City, truly a shame that Silver failed at his only job.
“Yes?” He shook his head as he realized he had been taking too long, as usual. The whole reason he came here was to distract himself of… past events, yet he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about them. The hedgehog needed to stop worrying so much about the past and for once focus on the future. Thus, he looked up at Elise’s face only to see that she held an expression of… worry? “Is… something wrong?”
“Oh, not at all.” The human shook her head. “I apologize if I worried you, I just…” She sighed once more.
Silver schooled his expression.
Elise continued. “Silver, I want to let you know that I appreciated your visit and that you’re always welcome in Soleanna whenever you need it.”
“...But?”
“You haven’t visited at all since what happened in…” The unsaid words made both of them look away for a second. “I can’t help myself but wonder; is there something you need? Is the future alright? Are you alright?” Her expression turned to that of greater worry, then guilt, then pity. Like she knew something that Silver didn’t. “Do I need to warn my subjects?”
Silver took a step back, as if caught off guard. How silly of him to forget, forget that his presence made everyone worry and alert. Because he was a bad omen, a warning that something bad was going to happen. He shouldn’t come here at all, Elise probably held back from asking until now because she didn’t want to bring it up - because she was full of pity.
The people are always different, but it always feels the same.
So much for a distraction.
“Oh, no, not at all. I’m sorry for not clarifying. I just-” You stupid idiot. “I… wanted a piece of advice too.” What??
Her blue eyes widened in slight surprise. “Really?” She raised one hand to her collarbone. “I’m surprised you came to me for this.” Then she cautiously crouched in place to be at eye level with the mobian while still making sure to not taint her dress. “What is troubling you?”
Why did you say that nonsense!? Now how are you gonna get out of this situation??? “Uhm… I…” Silver blinked back at her stupidly, panicking internally as he searched for the most recent thing that happened to him. “I have a friend.” NOT THAT.
“...” Elise tilted her head slightly away, showing her confusion.
For a moment he wished Iblis would somehow revive himself and just burn everything down again, alas the universe loved torturing him.
Welp, guess to just double down at this point and give up. “So, uhm…” Oh Gaia. “I… made a decision that hurt this one friend. But he doesn’t know about it, and I didn’t mean to do it. So now I don’t know what to do.”
Elise blinked for a few moments, then slowly nodded in understanding. “What was this decision, exactly?”
“...A mistake.” Silver hoped she understood and backed off.
Thankfully she did. “Alright.” She glanced at the cruise ships in the distance, then back at the mobian’s eyes. “I believe you should tell him.”
Silver took another step back. “...” Then a deep breath. “...Y-You think so?”
“I’m sure.” She stood straight once more, dusting off her dress. “Even if you didn’t mean to do it, this… mistake still hurt your friend. He deserves to know. A good friendship requires trust and truth. You should tell him and support him, yet also understand whatever decision he takes.”
Easy for her to say, if only she knew what it was.
“...Understood.” Silver played along, then reached for his chaos emerald before hesitating. Slowly tilting his head at an empty space in the garden, he thought deeply. If Shadow said that the chaos emeralds only fueled abilities he already had… and Time Wanderer said he could time travel without the inhibitor rings… then in theory he should be able to open a portal without an emerald.
Silver closed his eyes as he repeated the words ‘Crisis City in 2206’ in his mind like a mantra. He opened his stretched palm and allowed the heavy energy to course through him. He heard a tear, a loud hum and a gasp. Opening again… it was right there as expected. A turquoise glowing portal.
“...Huh.” Silver blinked, then hesitantly turned to face Elise again. “I’m afraid I must return to the future, I have some unresolved business to take care of.”
The queen nodded in understanding, then beamed a smile down at Silver. “Good luck with that, friend.” She leaned in and closed her eyes, aiming to plant a kiss on Silver’s cheek. But for some reason he panicked and sneezed on the spot. Which in turn startled her and made her lean back again.
“Sorry, uhm…” Why did he do that??? “I’m allergic to- uh-” He wordlessly pointed to the side of his temple, which prompted Elise to glance at her featherful accessories.
“Ah, I’m truly sorry. I didn’t know.”
“It’s alright. We can just-” He awkwardly waved goodbye at her, bashfully smiling at her doing the same in return before he rushed to the portal.
“I’ll be right here if you need anything!” Elise informed rushedly, making her voice a little higher than normal to make sure Silver heard her before going in. The hedgehog was debating what he should say back, but when he had decided, the portal had already closed behind him.
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“Step away from them!!” Hearing his own voice shouting startled him. That sure kept happening a lot, didn’t it?
Silver carefully opened his eyes, keeping them narrowed so as to not be immediately blinded. He noticed that the turquoise tunnel had some cracks on the walls, however zero openings - so in the end he still couldn’t see.
This whole situation was so weird, did this mean that this whole time he was shielded from seeing the actual visions? What for? It could’ve helped a ton if he was able to see them. Was it… Time Wanderer? He felt so confused, alas he kept walking forward.
“Those are the Doctor’s robots. Haven’t they learned their lesson yet?” That was… Shadow’s voice. Huh, another vision where both hedgehogs were together? This was starting to freak him out, although… this time it sounded familiar.
“Chao Chao!”
“Silver and Shadow are here to save us!” A somehow high-pitched robotic voice called out, sounding smug. “You should’ve left when you had the chance!”
“Right, then, which one is mine?” This conversation is so familiar, he had the time on the tip of his tongue… come on, Shadow and he only were together for a few times before this… whole situation. Surely he could recall which one out of the four times it was.
A shriek, then a cry out as a hiss went by. Loud thuds. Robotic beeps slowly powering down.
“Oooh, that smarts…” Oh, wasn’t that the child of that one turtle?
Oh, so this was that one time he travelled with Shadow in 2012, he thinks. They fought well when together, didn’t they?
Silver’s eyes widened as he was able to actually see the other end of the portal. He barely saw Crisis City across the tunnel.
“I know that red ponytail… Bowser Jr.?”
“Wow, you know who I am? Er- I mean… I see you’re not as dumb as you look! Ha ha! I heard Dr. Eggman’s robots were tearing the city up, so I rushed here to get in on the action!”
“Chao chao!”
Silver crossed the portal.
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He didn’t bother looking back as he heard the portal warping out of existence. Instead, the hedgehog sighed in dismay at seeing Crisis City being the same as always. Dry wasteland filled with smoke and ruins of a fallen kingdom. Rubble of a forgotten civilization.
An entire planet with only… three citizens, him included.
Silver was already starting to regret telling that to Elise even if it wasn’t the full story at all. It made him wish that he could wipe away her memory of that exact conversation only.
…Could he actually do that, tho?
The hedgehog remembered that somewhere in 2006, shortly after Solaris, Tails made him do some mundane tests to check something about his powers or whatever. He didn’t remember the exact words, only that he was only convinced to follow along thanks to everyone telling him that Tails forced them to do the same tests before also.
If he remembered correctly, Tails mentioned something along the lines of; “Woah! No wonder your levels were so high! Turns out you don’t actually have just telekinesis, but actually psychokinesis!” or so. Silver figured it made sense, as he was sure that by definition telekinesis wasn’t what allowed him to create platforms and shields as well. However, he didn’t pay too much mind to it back then as he thought it didn’t really change anything. But now, with this whole situation…
Tails kept talking his ears off about how psychokinesis was an umbrella term. That so far he had shown one of the categories of it; telekinesis, which, of course, is to move objects or beings with his mind. But according to the fox, there is so much more he could do with just his mind. Psychokinesis could not only allow him to force things to his will without needing to touch it, but apparently he could do so with the elements as well. Although after all these years Silver had never spitted out fire or electricity, so he doubted it. Apparently he could also potentially read minds, mind control others, magically heal himself, magically go through solids and have precognition but none of these literally never happened to him either. So maybe Tails was just being too hopeful and read too many comics prior.
So maybe not that. Maybe with time instead?
Silver looked down at his own hands awkwardly as he kept walking to his building.
It hurt to think about too much - but his time powers were actually his. His. He had the ability to control time whenever he wished to, chaos emerald or otherwise. He never got to practice before, thus he didn’t fully grasp the extent of it all. But what now? How far could his powers truly go?
Of course, there’s the obvious good ol’ time-traveling. Nothing new there. Time Wanderer had mentioned timeline-traveling, it cannot be that different, right? Should be easy to figure out… should. There was also that one weird ability of seeing time through an object of choice that he discovered while building Neo. Then during the Egg Cracker… he stopped time completely, just like that. Froze everything. It made him wonder, could he potentially change the speed of time as well? Could he make time run slower? Faster? …Could he make time run backwards?
There was a scarily high chance he could. Technically, that is how he fixed his arm, no? He reversed the time of his arm and then froze it so it wouldn’t fall off again. So by following this logic, could he change the time of specific parts of the body as well while allowing the rest of the body to keep running normally? …If he used his time powers on Elise’s brain alone and reversed its time by five seconds - she should be totally fine, the only thing she should be missing would be the memories of whatever Silver said in those exact five seconds. Since she doesn’t have any sort of time ability like either Shadow or Silver does, she won’t even realize a thing either. So if he truly wanted, he could easily go back and-
…What in Gaia’s green mobius was he thinking about?
That’s… He shouldn’t be thinking about stuff like this, less planning to use his friends to practice his powers on. What the hell was wrong with him today???
Silver sighed in dismay, squeezing his own forehead for a bit. His steps came to a halt as he stood in the entrance of his room. Home sweet home, again. His golden eyes danced around to confirm that everything was the same - and yep. His bed was still missing, his ‘window’ still got fixed, there were still thousands of old papers on the floor. Well, the fallen Neo was new.
“...” He blinked in confusion before cautiously approaching. He kneeled beside the fallen robot, noticing that there were some sort of panels sticking out of his head. Solar panels, maybe? Silver hummed. He only gave him a small portion of chaos energy, right? Damn, how long was he gone for? Neo must have been running out of battery and as programmed pulled out the solar panels. To his dismay, there is no sunlight in Crisis City.
He sighed for a second in thought before hesitantly pulling out the gray chaos emerald from his quills. Slightly inspected it in his hold, then placed it inside of the access panel on the back of Neo’s head before closing it. Making the emerald become Neo’s power source. Once the machine started shaking, he immediately stood up and scooted away from range.
The machine shook for a few more moments before letting out a beep or two. Then, his limbs creaked as he forced himself to stand up from the ground. His head was loose for a second before he twisted it twice and ‘screwed’ it back in place. Neo’s ‘eyes lighted up green once more before he suddenly turned to face the hedgehog. Cue awkward staring between the two of them.
“...How long have I been gone?” Silver eventually forced out as he gave the other an once over. Now he noticed that the machine had some debris welded onto random parts of him, odd.
Neo casually shrugged before patting himself in confusion, looking for something in his non-existent pockets.
He scoffed in disbelief. “What do you mean you don’t know!? Don’t you have like a… internal clock that always tells you the time??”
“AREN’T YOU A TIME TRAVELER?” Neo dismissed the other, glancing at him weirdly. “SHOULDN’T YOU ALWAYS KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?”
“I-” Silver crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyebrows at the other. “Well, yeah. Doesn’t mean I know everything about it, tho. Like your body, you control your body. But do you know everything about it? I don’t think so.”
He made a noise scarily similar to a huff in response. Then, a small robotic hum. “...YOU’RE TRUSTING ME WITH A CHAOS EMERALD, WHY?”
The hedgehog shrugged casually. “You seem to need it more than I do. Also, what’s…” He awkwardly motioned to Neo’s form with his gloved palm. “...all this?”
“I WAS GOING TO GIVE MYSELF AN UPGRADE. HOWEVER, I DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY AT THE TIME, THUS I HAD TO DO SO MANUALLY.” A pause. “BUT NOW THAT I DO HAVE ENERGY TO SPARE…”
Neo slightly changed his posture. Then, with the blink of an eye he rushed out of the building casually.
“...” Silver stared at the empty spot where Neo recently was for a few moments. His morbid curiosity from before got the better of him thus he slowly opened his palm and twisted it in place. Quietly grunting with effort as he felt the energy squirming inside of him like loud static. A full body cramp that was somehow somewhere between starting yet never occurring.
He watched in awe as he felt time starting to shift. How Neo slowly ran backwards onto his previous spot, then turned to face Silver again.
The hedgehog suddenly dropped his hand at his side, allowing time to run its course once more and for everything to regain its natural state.
“-VE ENERGY TO SPA…” The green lights flickered, simulating blinking as Neo realized he was back in the same position, in the middle of saying the same sentence. He very slowly tilted his head at Silver, as if cautious. “WHAT WAS THAT FOR?”
