Hello, everyone! Sorry it's been so long, I've been busy with school and work and few different projects (one of them being the book I actually plan to try and release someday). But to reward your patience to the long-awaited prequel of Silver Snow, I have prepared a few short stories to help you transition into the prequel. These will be known as the "Chapter Zeros", of which this one explains just how Silver managed to come back to Snow at the end. Also, I'll start giving updates in my profile about the sequel for those who are curious about the progress. Now, to be honest, there may be lots of questions you may have after reading this chapter zero, which is good because they'll all be answered in the prequel and set up the significance of the gravity in the previous story. Enjoy the fic, everyone, and your questions will be answered soon!

Silver Snow Chapter Zero-1: The Awakening, Part 1

He was dead. And death was cold. It wasn't like before, when life and love flashed before him like a radial spectrum of light. No, true death was like icy cold hands reaching from all over, each trying to sink him deeper and further into the darkness. And yet, Silver could still feel wheels of