He casually ignored the machine, instead hummed while snapping two of his fingers. Bending the time of one single being was way easier than bending the time of everything, figures. Silver allowed his energy to take hold of Neo, then twisted the time of his body backwards for… only five seconds. To a time where his ‘eyes’ had yet to record this conversation and place it wherever his memory chip is. Then, Silver quickly released his figurative hold on Neo, who started to glance at him weirdly.
“...YOU’RE TRUSTING ME WITH A CHAOS EMERALD, WHY?”
Silver stared at him for a long while. No confusion, no realization, no rebuttals, just a genuine question. As if Neo was living this conversation for the first time ever.
“Hmmm.” Silver hummed, slightly amazed and satisfied with the result of his hypothesis. Then; “...No reason, because fuck you that’s why.”
“...” Neo ‘blinked’ again and slightly shook his head backwards with a beep or two. Rightfully flabbergasted and dumbfounded. “WHAT???”
Silver snapped his fingers again, three seconds.
Neo made a noise scarily similar to a huff in response. Then, a small robotic hum. “...YOU’RE TRUSTING ME WITH A CHAOS EMERALD, WHY?”
The struggle to not smile was one he did not wish even on his worst enemy. “You seemed to need it more than I do. You ran out of energy and all, I mean.” A shrug.
“...” The machine awkwardly hugged himself. “I MUST HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT IT WHILE I TRIED TO FIX MYSELF. AFTER ALL, I WAS USING MY LASER.” Then he perked up in place, as if realizing something. “BUT NOW THAT I DO HAVE THE ENERGY TO SPARE…”
Neo slightly changed his posture. Then, with the blink of an eye he rushed out of the building casually.
Silver stared at the doorway for a long while, his golden gaze melting onto the entrance before he suddenly tore it away. That was… something. So people were able to notice when he messed with time itself — Did that mean that they knew that Silver froze time back in 2037 and just couldn’t do anything about it? — yet didn’t when he directly messed up with their own time. I mean, it does somewhat make sense. Silver was messing up with their brains and all.
Although he was surprised that Neo didn’t notice anything peculiar, forgot everything just like that. Since he had Silver’s DNA copied and was even able to use time related abilities, Silver assumed that he could… well, tell. But he didn’t, it must be because despite having access to time he’s not directly connected to it like Silver is. Does that mean that people like Mephiles and Shadow would notice if he did anything stupid? After all, Shadow mentioned something about being able to tell when his memory had been tempered with.
…Who knows what could happen if he kept playing god like this. Besides, having too much energy exposed like this for too long made him feel weird with a bizarre aftertaste he couldn’t describe.
Silver immediately grabbed the two remaining inhibitor rings from his quills. He quickly snapped one on his exposed ankle before placing the remaining one on his left arm.
…Then the world went black, for some reason.
꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷
His ear flickered as he heard nearby noises of intense coughing. It barely registered in his mind as he was focused on observing the other kids.
It was somewhere in the morning, thus the scavengers left to search for more needed resources. The hunters went to patrol the area to force the monster back and to take its attention away from the others. Which meant that right now the only ones in the base were the weak ones. The ones considered useless. The dementia victims, children, the sick. They told him that he should stay behind to guard the others, but he knew the truth. He may be a hoglet still but he was very observant, he knew a thing or too. He knew that they didn’t want him in the way, that they considered him useless to be either a hunter or scavenger. Besides, he’s not needed here, Mogul was right there.
He sighed as he looked out a window, — Which was actually just a hole in one of the damaged walls. — it’s been weeks since the tall cat princess showed up, too, thus he was completely bored.
“Something on your mind, silver boy?”
He sighed in response, quickly glancing at the mammoth. Finally, he stood up from the pile of debris he used as a chair afore slowly approached the older mobian.
“Why do I have to stay?” Silver questioned rightfully, narrowing his eyebrows. “I want to fight, too.”
He lightly shook his head on purpose, being mindful of his tusks. “I’m afraid you’re needed here. Who is going to guard the base in case the monster shows up here?” He released a full chuckle, ruffling the top of Silver’s head with his trunk.
Unfortunately the hoglet didn’t find it amusing at all. He didn’t like the way others tried to cheer him up, tried to make it seem like everything was okay, their faces of guilt - of pity. He knew the truth, lying to him wasn’t going to fix anything.
“You’re the one guarding the base!!” He huffed. “I’m- I’m fast! I could help out there too with my f-flying powers!”
Mogul laughed once more, not taking the younger mobian seriously. “Oh, Silver, I am nothing but an old man. How do you expect me to fight?”
He scoffed. “I know you have ticks!”
“Tricks.” Mogul corrected with dry amusement.
“Tricks!” Silver refused to falter. “Edmund told me how you used to fight when you were younger! You can’t trick me.”
“Indeed he did.” He shook his head with furrowed eyebrows, not pleased for some reason. “Alas, I was a different man back then, Silver. My body isn’t the same as it used to be.”
The hoglet huffed again, frustrated at the situation. Yet stayed quiet as he knew he couldn’t prove the other wrong either, it was very rare to see Mogul somewhere else that wasn’t just sitting on the ground. Thus, he pouted and angrily turned around, his small arms crossed over his chest. “...They’ve been taking too long, I’m worried.” His ears pressed against his head again. “I’m just saying, they would have been totally done by now if they just let me come with them.”
Mogul hummed in response, as if he were giving it actual thought. “...You’re right.”
Silver had never turned so fast in his eight years of living, he’s sure his shock was the only thing protecting him from the whiplash.
“Really!?”
“Yeah, they never took this long before. They should’ve been done three hours ago.”
Silver sighed in dismay.
“...” Mogul looked at him worried. “Worry not, silver boy. I’m sure it’s just a small sidetrack. Who knows? Maybe they found a secret vault containing food for us all.”
Silver wanted to believe it, really, he just couldn’t bring himself to. “I wish.”
He was just tired of always feeling so helpless. Mobians out there were risking their lives everyday just for scraps. Then there’s Silver who never did anything to help, he totally could if he was just given a chance. Especially with his recently found ability to fly and float. It gave him a big headache, sure, but that wasn’t going to stop him.
He noticed one of Mogul’s ears moving from the corner of his view.
“...Something’s approaching.” The old man informed with widened eyes. As if on cue, the earth shook. Causing almost everyone to fall to the ground. Then another tremor, and another. Each stronger than the last and accompanied by an ear-piercing sound. As in… footsteps.
“The m-monster’s here!” Silver realized later than he would’ve liked.
This wasn’t… possible. The monster was never supposed to get this close to the base. That was what the hunters made sure of. So the only way for the monster to be this close was that the hunters… they…
It became harder to breathe with each passing second. He blinked and suddenly he was picked up by Mogul’s huge arms, the old mobian stood up faster than he had ever seen before - ever thought possible.
“Everyone, stand still and be silent.” His voice echoed around the room like a gunshot, his commanding tone immediately silencing all the mobians who were previously panicking. “Remember what we practiced. Sit against the walls and do not make a single noise. Do it now.”
Soon enough everyone followed suit. Some mobians had to help others move, especially the sick ones. Mogul himself didn’t waste any time and walked to a corner with Silver. He quickly sat on the floor — Like the expert he was at doing so. — before placing Silver at his side like the hoglet was completely weightless.
Silver had his hands tightly squeezing his knees, awkwardly tolerating the bracelets digging at his skin. He had never felt more terrified in his life. There had been moments where the rest of the resistance and he had to pass by the monster to go somewhere safer, yes, but never while it was awake - never this close.
He flinched once he felt the smallest touch, then quickly melted once he realized it was just Mogul’s arm. He nuzzled further into the mammoth for comfort, already wanting for this situation to be over.
The footsteps were so loud… the monster must be on their street by now.
A cough.
Silver’s head snapped quicker than his ear could twitch. This time it hurt, too. He intensely stared at a small bunny that had watery eyes and both hands covering their mouth. They were clearly holding back from another coughing fit, for a while now.
Another giant footstep.
Mogul’s arm started squeezing him, as if he somehow couldn’t deal with the tension as well.
Another giant footstep, he’s directly outside.
The bunny closed their eyes shut as their ears rose in a panic.
Please… just ten more seconds…
They couldn’t hold it anymore, they bursted into a helplessly loud coughing fit as the other mobians around them tried to cover or silence them to the best of their ability.
Unfortunately, the universe hated them, it was no use.
Giant fingers immediately stabbed into the edges of the ceiling. With the blink of an eye, the monster had torn half of the building off. Leaving behind the first floor with no roof.
An emerald gaze stared back at him, making a shiver go down his spine. The monster was a giant creature with a body of rock and lava. Its torso was a blob that rose from the ground into whatever it was. It had multiple limbs and sharp teeth that would surely give him nightmares. The monster’s body was full of spikes too. If you didn’t die first to the overwhelming heat, you were going to be shredded by his hands alone for sure.
Mogul pulled him closer, as if protectively. “...Iblis.” Thus, Silver didn’t miss the name that escaped his breath. The mammoth hissed it out with pure hatred, as if it left a horrid aftertaste in his mouth.
So that was the name of the beast; Iblis.
The others couldn’t stand it anymore, they immediately got up and ran away as fast as they could in various directions.
This only made the monster more amused.
“Lift a rock and insects will crawl out.”
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He tightly grabbed the hand shaking him, squeezing it before he even opened his eyes.
“... YOU’RE AWAKE.”
Silver awkwardly used his other hand to force his eyes open as they refused to follow his command. He stared up at Neo, then at the crushed metal in his grasp.
His throat was sore, it took a while to speak up. Yet he forced himself to do so anyway. “...Don’t worry, I can fix it.” He quickly used his psychokinesis to pull the material outwards, uncrushing it and restoring Neo’s hand to normal. That… surprisingly took a bit of effort. Damn, did the inhibitor rings really hold back that much? “How long have I been asleep for?” He stood up from the harsh floor with the other’s help.
“ALMOST THREE DAYS.” He informed in a matter of fact. “YOU MUST’VE BEEN SO EXHAUSTED THAT YOUR POWERS WERE THE ONLY THING KEEPING YOUR BODY RUNNING, SHUT THEM OFF AND-”
“I get it.” Silver caressed the back of his head with a small hiss. “...Well, at least I don’t have to worry about sleeping later.” He turned to face Neo properly, yet paused as he noticed a slight difference in the machine’s looks. “What… happened to you now?”
“I TRIED TO MAKE MYSELF STRONGER AND CHANGING MY FORM USING METAL AROUND THE CITY. UNFORTUNATELY MOST IS JUST DEBRIS, THUS THAT’S WHAT I USED.”
“Yeah, you look…” Silver awkwardly looked away for a second. “...even more damaged?”
“MIGHT LOOK LIKE IT, BUT I’M STRONGER NOW.” A shrug.
“Alright.” The hedgehog sighed while pinching his forehead. Gaia, he was starving. “I’m sorry- I just- I just had one of the worst dreams ever. I feel disoriented.”
Neo looked around for a bit. “DO YOU… WANT SPACE OR SOMETHING?” He sounded like he wanted to ask Silver if he wanted water but then realized where they lived.
“No,” He shook his head. “What I need is Mephiles.”
“...YOUR FILES? WHAT FILES?”
“Wha- no.” Silver sighed again. “I need to talk with Mephiles. He probably knows how to deal with this… whole situation I’m in.”
His walking came to a halt as he began to recognize the heavy footsteps following after him.
“Can I help you?”
“I WANT TO SEE WHO THIS MEPHILES IS.”
Silver titled his head to the side. “You truly don’t know who he is? Pretty sure he was a great deal back then, not in your… database nor anything?”
Neo paused, looked down, then shook his head. “SOME OF MY INNER SYSTEMS ARE DAMAGED, ONE OF THEM MUST BE MY MEMORY. I CAN’T RECALL ANYONE NAMED MEPHILES.”
“...What do you recall then?” Silver slowly resumed his path, levitating once he stepped foot outside the building. Neo started flying after him, using the chaos emerald to power up his jet engines. “Like, before I activated you.”
“...I WAS THE… SECOND? THIRD METAL SONIC?”
That actually surprised him. “There’s more of you?”
“WERE, YES.” He shrugged. “ALTHOUGH SOME WEREN’T EXACTLY CALLED METAL SONIC AS WELL. THE FIRST ACTUAL METAL SONIC MELTED IN A VOLCANO - I WAS MERELY A RECREATION, ONE THAT HAD GONE THROUGH… MANY PATCHES AND UPGRADES.”
“I’ve been told you got crushed once in a race against Sonic.” The hedgehog commented while flying around a skyscraper.
“NOT MY BEST MOMENT.” Neo agreed. “AFTER EACH FAILURE, THE DOCTOR WOULD CHANGE MY DESIGN OR UPDATED MY PROGRAMING. I BARELY REMEMBER MOST MISSIONS DURING THAT TIME, THUS I DON’T THINK ABOUT IT TOO MUCH. THEN THERE’S THE ONE TIME HE INSTALLED MY AI, I DID WHAT I THOUGHT WAS ABSOLUTE AT THE TIME BEFORE I WAS EVENTUALLY STOPPED. E-123 WAS THE ONE WHO MADE ME BE ACTIVATED AGAIN, TAUGHT ME HOW TO BE… GOOD. HE WAS ALSO THE ONE WHO SAVED ME WHEN…” He noticeably flew slower as he lowered his head. “...THE DOCTOR…”
Silver hesitantly turned around, flying backwards as he faced the machine. “You don’t need to tell me anything. I was just asking because…” He shrugged. “...What about people? Do you have me in your database?”
Neo tilted his head to the side. “I DON’T KNOW, WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”
The hedgehog blinked, slightly bamboozled. After all this time, did he really forget to introduce himself to Neo? He really is the worst host ever.
“I- Silver. The name’s Silver, just Silver.”
The green lights flickered once more, as if mimicking the action of blinking. “YOU’RE SILVER? SILVER THE HEDGEHOG??”
“Eh, yeah?” A nervous chuckle. “Was I well known in the past?”
“NO.” Ouch. “YOU’RE NEITHER IN MY DATABASE NOR IN THE FILES SAGE ROBOTNIK CREATED. NOT A SINGLE PICTURE NOR DESCRIPTION. HOWEVER, YOU’VE BEEN MENTIONED BY OTHERS, A LOT. I’D NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD ACTUALLY SEE YOU IN PERSON. BUT NOW THAT I LOOKED AT YOUR POWERS… IT MAKES SENSE, YOU’RE HIM.”
He allowed himself to softly land on the rooftop of the tallest skyscraper. Silently looked around before facing the machine behind him harshly, as he landed with a loud thud.
“Way to spoil our arrival.” Silver sighed in dismay. “...But really? Do people talk about me in the past?” The thought both intrigued him and terrified him. To think that he somehow still existed in the minds of others long after he left. It made him curious. Did they have the totally wrong idea of who he was? Of how he acted? Or worse, did they actually perceive him the way he perceived himself?
Neo shrugged. “E-123 MENTIONED YOU ONCE, SAID SOMETHING ABOUT HOW HE MET YOU ON A WEIRD MISSION.” He slowly walked past the other, feasting in the sad view of Crisis City. “THEN SHADOW HAD A PHASE WHERE HE WOULD JUST NOT SHUT UP.”
Shadow? Not shutting up? Backwards thing he had ever heard. Then again… Shadow did do so when he was excited about something, like with that one singer. But why would he act like that about Silver for? To his dismay, Neo kept talking before he could dwell on it further.
“SO…I WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS JUST THE TWO OF US HERE. YET NOW YOU SPOKE ABOUT SOME FILES GUY, SO HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY LEFT IN CRISIS CITY?” He placed his arms on his ‘hips’ as he gave the other a curious glare.
“Oh, we actually used to be quite a bunch years ago.” Silver shrugged, caressing one of his own shoulders as he walked up to Neo’s side. “When we… had to defend ourselves from Iblis, we were a whole resistance. But eventually, as the years passed… everyone just kept disappearing or passed away. So now we’re only three in total, including you.” He walked past the other, looking for something ahead. “...Although sometimes Blaze visits, so make that three and a half.”
Neo hummed before following after the other. “THEN THIS MEPHILES IS THE REMAINING PERSON HERE BESIDES US?”
“Correcto. But he always stays here for some reason, don’t expect to see him much.”
Both stopped as they reached the edge of the rooftop. Neo stared at the ground thousands of feet away below. He made quite a few beeps before he turned to face Silver, who was looking around in hysterics.
“...SILVER?”
“He’s… not here.” He blinked, then looked upwards as if Mephiles would somehow be hanging from the antenna for some reason. “He’s not here??” His voice slightly shook.
Neo tilted his head to the side, seemingly a bit worried. “MAYBE HE’S ON A WALK?”
“No.” Silver furrowed his eyebrows, giving a sharp look at the other. “All fifty times I’ve visited, all fifty times he’s been on the edge just sitting. He made me a promise.” The hedgehog’s quills slightly rose, Neo noticed. “He promised that he would not move from that spot, that he would always be there and never do evil again - never be a threat. He was always here for me when I needed to ask something and now- He’s not here???”
“...”
The hedgehog chuckled, lightly placing a palm on his forehead. “...I can’t believe that bastard tricked me again. I guess I never learn my lesson, do I?” A deep breath. “Oooooohhhhh, Gaia.”
“MAYBE YOU’RE JUST RUNNING INTO CONCLUSIONS.” Neo shrugged as he looked down again, maybe Mephiles was around and they just missed him?
“There’s only two outcomes for this, NEO!” His neck creaked from how fast he turned to look at Silver. “Someone either kidnapped his ass, or he lied to me and went back in time. Tell me, is there anyone in Crisis City to kidnap him!?!? I don’t think so… I don’t think so…”
Silver angrily stared at the empty spot on the rooftop, as if on cue a turquoise portal warped in place. Then he took one inhibitor ring off afore putting it away, the one of his left wrist.
“...WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”
“To settle some old matters before I decide what to do with Mephiles.”
Neo helplessly watched as the portal closed and Silver disappeared. Then, he awkwardly glanced around, seemingly having lost the way back at the hedgehog’s apartment.
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Damn this vision. He didn’t have time to listen to mediocrity he wasn’t going to understand anyway.
Instead, he just kept walking. Like he always did.
◝┈┈┈⋆┈┈⊰🤍⊱┈┈⋆┈┈┈◜
He hugged his jacket deeper. The past always had these cold breezes around September, the chunky jacket was just perfect.
As he walked each step up the porch, the anger left him and quickly gave way to anxiousness. Once he had forgotten about the irritation for Mephiles, the whole Time Wandererer situation kicked in ten times stronger. He was about to face Shadow and he didn’t even know how to start the conversation yet. He didn’t even know Shadow’s full intentions. For all he knew he was walking straight into a trap.
Gaia, how did he even get into this situation?
He didn’t even know if he should face Shadow yet. Especially after he… after he…
A good friendship requires trust and truth. You should tell him and support him, yet also understand whatever decision he takes.
Silver sighed, then knocked on the door three times with a shaky fist, making a small pause after the second.
Some footsteps.
Shadow opened the door faster than he would’ve wanted to - A memory quickly flashed through his mind. It didn’t help that the shorter hedgehog had his eyes narrowed and seemed to be annoyed at Silver. Especially with that angry; “What?”
Silver attempted to make himself smaller by scrunching his shoulders. This felt somehow both awkward and terrifying. “...I-”
Shadow casually shut the door on his face.
“...” Welp, the message was clear. He wasn’t welcome here. Which was totally fair and justifiable. Silver should just go home and bury himself or something while he’s at it too. What did he expect?
Suddenly, the door opened once more. Yet this time… it was softer.
“You’re here.” Shadow quietly commented.
Silver slowly blinked in response, not knowing how to process these mixed signals. “Yeah.”
Shadow gave him an once-over, which was just the cherry on top. The ruby gaze felt like burn marks on his skin, an accusatory glare that made his anxiousness spike up. He forced himself to look away, no longer able to stare back. If he looked at Shadow for too long… the memories of what he saw would just flash in his mind again. Silver can’t handle that, he’s too weak.
Shadow quietly hummed, which caused one of his ears to flicker in response. “...Silver?” He whispered, acting out of character as usual. “Are you alright?”
Silver simply looked at the ground, releasing his own arm — When did he grab it? — as he gave a very pathetic nod. Hesitantly, he finally looked upwards. Shadow was staring at his hand for Gaia knows why before he quickly met his gaze. His expression seemed one of worry and confusion, he truly didn’t know, did he? The shorter hedgehog was only looking out for him, wanted to be his friend… and Silver just is.
He rushed to him as fast as he could. The former had to slightly lean in to rest his head on the top of Shadow’s shoulder, his arms hugging his torso tightly. The latter hesitated before wrapping his arms around the other as well, careful and gentle, welcoming in the embrace.
“I’m sorry.” The white hedgehog muttered, as if too fearful of saying it, yet said it anyway - loud enough to make sure he was heard. “I’m sorry.” He repeated, and Silver could’ve sworn he got a sense of Déjà vu.
“Sorry for what?” Silver felt as the other slowly caressed the quills downwards. He flinched at first, but somehow the sensation calmed him down somewhat. “Do you…want to talk about it?”
He shook his head against the crook of Shadow’s neck. “Talking isn’t going to fix anything.”
Isn’t that funny? That’s literally what he came here to do. Literally what Elise advised him to do. Yet… his body refused to follow his command again. Curse you, universe.
Maybe he’ll find the opportunity to talk soon enough.
“C’mon, it’s going to rain soon.” Shadow stepped aside to prompt the other in, who eventually walked past him. Shadow simply sighed before closing the door after himself.
After being close to it many times, Silver finally got to properly see the inside of Shadow’s house. Huh.
As expected, the interior was still cozy. The candles lit up the place with a warm glow on the corners. Now that he wasn’t in a rush, Silver allowed himself to properly look at the decorations. There were some fancy shaped mirrors occasionally, vines delicately following their outline. There were also small framed pictures placed all around, although he noticed most of them either didn’t have Shadow himself or the hedgehog was cropped out. The frames and some plates were decorated with seashells as well, it made sense as the cabin was near the beach. Also his nose was somewhat adapting to the soft smell of lavender, but the quiet need to sneeze was still there. There was also an overhead fan of wood that spun more coldness onto him, which is why Silver had to hug his jacket further. Although he noticed that soon enough it got turned off.
“Your jacket,” Shadow randomly spoke up, which prompted him to look down at his sleeves. “It’s…”
“Oh, I can fix it.” The taller hedgehog informed as he paced one gloved finger on every tear and scratch he could find, allowing the familiar hum in his veins to flow to his digits and summon a turquoise glow that merged everything closed as if the jacket was never damaged in the first place. Reversing the time of the jacket to before it was scratched.
“Oh.” The other blinked, then gave a small smile to Silver. “You’ve been practicing with your powers, I assume.”
“...You could say that.” The latter shrugged, avoiding looking at Shadow again. If only he knew. “Well,” He forced his gaze onto the ruby one again. “What did you want to do? I’m here, so…”
This would be the perfect time to talk, Silver.
“To have dinner, of course.” Guess not. “Follow me.” Then he walked to his kitchen, making Silver follow after him.
“Dinner?” He murmured.
“I made Angel Hair.” Shadow responded, grabbing two empty plates from his dish rack.
“Oh. Uhm…” He awkwardly took the offered plate. “I have never eaten that before.” He had a mental image of what the dish could look like, although he was most sure that there was no way it was actual hair.
“You can have a small portion first to see if you like it or not.” Shadow grabbed the wooden spoon and served the mix on both plates. “Angel Hair is a type of pasta, usually it doesn’t have alfredo but I decided to add my own spin to it.” He then placed both plates on the table before quickly serving cups of water as well. “It has cauliflower, shrimp, carrot and of course, the alfredo.”
Both hedgehogs sat by the dinner table. Both hesitated to take the first bite.
Silver eventually grabbed his fork, then attempted to scoop up some of the pasta on the utensil, unfortunately it kept slipping right off. The hedgehog quickly shot multiple panicked glances at the other, hoping the host hadn’t noticed. Alas the universe hated him, thus he proceeded to stab the food a couple of times in small embarrassment. That didn’t work either.
Shadow called his attention with a hum before spinning the angel hairs on his fork. After successfully capturing the elliptic, he brought it to his mouth and calmly ate it.
“...” The taller hedgehog slowly mimicked the other, finally managing to get some pasta on his fork. Although his rolled angel hair was messier than Shadow’s, progress is progress.
Oh. My. Gaia.
This is the best dish he had ever tasted! There hadn’t been anything like this in Crisis City, not even in the Sol dimension. The texture of both the pasta and seafood were soft and merciful on his teeth, yet it was all different in flavors and deliciousness. The sauce was creamy and good too. It was a mix of multiple flavors yet somehow they all worked great together to make up a great dish.
“Can I have more?!” Silver couldn’t help himself but be selfish.
“Y-Yes-” Shadow looked slightly perplexed, the same way he looked like when they went to that one coffee shop. Whatever.
Silver stood up to go towards the bowl on the counter, grabbed the wooden spoon then served himself more pasta to the point of almost overflowing his plate. He sat back down, drank some water, then proceeded to eat the mix. “This is truly delicious!”
“...Better than apples?” The other raised an eyebrow.
He hummed playfully in response. “Know your limits.” Silver said back without missing a beat, even if half of his plate was already gone.
With that, both of them continued eating. Shadow started eating from his plate as Silver finished up his. They sat together in comfortable silence, not pressured to fill it at all. After they were done, they stood up and went to wash the plates in the sink at the same time. Which made them both pause.
“Oh, don’t worry.” The shorter one smiled in reassurance, then reached for the other’s plate.. “I’m the host, so I should clean them.”
“No…?” Silver furrowed his eyebrows at him and moved the plate out of reach. “I am the guest, so I should help out the host.”
A dry laugh. “I insist.” He reached further.
“I insist more.” He simply raised it as high as he could so the other couldn’t reach.
“...” He made sure to give the dirtiest glare he could muster at the moment.
They repeated this interaction back and forward for a bit, with Silver moving the plate around like crazy as Shadow tried to tear it out of his hands. At some point, the plate slipped from his hold, fortunately Shadow somehow managed to catch it and balance it on his foot. — Even more fortunately, on the bottom side as well. — His reflexes saved it from shattering.
Silver nervously laughed. “I’msosorry-” Then immediately left the kitchen and Shadow alone.
The white-furred hedgehog hurried to the couch and quickly sat down. His hand nervously rested on his knees as he looked around again. His glance caught on the flowy dark curtains that calmly danced around in the wind. If only his life could be as peaceful as well. It’s alright, if he stayed still there was no way he could ruin something else. Thus couch it is.
Welp, he now was getting kicked out for sure.
One of his ears twitched as he heard Shadow entering the room, which caused ruby to met gold once more. The taller hedgehog stood up from the couch, then approached the other to say his goodbyes and apologies.
“...Wanna watch something?” …Guess not?
Silver blinked, genuinely perplexed at how casual and not mad Shadow was. “Like what?”
“Follow me.”
₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊
The rest of the evening went by unnecessarily fast. Shadow led the other to his room as that’s where the television was. They both sat on the bed, Shadow taught Silver how to use a control remote, then both of them proceeded to binge a couple of things. Shadow decided to introduce the taller hedgehog to the confusing world of telenovelas, both hispanic and turkish. Like this one called “Tormenta De Pasiones”. Silver had commented on how a bunch of the dramas Shadow watched had similar names, which he couldn’t help but agree to and laugh.
After almost three hours of episodes, Silver finally gained the courage to point out that he didn’t understand Spanish and thus couldn’t understand the show. Shadow casually brushed it off and played something else. Cue a couple of movies, the occasional snack and game breaks. A ton of Shadow rambling fun facts to Silver about the current content they were watching, sometimes way too fast for the taller hedgehog to comprehend, then eventually…
“Oh Gaia, it’s night!” Silver shouted in shock while staring at the moons out the window. “I should… really get going.” The hedgehog quickly stood up from the bed, dusted himself off then searched around to make sure he had all his things on himself.
“...Wait, must you?” Shadow stood up from the bed as well, calling Silver’s eyes to him. “I mean… Didn't you mention something about a destroyed bed? You can stay here while you think of a way to fix that.”
The taller’s eyes widened, surprised at the fact that he did indeed mention that before. How rude of his body to decide to talk on and on about the wrong things. “...Right. Eh, it’s alright. I already over welcomed myself anyway.”
“Not at all. I don’t mind having you over, you’re my friend. No?” He temporarily glanced down at his air shoes before back up. “What better way to end the first official hangout than with a sleepover?”
Silver raised a confused eyebrow yet he felt intrigued enough to temporarily stop his search. “Sleepover?”
“...Yes. It’s when… you know. You sleep over someone else’s house.”
“...Sure.” WHAT?
Shadow beamed a small smile at him once more. “Well, get as comfortable as you want, I’ll prepare the bed.”
He hesitated for a second. Gaia, he shouldn’t be doing this. “Can I use the shower?”
Shadow stared back at him with an unreadable expression. “...Yeah. The bathroom’s the first door on the left. There are free towels and supplies inside.”
Silver nodded, then scurried out of the room and to the bathroom, following the instructions carefully.
The first thing he noticed is that there was a carpet on the bathroom floor. Thus he slowly took off his boots, then his gloves, then everything else. He awkwardly closed the toilet lid and placed one of the towels he grabbed from the toilet storage shelf on top of said closed lid. Finally, he placed his things on top of the towel with a deep breath, including another one of his inhibitor rings.
Alright, maybe this wasn’t so bad. He could use the extra time to figure out how to talk to Shadow about this and maybe actually do talk. All he needed was to refresh himself.
With this in mind, Silver took a determined step inside the shower.
Only to be absolutely bamboozled at whatever he was looking at.
Oh, how he wished the floor would crack open and swallow Silver whole. “Shadow?” He forced himself to speak up.
“Yes?” Shadow asked from the distance, sounding as startled as ever.
A sigh. “I need help.”
After a few seconds, he witnessed the shorter hedgehog walking inside the bathroom slowly, looking around. “What’s…” Shadow looked around again, as if finding nothing out of the ordinary. “...wrong?” Silver never felt so foolish before.
“I don’t know what to do here.” He vaguely pointed at the cogs on the wall. “I don’t want to break anything or ruin it.”
The ultimate lifeform paused. “You never used a shower before?” The pity, pity, pity.
Silver looked away again. “It’s not like there’s exactly a clean water supply in Crisis City. So I just shower in the forests around here every chance I get.”
“...” From the corner of his view, he saw Shadow struggle to hide a certain expression from his face. “Well, with those you control the temperature and the type of ‘shower’. For example:”
Shadow twisted the biggest one in the middle, which was built like a very fancy crystal cog. Eventually, water came out from a smaller faucet at the bottom of the shower wall, one that only reached Silver’s paws. “With this one, you can turn it on and set the pressure.” Then, he moved another faucet handle to the right, where the red sticker was. Using an educated guess, Silver could assume it warmed up the water. “This, the temperature.”
The other hummed in understanding, experimentally twisting the cog in the middle. Suddenly, water poured from the ceiling of the shower, a waterfall rained down on Silver and made his face be covered by all of his quills. Silver struggled for a bit afore twisting the handle again. The water kept coming from above, but this time it was lightly spraying, like those splash perfumes Amy liked to use everywhere. “...I think I got it.” He hugged himself, the temperature of the water being too low.
“The soaps are right beside you, as well as everything else you might need.” Shadow informed.
Silver quickly nodded in understanding.
“...”
“...”
“...”
Silver stared at the other with a worried expression.
“...” A blink. “OH! Right!” He cleared his throat and awkwardly turned around, headed for the exit and closed the bathroom door behind himself.
Silver stared at the spot where the other was moments ago, then shrugged. He awkwardly grabbed the soap, testing the hold of his hands and lightly squeezing it. The bar flew out of his grasp, thus the hedgehog panicked for a bit before trying to catch it. Unfortunately the universe hated him and somehow the bar of soap started to do parkour on his hands and refused to be captured. Thus with a grunt, he forced it still in the air with his psychokinesis.
“...” What a mess he was.
The hedgehog hummed quietly to himself before changing the temperature to even more warm, then passed the bar over his body and fur. He carefully washed his quills and back. Then he let bubbles form over the toe beans on his hand before he spread it over all four limbs. Once he was done, he temporarily changed the pressure of the water to rinse himself and wash off the soap. Once done, he struggled with the faucet handle once more and cycled through some pressure options before the water finally turned off.
He stepped on to the soft carpet and pulled the towel from within his things. Huh, that shower felt nice. He actually felt fully clean unlike the other times, maybe he should try it more.
Silver wrapped the towel around his torso and grabbed his things all in a single hand, RIP his fingers.
After a bit of exploring he found Shadow’s room and walked in. Silver awkwardly placed his things on the floor, blowing his ‘bangs’ away from his face to see properly. Eventually, the psychic gave up and simply used his powers to stand his quills back up.
“Want me to help with that?” Shadow shyly questioned, brush in hand.
Silver stared at him for a few seconds, noticing the slight change in the other hedgehog. Shadow had taken all his accessories off - all but his inhibitor rings, that is. Exposing his paws and pinto colored toe beans. His red markings struck the full length of his limbs, Silver noted. More importantly, the short hedgehog had all of his quills tied up in a ponytail. He looked completely relaxed.
Silver never saw Shadow like this, not even during the metal virus. It felt intimate and wrong, like something he wasn’t supposed to see. And yet he wasn’t able to bring himself to look away.
Oh right, he took too long to answer.
“...You can try. I cannot tame this thing no matter what I do.” He chuckled, as if not expecting the other to actually take the challenge.
“Alright, sit.” The ultimate lifeform commanded casually.
A blink. “W-What?”
“On the chair.” Shadow vaguely motioned to the front of the vanity.
The taller hedgehog hesitated before walking over. He placed the towel on the chair so his wet quills wouldn’t spill droplets all around. Then, he finally sat down, staring at Shadow behind him through the mirror. Shadow hummed in response, giving a quick once-over to all the spines.
“...You haven’t brushed your quills much before either, right?”
Silver awkwardly shrugged in response, looking downwards in small shame.
Suddenly he looked up again as he felt a hand grabbing a handful of his white quills. Said hand temporarily got stuck on a knot of smaller quills, which made Silver hiss. With a sigh, Shadow let go of the brush and slowly untangled them himself, making sure to be slow and careful. After he made sure to get rid of all the knots, he went back in with the brush. Shadow made sure to push the quills back and over the other’s head, then grabbed some cream from a container on his vanity and spread it evenly on the white quills.
This caused Silver to flinch, then mutter that the product was cold. Shadow simply apologized in response before explaining that oatmeal was good for hedgehogs. After he finished doing his thing, he grabbed a hair tie and wrapped it around the two main quills on the back, giving the taller hedgehog a ‘ponytail’ as well. Then he grabbed some hair pins and placed them on the ends of Silver’s front quills, pinning them against the rest of his head.
“Done.” He wiped his hands with a paper towel nearby to get rid of the excess cream, then paused. “Silver?”
“S-Sorry…” The taller rubbed his eyes while shaking his head. “That made me tired for no reason.”
Shadow hummed with small pride… for some reason.
Silver glanced around the vanity, staring at all of the self-care products. “What are those?” He pointed to a cup placed on a corner.
“My eyeliners.” He quickly changed his posture. “Talking about that, I forgot to take mine off.” He grabbed a wipe and got to work.
Silver watched in absolute horror as the red fur faded into black around Shadow’s eyes. “They were fake?”
“Hmm?” Ruby temporarily met gold before he glanced at himself in the mirror. “Of course. It would be overkill if everything was natural, wouldn’t it?”
The white-furred hedgehog furrowed his eyebrows in thought, then slowly relaxed his facial expression. “...Is everything else fake too?”
“Oh, no.” A light chuckle. “The lines on my quills and limbs are real. I just decided to match everything and… emphasize my markings further, I guess? Yet not overwhelmed the viewer, so, red eyeliner.”
“Huh.” He quickly glanced at the cup and then at Shadow. “So, you just do it for fun?”
“Basically.”
“How does it feel?”
“Like myself.”
“What colors do you have besides red?”
Shadow’s expression changed to an unreadable one. “Well, I always use red so I doubt I somehow have any other color.” He grabbed the cup and quickly glanced through all the pencils and eyeliners. “...Huh, I do have a black one.”
“...Black eyeliner?” Silver was rightfully perplexed. Why have black eyeliner when you have black fur?
“It was my first one.” Shadow slowly picked it up, placing the cup back on its spot as he did. “I used it to cover my red fur. After the whole… 2001 in San Francisco situation happened. I tried to make myself unrecognizable and hide who I was. Obviously it didn’t work for long,” He snorted. “Sonic and co. wouldn’t leave me alone no matter how hard I hid. So eventually, I stopped using them… Guess I just forgot.”
“Oh.” Silver looked away respectfully. “I’m sorry you felt that way.”
The ultimate life form hummed in slight amusement, then he pulled the cap off. “It’s alright. That was like… months ago.”
“... We’re in 2037.”
Shadow ignored him. “I don’t feel ashamed, I am healthily confident in myself now. I can let go of the past and admit that I don’t need this anymore.” He turned to face the other, then offered the open eyeliner to him. “Take it. It's yours now.”
“...” Silver shrugged with furrowed eyebrows. “I wouldn’t know how to apply it properly.”
Shadow sighed, then casually spun the chair around and held Silver’s face. “Like this.”
He leaned in closer, his exposed hand cupped the side of Silver’s muzzle. Gently yet firmly holding him still. Whereas his other hand hovered the eyeliner near Silver’s face. Silver helplessly stared back at him, looking a bit nervous yet curious.
A hum. “Close your eyes.”
Silver slowly did as requested, deciding to trust the other hedgehog and close his eyes. He felt the eyeliner slowly go around his eyes, the cold ink wetting his fur and tickling him. He had to hold back from giggling throughout the progress. Hopefully it didn’t annoy Shadow.
The other took a step back, judging by the sound. “You can open them now.” Silver immediately did so afore the other spun the chair around for him again. “What do you think?”
His golden gaze scanned the mirror, there was a new pattern on his fur. It was a black instead of the usual turquoise or gray. It was bold too and it followed the outline of his eyes. Giving him a brand new look despite being a single change.
“I like it!! A lot!” He exclaimed in excitement before slowly getting an idea. “My turn!” He quickly grabbed one of the red eyeliners, opened it, stood up from the chair and rushed to attack Shadow.
Shadow calmly closed his eyes, not questioning Silver despite his lack of experience. At first, Silver was slow and cautious, as if afraid to do something bad. But then he slowly gained confidence, moved the red eyeliner faster and did sharp shapes before quickly filling in the gaps.
“Done!”
Shadow turned to face the mirror after fluttering his eyes open. The new red eyeliner followed the usual spot Shadow always painted it on, but Silver shaped it like half of a star. One spike pointed upwards to his ears, another one to the side, and one downwards. — Although slightly tilted. — It was bigger than his usual thing, and a breath of fresh air from the triangle he always used.
Silver pressed his cheek against his. This way they could see both of themselves in the mirror and admire their handiwork together, side-to-side. The former smiled, thus Shadow couldn’t help but smile back at him.
“Not bad. But I’ll need to buy white eyeliner next time if we want to truly match.” Shadow slowly pulled away. “Alright, I’m going to bed.”
Silver awkwardly glanced as Shadow walked to the bed, slowly pulled down the silk sheets then lied down. Facing the wall.
“...Right.” Silver glanced around the room, as if waiting for another bed to magically appear. Once that eventually never happened, he hesitantly took a step forward. He was going to question Shadow about where he should lie down, but then noticed a ‘barrier’ made of cushions on the bed. Which prompted him to lie down as well, facing the other wall and making them be back-to-back.
Once both of them were on the bed, Shadow pulled the blankets over both of them. They went up to Silver’s shoulder, which he appreciated.
This wasn’t the first time Silver went to sleep back-to-back with someone else. In fact, it was the only way he was allowed to sleep during his childhood. It was a way for two mobians to be able to protect each other and be on guard even in their most vulnerable moment.
Although, now there wasn’t any Iblis around. No fire, no destruction. Just him and Shadow laying down on a very soft bed and… very soft… blankets…
“Good night, Silver.” He barely heard Shadow speak behind him.
“...ood night…”
꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷
The other mobian tugged at his arm so hard it felt like it was going to be torn off any second now. His feet barely made contact with the floor as the monster roared behind them.
It attacked, thus they had to run away. Sadly not everyone was able to get out of the building in time, so a few…
The hedgehog cringed as he heard shrieks of terror behind him, the sickening crunch of bones and the hiss of steam after cooked meat.
This… It didn't make any sense. The monster was never meant to get this close. That’s what the hunters were for, to distract the monster and keep it away. If the monster was here, it meant the team… failed. They were now the last line of defense from the resistance. He HAD to do something.
“Silver, duck!!”
His body was suddenly forced to the ground and pinned by a strong arm. Silver watched in horror as a giant sphere of rock and lava flew over them. It bounced on the floor a couple of times before it started to roll, running over a few mobians that managed to run far ahead before it crashed into a building and destroyed it. The demolition caused a domino effect, as the fallen building crashed into others that released a giant cloud of smoke once they made contact with the ground as well.
Silver barely had time to react and breathe as Mogul stood up from the ground again and dragged him along once more. He hissed in pain, but didn’t dare say anything. Instead he made the mistake of looking behind them.
The monster used its hands to mercilessly crush the remaining mobians, cackling malevolently as it did so. Now everyone else was either dead or stuck under debris. Which made it way easier for the monster to notice the two of them running away. It roared before rushing forward, as it was a blob it used its giant hands to crawl forwards. Each time one of its hands crashed against the ground it caused a tremor so big Silver was sure he wouldn’t have been able to run if it wasn’t for the mammoth. So those were the footsteps, good to know.
His golden eyes widened as he noticed the creature was approaching terrifyingly fast. Alas, it was way bigger than them, a single push forward of it was like twenty steps for Mogul and Silver.
The hoglet knew this, it would be soon before they were caught and killed too.
As everyone knows, the flames of disaster barely showed any mercy, if at all.
“M-Mogul!!” Silver shouted in a panic. His eyes were somewhat teary. “Iblis! He’s gonna catch us!!”
The mammoth grunted, then suddenly stopped in place to pick up Silver in one single arm. As if the hoglet was weightless.
“Mogul!!!” Silver screamed in a warning, both of his small hands grabbing onto his giant firm one. “W-What are you doing?!?!?”
“Don’t look back, kid.”
“What?!”
With a super strength he had never seen before, Mogul launched Silver a whole two blocks away. The hoglet coughed and groaned as he made contact with the harsh floor. His body got scratched against the pavement, thus some parts of his body became a vivid red.
Using his powers, he floated above the floor messily. Then immediately needed to use a street pole for support. He hugged it for dear life as he coughed due to the smoke. Slowly blinking, he saw Mogul in the distance. To his horror, he saw him standing in front of the monster, too.
The monster looked down at Mogul with an eerie grin on its face, showing all of its sharp teeth. The mammoth said something that Silver was too far to listen to. Then, suddenly three more Moguls spawned in place around and taunted the monster with something.
“...What?...” Did Mogul have powers too? Why did he never use them until now?!
Iblis laughed loudly, then suddenly breathed down an inferno on Mogul and all of his clones. Silver physically recoiled as he watched the only remaining survivor be burnt alive. With the fire, all the clones were gone. Which allowed Iblis to see which one was the real Mogul and snatched him up into its spiky hand, crushing him in his grasp.
“N-No!!” Silver ran as fast as he could afore he tripped over his own legs. He then used his hands to push himself off the ground then flew to Iblis. “Stop!”
The monster tightened its hold on Mogul, making him cry out before he went completely silent. Iblis laughed before throwing upwards the deeply mangled body into the air, as if a casual coin toss. Then, it opened its mouth and ate the mammoth without a care in the world.
“...” The shock made all of Silver’s energy disappear. He reached forward helplessly before falling onto the ground, rolling a couple of times and getting his body even more scratched.
“Disappointing…” The creature rolled its green eyes before glancing around, as if seeking someone else. “You would expect someone with powers to taste less… bland.”
“...” His entire body shook as grief consumed him. Tears calmly left his eyes before he suddenly wailed, his fist closed tightly as he sobbed.
“Oh, there you are.” The monster casually commented before approaching.
“...”
His sadness soon enough became rage. Something that he couldn’t quite describe at the moment. The bracelets felt heavier than ever as he suddenly floated. His tears burnt his cheeks as he dead stared the monster.
“IBLIS!!!” Silver yelled, somehow making all of Crisis City shake with his voice alone. Which made the other pause. “You’re a dead man!!”
“...Son of light?” Iblis murmured once he noticed Silver flying, yet the hoglet didn’t care.
“I will kill you with my bare hands. I don’t care that you can revive yourself, I’ll kill you again and again. I’ll wait for you to be reborn and I’ll kill you. I don’t care if you try to hide, I don’t care if you try to change, I will kill you. You yourself built this hell, and I will chain you to it for all of eternity even if it's the last thing I do!!!” Silver then suddenly felt his pure anger turn into something malleable, something powerful. Something that he chucked at the other, what today he called a psycho knife.
And for the first time, Iblis looked horrified.
꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷
He slowly fluttered his eyes open as he felt something shaking beside him. In a way, he was glad. He didn’t want to be stuck replaying that memory again. Slowly, Silver looked at the rest of the bed before noticing Shadow frowning in his sleep and turning in place repeatedly.
He hesitated, then slowly shook the other awake. Which caused Shadow to groan groggily in response, eventually turning in place for a last time and opening his eyes with a hum. Awkwardly glancing at the other over the barrier of cushions.
“Are you alright?” Silver whispered with furrowed eyebrows. His single inhibitor ring the only source of light nearby. “You were…shaking.”
The other sighed in response, slowly sitting up on the bed alongside the other. “I’m fine, just an… old memory my brain decided to remind me of.”
Silver hummed in dry irony before looking away. “Same.”
A silence followed, one quickly interrupted by the beep of a clock. Yet Silver wasn’t interested in learning the time.
“...Want to play 20 questions?” Shadow spoke up.
Silver raised an eyebrow at him.
“You know, twenty questions. You ask me ten questions, I ask you ten questions and you have to answer them all truthfully. But if you don’t like the question you can skip it. That’s an activity done a lot in sleepovers…I think.” The shorter hedgehog himself sounded unsure.
“...Sounds simple enough.” He reluctantly shifted his position, sitting on his knees on the bed while facing the other. Silver didn’t really want to play - yet it was better of an alternative than to simply think of the bad memories over and over.
“I’ll start.” Shadow changed his position as well, now sitting criss-cross while looking directly at Silver. The former hummed, staring at the golden eyes as he thought of something. “One, What’s your favorite color?”
Silver released a small laugh in surprise, — Shadow took a while, thus he assumed that the question was going to be something more obscure or serious. Guess not. — then hummed in thought. “I’ll say green.”
Shadow grinned. “Why?”
“Well…” He shrugged. “It’s a beautiful color. It’s everywhere in the past too. The oceans of grass, the trees… It shows that something is healthy. I guess? Life, too. It’s pretty, not like orange.”
A hum. “Your turn.”
“One…” Silver’s smile widened as he thought of something stupid. “How old are you?”
That made Shadow pause. “Do you want the technical age, the physical age or the mental age?”
He sputtered. “W-What?”
That made the other chuckle in response. “I was created, not ‘born’. So I don’t have a birthday, me being immortal and ageless doesn’t help either. So technically I am that, ageless. However, if we count the day I gained consciousness as my ‘birthday’, I would mentally be around…” Shadow did a small math with his numbers. “Ninety. Damn, that sounds old.” He shook his head. “However, since I was in stasis for fifty years and my body didn’t age at all meanwhile… I am physically forty years old.”
Silver nodded slowly, listening along with the explanation. “So you’re… ninety, forty and ageless all at once??”
Shadow shrugged. “You get used to it after a while.”
“And you don’t even have a birthday…”
“Not like I need one.”
“That won’t do.” Silver leaned in casually, a grin of playfulness on his face. “We need to make up a birthday for you.”
“No, really,” He slightly cringed at the thought. “It’s fine.”
“But that sounds so gloomy and…miserable.” The other barely hid the offended scoff. “I’ve seen the faces of the others whenever it's their birthday, they all look so happy. They get their own day to shine, and you deserve one too as well!!”
The shorter hedgehog looked away. “I’m not sure I want to celebrate the day I was created.”
“Then we won’t choose that one!! Is there an important date in your life you remember? Like, I don’t know. A day you found a lucky nickel? Or the day you ate your favorite food for the first time? Oh! I know!” Silver’s smile widened even more at the confused tilt of the other’s head. “The day you walked on earth for the first time!!”
Shadow cringed again. His eyes glanced somewhere else. “I… don’t know.”
“Hear me out.” Silver moved the cushions to the side so he could casually sit beside the shorter hedgehog. Hopefully be more understood now. “That day was when you met Sonic and co. The day you were freed from your grief… somewhat. That was the day you decided to do the best despite what others thought, despite your mistakes. That was the day you chose your destiny! I think it would be very fitting in my opinion. Unless you don’t remember when that is?”
Shadow looked away once more, a… somewhat bashful look on his face? “I do remember, it's June nineteen.”
“Perfect! June nineteen it is! Even if I’m in the future and I notice it is June Nineteen, I shall make a small celebration in your honor. No matter the time and place. I promise.” Silver beamed a smile down at him.
“...” He slowly smiled back, returning the other’s gaze again. “Hmmm, I shall do the same as well. Two, when is your birthday?”
Silver paused, just like Shadow did before. “I… don’t have one.”
A tilt of his head. “How come?”
“It’s complicated.” Silver shrugged, not wanting to talk much about it. “I went back in time to try to see… stuff. But for the life of me I cannot find my origins, it’s like it was just…deleted. Like I just ‘poofed’ into existence as a child. So I don’t have an exact birthday as well. Although I made up a fake one with Blaze to keep track of how long it has been since I ‘appeared’ or whatever. At first I actually used it and tracked my age, but then I just kept focusing on the past and…” He nervously grimaced. “...forgot about it? So I don’t even know when the fake birthday is either.”
Shadow hummed in acknowledgment. He seemed like he had questions about it. However, he held his tongue. “Let’s make you one, then.”
“It’s not necessary, really.” He didn’t deserve it.
“You made me one so I’ll give you one as well, cry about it.” Shadow gave the other a small challenging glare, then crossed his arms over his chest. “...What about the day you showed up for the first time?”
Silver cringed. “Of all the days, why that one?”
“It’s special.” He explained casually, like it wasn’t a big deal. “It’s the day you stumbled into all of our lives. If it wasn’t for that day, we would’ve never defeated Solaris nor fixed the timeline. If it wasn’t for that day… nothing else would’ve happened, we wouldn’t have been friends.”
Shadow casually lied back down on the bed, his hands behind his head as he stared up at Silver. His legs dangled from the edge of the bed and barely touched the floor, his head on the cushions. The taller hedgehog observed him for a bit before mimicking him and laying down against the cushions himself. His hands rested on his torso and his legs definitely touched the floor. Both hedgehogs at opposite ends. Both hedgehogs staring up at the ceiling full of posters of so many artists.
“I… thank you.” Silver murmured shyly. “...But I don’t even remember when that was…”
“November fourteen.” Silver softly turned his head to look at Shadow. “What? I told you I had a good memory.”
“Touché.” The psychic looked upwards again, a small smile on his muzzle.
A sigh of content was heard. “...You can expect the same treatment from me too. No matter the time or place, even if you aren’t here… I shall celebrate your birthday. I promise.”
“I am honored.”
“...Your turn, in case you forgot.”
“Of course.” Silver made a fake annoyed motion. “Two, favorite flowers?”
“Lavander. Although lantanas come as a close second. They’re both beautiful yet easy on the eyes.” He lightly chuckled. “Three, yours?”
“I’d say sunflowers. They are one if not the only plant to still grow in Crisis City, although they’re still very rare. I was very delighted when I learnt more about them here.” Silver shrugged. “I like them.”
Both hedgehogs shared a glance.
“Three…Oh!” Shadow tilted his head at the other. “How old are you? You never told me.”
“Apprently twenty-five.”
“Yikes.” Shadow cringed.
“What?” Silver gave him a concerned glance in return.
“Nothing. Your turn.”
“...” He decided to let it go with a sigh. “Three, favorite song?”
The other made an expression of horror. “I got a couple, I can’t choose… let me show you.”
The hedgehog casually stood up from the bed, prompting the taller one to do the same. Once both of them had their shoes back on, Shadow led the other to his garage. Still playing on the way there.
“Four, do you know the meaning of yin and yang?”
“No, what is it about?”
A pause. “Don’t worry about it.”
That seemed important to him, Silver will have to investigate it later.
The shorter hedgehog unlocked the door before opening the way in, closing it behind Silver. His garage contained all of his collectables that cannot fit in his room. Either gifts, or things he just bought himself, his old motorcycle, boxes full of albums.
“...Four, are those CDs?”
Shadow snorted in response, then opened his mouth as if he was going to say something else. However, once he turned around he paused as he noticed the specific vinyl the taller hedgehog was holding.
“Oh.” He approached it and gently took it from Silver’s hands. “I used to repeat this one back in the day until I got sick of it.” Shadow softly smiled unconsciously. “I have its jacket somewhere around here… hold on.” He walked around the garage to search into other boxes. “But yes! Well, actually, no. It’s not a CD, it’s a vinyl record. They’re similar but require different things to hear them.” Once he found the jacket, he slid the vinyl inside the sleeve before showing off the cover for Silver. “Short and sweet, one of my all time favorite albums.”
The taller hedgehog glanced at the blonde human on the cover before giving the other an awkward thumbs up of approval. “Looks nice.”
“It is nice.”
“Five…” Silver quietly started, hesitant as he didn’t know if he was crossing the line or not. “Can I borrow it for a bit?”
“Sure.” Shadow responded calmly and placed the vinyl in the other’s grasp casually afore walking back inside. As if he didn’t have any material attachment to it.
“I- Really???” He sounded surprised that it actually worked. Then he followed after Shadow while holding the thing carefully. “You trust me with it? Just like that?”
Shadow simply hummed in amusement. “Why not? After all, I know it’s going to return to its spot once you leave.”
Silver bashfully looked away at that.
Once back in the bedroom, Silver carefully placed his newly acquired vinyl with his things on the floor’s rug. Then sat down on the bed alongside the shorter hedgehog. Now both of them were sitting on the same edge of the bed, one foot apart. “Being honest, I forgot what number you were at.”
“I think it was… four? Five? Eh, it doesn’t matter.” Ruby met gold. “Favorite accessory?”
“Nothing beats my boots.” He swung his legs in place for emphasis. They were very special, as they were a gift from Blaze. “...” Silver temporarily looked away, then hesitantly spoke up. He should… really talk about the Time Wanderer situation. He has been postponing it for too long. “I think this is going to be my last question. It’s kind of stupid.”
Shadow crossed one of his legs over the other. A small glint of interest in his eyes. “Shoot.”
“What’s your biggest fear?” Oh brother.
Shadow’s eyes widened at that before he schooled his expression quickly. The other saw it, but didn’t comment on it for his sake. Maybe it was the wrong question to do, nice going, Silver.
“...Sorry, forget I asked.”
“No, I’ll answer.” Shadow shook his head, then sighed as he thought. “...In simple words, being trapped. There’s nothing more that I hate than being stuck between four walls without any way of getting out, knowing someone out there might need my help. The thought sometimes… terrifies me.”
Silver placed a reassuring arm on Shadow’s shoulder, which prompted ruby to meet gold once more.
“..What’s yours?” The shorter one murmured.
“Forgetting myself.” Silver admitted shyly. “Or well, forgetting everything, really. I can deal with losing my powers, if I know what I must do, then I’ll do it whatever way I can. I can handle others forgetting me, too, I am practically nobody in the future. So there isn’t any difference. But if my memories disappear… I won’t be able to do my mission, nor who I am, nor…” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve seen people who have lost their memory - like in the freedom fighters. O-Or in Crisis City, the last remaining people suffered of this condition where they lost their memory-”
“Dementia?”
“I think? It looked… miserable. They even forgot how to talk, how to eat. Sometimes I wonder if that would happen to me, my last memories being me lost and all confused in Crisis City. It sounds horrible, so I write down all my memories.” He slowly reached for a flipbook in his pile of things. It had a blank cover and one of the corners was slightly burnt. Then he offered it to Shadow, shy at being vulnerable. “Uhm… please be gentle with it, it’s being held together with tape.”
“I noticed.” He quietly commented as he held the flipbook. Eventually he flipped through some pages silently, it made the taller hedgehog feel slightly self-conscious. Shadow was probably judging it internally.
The other handed it over. “Impressive.” …Huh?
“I know it isn’t much.” Silver shrugged before placing the flipbook over the vinyl. “But it means a lot to me, it helps calm down the irrational fear or whatever.” Gold met ruby. “So maybe you could figure out something to calm down your fear, too.”
“Maybe. Thanks for… sharing this with me.”
“Of course.” He nodded in response. “Friends are supposed to trust each other, right?” What a hypocrite.
“...Right.” He glanced at the clock. “We should probably go back to bed.” He shifted his position with intentions to follow as mentioned.
“Shadow,” Silver stood up instead, which made the other pause. His eyes glanced at his own boots before up at the other, hesitant. “If there was something that needed to be discussed. You would tell me, right?” The letter, Time Wanderer… everything. They really needed to talk about this.
Shadow paused, but beside that he looked as calm as ever. “Of course I would.” …He didn’t. He didn’t trust him.
Maybe now it's not the time to speak about it. Did Shadow not view him as his friend in his mind? Silver should leave, what if Shadow truly had something planned? “...Alright.” Silver nodded in response, faking calmness. “Uhm, I think talking this much got rid of my sleepiness. So I’ll just…go. If you don’t mind.”
Shadow watched as the other started to put on his gloves and jacket. It made Silver feel even more nervous. There was a silent conversation happening between the two and Silver didn’t know if they were talking in the same language or not.
Silver placed his things inside his quills, then grabbed the gray chaos emerald. He didn’t even know if it was safe to reveal any more of his abilities to Shadow anymore. It could be used against him.
“Silver, wait!” He stood up from the bed, startling the other. “...There is something I have to tell you.”
A small streak of hope emitted from his being. “What is it?” He thought of placing the emerald away, but decided against it.
“I…” Shadow hesitated. “I… There is something I want to tell you.”
“Yes?” Silver tilted his head to the side.
“There is something I want to tell you.” Shadow repeated… for some reason.
“...Yes?” Silver cautiously took a step forward, expectant.
“...” The shorter hedgehog took a shaky breath. “It’s about someone.” Oh, it’s about Time Wanderer. Shadow did trust him. Thank Gaia.
Silver let out a sigh of relief, taking another step closer to the other and placing the chaos emerald away. “Is his name Time Wanderer, by any chance?”
Shadow murmured something, which worried him for a second. “...Yes!” He laughed in relief. “...T-Time Wanderer, he’s this…” Shadow slowly gained his composure back as Silver seemed to know about the topic as well. “...He’s you from the future. I don’t know what he wants, but I knew that his intentions aren’t-”
“I know.” Silver interrupted, still sounding relieved. “But there’s also… this thing.” He looked away. “Shadow, in the future, you…”
“Oh, I know.” Shadow casually brushed off.
“Y-You do??” Silver quickly found his gaze again. “Since when??” He knew Silver killed him and just… didn’t say anything?? Kept being friends with him??? What?
“A while.” Shadow shrugged casually. “It doesn’t matter. We have to focus on figuring out what to do with-”
“Why didn’t you tell me? How long were you going to keep quiet about this?” What were his intentions? Just sweep it under the rug? Revenge? …Did he think Silver couldn’t handle it?
That made him pause. “I just…” He slightly narrowed his eyes, yet continued speaking. ”I just didn’t want to add more to your plate. You already had to worry about so much with time and then- I thought that if I kept looking out for you, you wouldn’t feel alone and realize others care. That Time Wanderer wouldn’t happen. You needed help and I just- tried my best.” An unreadable expression crossed Shadow’s face that eventually melted into one of his fears. An expression that shook Silver to the core. An expression of… pity.
“...” Silver’s quills slowly slipped out of the grasp of the hair pins, power coursing through him and making them stand high. “...I can’t believe it.” He shook his head in disbelief, feeling pure disappointment. “You’re just like the rest of them.” He took a cautious step back.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Shadow took a step forward to gain back the lost distance, slowly reaching a hand for Silver. “I just wanted to help you.”
“I do not need your help!!” Silver slapped his hand away. Causing Shadow to grab it in surprise. “I don’t need your pity! I do not need anyone else’s pity!!”
Shadow scoffed, like Silver was talking pure nonsense. It made him even more mad. “What’s up with you!? When did anyone say anything about pity?”
“Don’t lie to me. I’m not an idiot, I know the look you’ve been giving me since I came here. Whenever I spoke about my life, whenever I questioned something… you gave me that look of pity just like everyone else does. I had enough!!” He growled.
Silver then took another step back, this time Shadow stayed in place. “I am not some poor little mobian confused about the world that needs to be protected or looked out for. My name is Silver the hedgehog, since I was a hoglet I had to fight for my life! Despite the harsh conditions of my childhood I prevailed and fought back against gods! I was the one who defeated Iblis, twice. If it wasn’t for me Mephiles and Solaris wouldn’t be defeated as well, if it wasn’t for me all of you would still be stuck being brainless metal!! I bend time to my will, I could ruin the world as you know it but I don’t. I could easily crush the planet we’re both on within itself but I don’t. Instead I willingly choose to stick in my unjust world as I watch you guys merrily enjoy your lives. All so ignorant of the looming future as I’m stuck in hell, looking at heaven.”
Silver took a quick breath, then continued with his angry rambling. Pointing rightfully at Shadow. “I am not confused, I do not need protection. I am not some helpless civilian. If I’m somewhere then that is where I need to be. I saved the past, present and future countless times simultaneously. If you think I can’t handle some little information that could’ve been useful a long time ago… then you don’t see me as an equal.” Was Shadow his friend at all?
“Of course I see you as an equal!” Shadow protested. “Silver, I know you have done all of these and so much more, but you still need to take breaks like everyone else! You’re still a mobian. Power means nothing without control. If you keep this up you’ll just hurt yourself further in the end. Look at what happened with the Egg Cracker!! So powerful yet I had to save your life, twice.”
“I would’ve been fine, just like every other time.” Silver scoffed in response then crossed his arms over his chest. Getting more riled up, same as Shadow. “If I really needed help, how come you didn’t do nothing until two weeks ago, huh? Why only now? Why start in 2011?”
“Because…” His expression softened as did his voice. “...I didn’t deserve this.”
That made Silver pause. “W-What??”
“Silver, you’re an incredible person.” His voice shook, as if emotional. “You’re resilient, determined, will do whatever it takes to do the right thing even if it means giving up yourself… you’re everything I will never be. You’re inspiring. And I… am not any of that. I didn’t feel like I deserved to be your friend. That you should be with others like you.”
“...” Silver’s accusatory stance changed, although he was still tense. Still with his arms crossed. “What changed that, then? Revenge?”
“W-What!?” He squawked.
The golden eyes narrowed, annoyed at being misunderstood still. Did he… truly not know anything? “Shadow, the one who killed you in the future is Time Wanderer.”
The ultimate lifeform fell speechless. His eyes widened as well. “I…”
“That’s why you got the letter, right?” Silver furrowed his eyebrows before approaching the other again. As if provoking the other to spill out the truth. “To stop me? To get revenge? Kill me first? Why now, Shadow? Why!? We barely interacted at all, and suddenly everywhere I go you won’t stop showing up! It’s like you keep following me! Why!?”
“Because I lo-” He stuttered in thought. “Because… because…”
“...” Silver simply shook his head at him, his anger slowly melted away into sadness afore he turned around in place. “It was nice… but I don’t think we can be friends anymore. If we even were at all.”
He subtly used his time powers on himself, reversing his body to a time where he still had the chaos emerald. Thus he was able to casually reach for it in his quills despite giving it away earlier, however it was stopped by Shadow’s own hand.
“I won’t let it end like this.” Shadow’s ruby eyes held a determined glint to them.
Silver gave him a glare, a contrast of the usual glances. “Move aside, Shadow.”
“No.”
“I said move aside.”
Something got into him and Silver suddenly kicked the other in the stomach, catching him off guard and forcing him to let go to hunch over in place due to the pain.
The taller hedgehog looked surprised at his own action for a couple of seconds before narrowing his eyes and grabbing the chaos emerald. “Cha-” Suddenly arms wrapped around his neck and sent him down to the floor, choking him in the process and making him let go of the emerald.
Shadow ignored the clattering on the floor nearby as he pinned the other in place with him. Slightly shifting his hold so the other wasn’t suffocating, yet was still trapped. “Stop it and listen for a second! Can’t you see this is what he wants?”
“Stop using Time Wanderer as an excuse!! I am the one who wants this!” Silver dismissed with a scoff, quills stiff in anger and frustration. He started to glow turquoise as he used his powers to separate Shadow’s hands from his neck. Then he quickly scurried off the ground and started levitating in a panic.
Shadow stood up as well, activating his air shoes with a small click of them against the ground. “Please just listen to me. This is all just a big misunderstanding, don’t force me to do this.”
“You’re the one who is stopping me for no reason!! I’m not forcing you to do jack.” Silver rolled his eyes.
“Then you leave me no choice.” Shadow stanced up, ready to run after the other and tackle him.
Silver scoffed, looking both nervous and frustrated. “I would like to see you try.”
They both glared at each other, then cued the game of tag.
Silver avoided the other like the plague, flying just out of reach and attempting to reach the doors and windows. To his dismay, Shadow covered all exits with chaos spears, forcing the other to move somewhere else. Silver was too nice to destroy one of the walls or something, so he was stuck flying in place. He forced Shadow back whenever he got too close. So both of them were frustrated by now.
“Why would I want to destroy you? Are you even hearing yourself? I’ve done nothing but helped you when you needed it!” Silver shook his head at the pleas.
“A form of manipulation! Getting me to trust you and put my guard down for you to strike!” Shadow scoffed at the response.
“You truly don’t know me! If I wanted to strike you I would’ve done it to your face, not the cowardly way.” He almost grabbed the other’s ankle but got kicked in the face.
“Maybe I would’ve known you if you didn’t hide secrets from me!!” He barely avoided a spear stabbing his jacket to a wall. “But I guess Silver just has too much to worry about and can’t handle the villain of the week being himself!!”
Shadow stopped in place, as if greatly upset. “You know that’s not what I meant!!”
“Then what did you mean!?” Silver pressed his boots against the wall, used it to push himself off of it and casually tackled the other instead. “I’m still waiting for your answer!!”
“I don’t know!!” He took advantage of the height difference and repeatedly kicked the other in the stomach. “I made a mistake, okay!? I’m sorry I’m not oh so knowledgeable like you!! I’m sorry I allow myself to be a mobian unlike you!!”
The taller hedgehog got his breath kicked right out of him. It didn’t help that Shadow's shoes were made out of metal too, it hurt. In anger he raised his gloved fist, ready to strike down.
Shadow flinched, preparing his face to be hit and lowering his ears.
That… expression. It was just like when Time Wanderer… he…
“...” Silver’s expression softened, then he let go of Shadow and quickly crawled back. As if he was burnt with acid. He looked horrified. “What am I doing?”
“...Silver?” Shadow quickly sat up in place, staring at the other with confusion.
“I said I didn’t wanna turn out like him and then…” He looked at his own hands then covered his face as he quietly started to sniff. “I am a hypocrite, so annoying.”
The shorter hedgehog slowly scooted closer, sitting down on the floor beside the other as he unsummoned all the spears. “What’s wrong?”
“...I-I don’t want to become Time Wanderer, Shadow. I love the present, I love the planet and all of you… I don’t want anything to get hurt and yet I am the first one to do it.” He sniffed louder, close to weeping. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, nor why I got so mad… I’m so sorry.” He proceeded to ball up, hugging his legs and hiding his face in his knees.
“Silver, I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s happening. Please, let me understand.” He felt arms slowly being wrapped over his body, Shadow was hugging him. “Let us fix this… Do you want to talk about it?”
Silver slowly nodded with a quiet hum, as if ashamed. Shadow hummed back, sounding as reassuring as he could.
“...Where do I start?” Silver choked out as he rose his head from his knees. He flinched as a gloved hand lightly rested on his shoulder.
“Take your time.” Shadow softly smiled at him. How can this guy not hate him?
Silver took a deep breath.
A good friendship requires trust and truth. You should tell him and support him, yet also understand whatever decision he takes.
Silver decided to tell Shadow… everything. Even if he had to repeat himself due to him undoing what happened during the Egg Cracker. He told Shadow about him discovering he had way more powers than he originally thought, about the fight with Neo, about how his powers are basically the only thing keeping his body together at this point. About how many times he failed during the Egg Cracker fight, about how he failed many times in everything, really. About his encounter with the Time Wanderer, about what will happen in the future. About the letter, about his theories, about his self-realization and fears.
It took a while to get it all out, especially because he kept getting interrupted by his own stupid cries. He’s not even sure if the other hedgehog understood him properly due to how fast he spoke and stuttered. But he already said it twice, he’ll be damned if he’ll have to explain himself a third time.
How did he keep ending in these situations?
“...I don’t know what to say.” Shadow blinked, looking at a wall. “Thanks to the letter I knew that I… died. But I would never have guessed that…” He shifted his position. “Did you read all of it?”
Silver lightly shook his head. “Didn’t get to finish it.”
The other simply hummed. Then slowly turned to face Silver, his gloved hand grabbed the taller hedgehog’s chin so he could hold eye contact.
“Hey, look at me. You’re not the Time Wanderer.” He huffed. “So stop punishing yourself for his actions.”
Silver scoffed in disbelief, if only that were so easy. “I’m literally everything like him. I will become him in the future. You… you saw me! I’m acting just like him too.” He had to wipe away even more tears.
Shadow hummed again, as if he didn’t agree with the facts. Then, he casually stood up, summoned a chaos spear and threw it at Silver’s feet.
The taller hedgehog flinched as the thing clattered loudly, startling him. He quickly scooted backwards then glanced up at Shadow with a look of betrayal. “What was that for!?”
“Prove me wrong, then.” Shadow tilted his head to the side, slightly opening his arms. “You said that you’re the Time Wanderer. Time Wanderer had no problem killing his Shadow, did he?”
“I…” Silver blinked in shock, then slowly stood up. Still speechless.
“Go on, do it.” He kept pushing, an unreadable look in his eyes. “Prove me wrong.”
“...” The spear suddenly floated upwards to his hold thanks to his psychokinesis. Silver tightened his fist around the handle afore hesitantly pointing the sharp end at Shadow.
Shadow raised an eyebrow at him. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet now. Can’t you fix it later?” Why did those words suddenly sound so mocking?
“...Right.” He swallowed, then pressed his lips into a thin line. “I can fix it.”
The white-furred hedgehog raised his arm, ready to strike. His hold on the spear was too great to the point it even shook, threatening to break in two. Silver narrowed his eyes, sticked out his tongue in concentration, then dropped the chaos spear with a groan.
The clatter pierced the silence in the room like a hot knife on butter.
“You can’t do it.” He shook his head, as if he already expected this outcome. Then, he took a few steps closer to Silver, placing an accusatory finger on his chest. “You can’t do it because you care for me. Because you’re not Time Wanderer, you’re nothing like Time Wanderer.”
Silver slowly grabbed Shadow’s hand with both of his, as if the previous contact had hurt. “How…how can you say that? How can you say that as if I haven’t done anything wrong?”
Shadow smiled up at him, as if it were as easy as breathing. “Because you haven’t, dummy.” Then, he held back the other’s hands also. Pulled him closer to the bed. “Let’s go back to sleep, I’m still tired.”
Silver was too exhausted to argue, the same way he was too exhausted to notice the nearby spear being unsummoned. The same way he was too exhausted to be ashamed of casually cuddling the other hedgehog in his sleep.
₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊
He slowly fluttered his eyes open with a quiet hum. Not even a dream this time? He should probably not be complaining much. The bed felt strangely empty too. Glancing around, he noticed Shadow was gone.
The clock beeped, which stole his attention. It read 8:00 am in a glowing red. Oh joy.
Silver also noticed that he didn’t have the chaos emerald anymore. Not just that, but he felt cleaner too. Maybe his body resumed its normal time once he went to sleep? He hesitantly glanced down at his perfectly normal right arm, flexed it and wiggled his fingers. Maybe the chaos emerald didn’t feel like a priority thus why his body didn’t focus on forcing it still the same way with his arm. Oh, this is all so cursed. Will he ever comprehend the extent of his own powers at all?
He forced himself off the bed with a small groan. Then used the small glow from his inhibitor ring to guide himself in the darkness. The hedgehog grabbed his gloves and boots afore putting them on, snapped on the other two inhibitor rings and untied the two quills on the back of his head. He put on his dark jacket, grabbed all his things then stepped out of the room without a second thought.
“Oh, you’re awake.” Shadow greeted him in the kitchen. “Allow me to serve you some cereal. Can’t have you leaving with an empty stomach.”
Silver simply smiled back before immediately dropping it once the other looked away. Gaia, he had a horrendous headache. He really needed to stop crying like a hoglet so much. He was such a mess.
He sat down in front of the table once he was given his bowl. Silver glanced down at the flat squares soaked in the milk with a hum, then forced himself to bring a spoonful to his mouth. “...Hey, this actually tastes sweet. What does it have?”
Shadow shrugged and grabbed an empty box. “Cinnamon.”
The taller hedgehog hummed before continuing. Meanwhile the ultimate lifeform went back to washing whatever plate he was cleaning - probably the one he used for his own breakfast. Silver awkwardly ate in silence, thinking over everything that happened yesterday.
“...What does kissing mean?” Funny enough both of them paused at Silver’s pathetic attempt to break the silence. “Like- I’m not dumb, I know it's a way to show affection. But I thought it was something only couples did, as I’ve seen Amy and Sonic do it. Same way with that pink princess and the plumber guy.” He shrugged, gently placing the spoon on the edge of the bowl. “But now I’ve seen friends give each other kisses on the cheek too. So what does it really mean?”
“Well…” Shadow turned off the sink as he placed the plate on the dishrack. Then, he slowly turned to face the other properly while leaning back against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. “It mostly means that, affection. Although it can be used in all ways; romantically, platonically and familiarly. In some places, people even kiss on the cheek just to greet each other, like where Rouge was raised in. So there isn’t really a full definition tied to it.” He shrugged.
“Understandable.” He mindlessly stirred the milk while resting his chin on his free hand.
“...” The other hesitated for a bit, then quietly sat across from the psychic. “Silver… are you feeling better now?”
“I guess.” He slowly allowed ruby to reunite with gold.
Shadow nodded in response. “We really… need to talk about the Time Wanderer.”
Silver sighed in dismay. Quickly drank away the remaining milk before he placed the empty bowl in the sink using his psychokinesis. Finally, he wiped his muzzle clean with the back of his wrist. “What more is there to talk about?”
“I was just wondering, since you’re more familiar with time shenanigans than I am… shouldn’t Time Wanderer already stop existing? You said that what happened in the future was because… of some miscommunication of sorts, right? We already talked it out, you witnessed what happened and don’t ever want to do it yourself. So shouldn’t the problem already be solved?” Shadow slowly hugged himself, his gloved hands resting on his shoulders as he glanced at the other.
“Well…” The other temporarily looked away. “Do you still remember vividly when he delivered the letter? When you two met?”
He nodded. “Like water.”
Silver shook his head. “Then no, he still exists.”
“...How can you be so sure?”
A pause. “Whenever I fix an event or do anything that changes the course of time… it's like the timeline resets. And when it resets, everyone’s memories are changed with it, so for you guys it's like the timeline never changed at all in the first place, like this is how it always was. For example, the metal virus situation. For you guys, you quickly won in nine days and forgot about it. That wasn’t the case originally, yet you don’t remember what the original timeline was like, don’t remember the losses nor pain.”
Shadow slowly nodded in understanding, an unreadable expression on his face. “So as long as I remember Time Wanderer, he’s still a threat?”
“Right.”
“...But I don’t get it.” The shorter hedgehog sighed. “How did us talking this out not change the event of you becoming Time Wanderer?”
Silver paused for a very long moment. His thoughts circled around his mind afore he was reminded of his own question. “...Because I do not become Time Wanderer.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I… met him,” Silver cringed. “He explained to me how he’s not from this timeline, that he moved in from another altogether. Because of this I wondered how the universe was able to handle two different Silvers from the exact same time coexisting at the exact same place, seconds and everything. That’s when I realized it didn't make sense. So I asked him if he became my future self and outright replaced him… or if he is currently possessing my future self.”
Shadow frowned. “...And what did he answer with?”
“He said that he himself didn’t know despite being the one who controls time or whatever.” His palms tightened their hold on his own knees. “But now I think I know the answer. It wouldn’t make sense for me to slowly become Time Wanderer in the future.”
Shadow nodded in agreement.
“Which means that…” Silver took a shaky breath. “...in the future when Time Wanderer moves into this timeline, in order to protect itself; the universe will make Time Wanderer and I share one body. Thus, Time Wanderer will possess me and control me.” He slowly blinked as his own words slowly sank in his mind. “...I don’t know how much time I have left. If a young Time Wanderer possesses me… h-how am I supposed to stop him?”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Shadow attempted to reach for Silver over the table, but stopped himself as he was too far. “...You said Time Wanderer won’t start doing things until all the way in 3928, right? You’re from 2206, you should have some time left.”
“Shadow, we’re time travelers.” Silver scoffed, as if exasperated that the other wasn’t getting the grasp of the situation. “For all I know, Time Wanderer possessed me in 2210 and then time traveled all the way to 3928. …Or worse, he won’t possess me in a specific time in the world, he’ll possess me in a specific time in myself.”
He tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve been… aging out of time.” Silver shrugged quickly, glancing at the ground. “Like- I’ve been changing events and time traveling for so long that I’ve physically aged even if I didn’t stay at a specific point in time for more than a week. Time Wanderer himself told me that I’m already twenty-five years old. So even though I return to 2206 each time because it feels like the ‘correct’ time and the time I belong to, in reality I should live in 2217. What I’m trying to say is… what if the Time Wanderer doesn’t possess me by when I’ll travel to a certain time but for when I’ll reach a certain age? Like… What if he possesses me once I turn twenty-six, for example? I don’t… know when my actual birthday is, for all I know I could be a month away from turning twenty-six. Maybe even a day away.” He took another shaky breath. “...I don’t want to get possessed… I don’t want to hurt you… I don’t want to put the world in harm…”
Silver blinked and suddenly Shadow was hugging him. His arms carelessly wrapped around his neck. The former hesitated before melting into the other’s arms, hugging him back.
After what felt like forever, Shadow finally pulled away from the embrace. “We’ll stop him before that happens, I can promise you that.” One of his thumbs gently wiped away at one of Silver’s eyes. Damn it all, again? He really needed to stop crying, especially in front of Shadow.
“...How can you be so sure?” Silver murmured, holding on to the other like a lifeline still.
Shadow simply hummed in response, as calm as ever. As if it were just another Friday. “It’s not the first time we faced great odds, and it certainly won’t be the last.” He beamed a smile. “Especially with you, Silver the hedgehog. We could face the impossible and still win. May I remind you who was the one who helped us defeat the sun god itself?”
Silver nervously looked away. “...You said that like I did it by myself…”
Shadow suddenly took a hold on Silver’s chin, forcing him to look back once more. “Yes, you had help. So what? If it wasn’t for you destroying Solaris’ shields, our attacks wouldn’t have any effect on it whatsoever. So you were a key part in the fight, Silver.”
Silver didn’t know what to say against that. He wasn’t used to compliments thus this conversation felt incredibly awkward. Especially with Shadow of all mobians being all positive and cheery for some reason, acting out of character as usual.
“...” He released the psychic from his hold, humming in thought. “If we want to defeat the Time Wanderer, we’re gonna need a plan.”
Silver perked up. “R-Really?? Just like that?” He was still processing the fact Shadow still wanted to be his friend after everything he had done. But to go out of his way to help him with a situation that seemed impossible… he had no words.
“Of course. What kind of friend would I be otherwise?” He offered his hand and helped the other stand up from his chair. “Fighting fire with fire is useless, so please do not run at him.”
Silver quietly scoffed. “You say that like I’d blindlessly run in danger before.”
“...You ran at me when I’ve shown I can clearly run hands back at Soleanna.” Shadow snorted.
“That was one time.” He awkwardly coughed. “I was blind by rage, nothing else. Obviously I won’t do that now.”
“...” He narrowed his eyes at the taller hedgehog, then simply let go of it with a sigh. “Yeah, sure. Anyway, this should be common knowledge, but whatever you do - do NOT accept helping him. For all we know, accepting is what caused him to possess you in the first place.”
“Why would he need permission to possess me??? He’s not a vampire.”
“I don’t know- just-” Shadow sharphy exhaled. “Silver, we do not know what we’re dealing with here. We need to be as cautious as we can get. Alright?”
“...Alright.”
“Good. So, no matter what he offers you, no matter the circumstances, do not accept to help him. If anything, try to get more information from him, subtly get him to answer questions without even realizing. Try to investigate things like what you did in 3928. The sooner we figure out what Time Wanderer is planning - the sooner we can stop it and him.”
“I’ll… try.” Silver awkwardly scratched the back of his head. “Time Wanderer is very strict when it comes to revealing information for free, but I’ll try nevertheless.”
“That’s what matters.” Shadow sighed. “...We should probably tell the others as well. The more help we can get the better.”
Silver cringed. The others already see him in a bad light. If they knew what he did… “...Can we do that at another time?”
The shorter hedgehog tilted his head to the side. “Are you sure?”
“...Yeah. It could be risky. I said we don’t tell unless absolutely necessary.”
Shadow raised an eyebrow at that. He didn’t look like he agreed, at all. Nevertheless, he respected the psychic’s decision. “If you say so.” He watched as the other picked up the vinyl afore turning to face him. “...Also, we should probably make sure that Time Wanderer won’t try to stop us.”
“I don’t think he will.” He shrugged. “Remember, my memories stay the same no matter the event I change. Which is why I have to write down stuff or ask around whenever something new happens as my memory doesn’t get ‘fixed’ by the timeline like the others do. And now with Time Wanderer being from a different timeline altogether… I doubt he even knows what is happening. If my memories stay the same after an event, Time Wanderer’s must be too. Thus he won’t know anything that we’re doing unless he’s physically here to witness it himself.”
“Alright.” Shadow nodded in understanding, deciding to trust the other. “I’ll be on the lookout in case he shows up again or I discover something new. I’ll let you know.”
Silver nodded back, this time in respect. “I shall do the same.” He took a single step to the door, then paused. “Shadow… take care.”
“...You too.”
With that, the white-furred hedgehog walked out of the cabin. It took a bit with the extra inhibitor rings, but eventually he was able to open a portal to the past. Using one hand he shielded his eyes from the blinding light. With the other he tightly held the vinyl, then stepped forward.
“Wait!”
He did just that.
Shadow rushed out of the house while carrying a container. If he wasn’t mistaken it was the one from yesterday. “Do you have any way to warm things up in the future? …Forget I asked, here, have this.” He then shoved the container to Silver’s free hand. Damn his vision, I guess. “That way you’ll have something for when you get hungry.”
“...Thanks, really.” Silver gave a genuine smile down at the other. Then quickly re-opened the closing portal so his leg wouldn’t be cut off and ruin the moment.
Shadow simply nodded in acknowledgement, turned around to leave then paused. “...Can I ask for a favor?”
“Anything.”
He scoffed in amusement. “...Long ago in Soleanna… I had a personal fight with Mephiles, somewhere underground in the future.” His voice slowly got quieter, showing his worry. “He had shown me that I was going to be imprisoned, hunted down by humanity. At the time I didn’t care, thought it was just some mere illusion to try to weaken my resolve. But sometimes… I still think about it. Can you check if it's true? If that really… happened.”
“...” Silver frowned, then nodded in understanding. “You have my word.”
“Alright…” He took a step backwards, getting a final glance at the other. “That would be all. Don’t let me hold you back now.”
With that, he crossed the portal with his hands full.
◞┈┈┈⋆┈┈⊰🤍⊱┈┈⋆┈┈┈◟
“.enecs eht dniheb sgnirts eht gnillup eb ot sah ydobemoS”
“...regnarts gnitteg speek tsuj yrots sihT ?enihcam a gnikrow tsohg A”
“.gof siht etaerc ot enihcam driew emos gnisu saw ooB deman tsohg siht si wonk ew llA”
“?gniht a hcus od dluow ohW …semaG cipmylO eht no repmad a tup ot emit ni tsuJ” Some footsteps, multiple.
“!revliS”
“.sevlesruo srotsopmi fo elpuoc a htiw pu dehsinif tsuj eW .laed laer eht s’eh ,yrrow t’noD” More footsteps.
“!?wodahS”
“.gniklat peek …gnitseretnI”
“.elpoep tnereffid otni mrofsnart ot smees ti dna ,goF lamsatnahP eht dellac s’ereh tsim sihT .thgin tsal siht ekil gnihtemos otni nar ew tuB .sevlesruo sliated eht fo yna wonk yllautca ew ekil ton s’tI”
◝┈┈┈⋆┈┈⊰🖤⊱┈┈⋆┈┈┈◜
2011.
Silver stared at the familiar door, all while standing on the familiar porch. He took a deep breath, then knocked three times. As expected, a certain dark-furred hedgehog opened the door.
“Silver!” Ruby eyes widened in surprise. “...Sorry, just caught off guard.”
A bashful chuckle. “Worry not, I just came here to give you this. I’ll be out of your quills soon enough.” He then shoved the vinyl to Shadow’s grasp. “It’s not a CD like you asked, but…”
“...An album by future Sabrina Carpenter!?” Shadow gasped as if Silver just showed him the eighth great wonder of the world. “I have a turntable! I can hear this right now!” The hedgehog literally bounced in place, woah.
“Glad you like it.” The taller hedgehog chuckled, just to be surprised as the other tightly hugged him afore rushing back inside. More than likely searching for said turntable. Silver simply hummed to himself before opening a portal to the future this time.
That’s at least one relief off his shoulders. Elise was right, he should’ve just told Shadow from the beginning. Now they had a plan, trusted each other, Silver wasn’t as alone as he thought he was. They’re a team.
“You’re leaving already?” The taller hedgehog paused halfway into the portal as he heard Shadow calling out to him. Silver turned around in place to face the other properly. “I didn’t even get to say thank you- I apologize for my previous outburst. I just…”
“Like the music a lot?”
“Yeah…” He finally noticed the container. “What’s that?”
“A gift.” He shrugged. “I would love to speak more but I really need to… do more future stuff.” Now that he was looking at him, he noticed the mysterious necklace was missing from Shadow’s neck, huh.
He quickly glanced down at his hand before back up. “Oh, alright then.” He nodded in understanding. “I’ll be here if you need anything.”
“...Goodbye, Shadow.” Silver hesitated for a moment, then cautiously leaned in and planted a quick kiss goodbye on the other’s cheek.
“I- …” Shadow acted as if he short circuited. He slowly blinked for a couple of seconds afore he rose one gloved hand to his cheek. Specifically the part where Silver kissed him. The taller hedgehog was confused for a couple of seconds, then thought about how the others rarely kissed Shadow - must be why his reaction is like this. Simply wasn’t used to it. Silver didn’t blame them, really, Shadow was way scarier before they started being friends.
“Well, uhm… goodbye.” Silver went through the portal again and closed it. Leaving a frozen Shadow on his walkway in the middle of August.
Now it’s time to work and stop wasting time. He had new things in his to-do list; Search future Shadow, Find Mephiles, and stop Time Wanderer.
Most importantly, Silver didn’t know how long he had left until he was to be possessed. He had to move quickly.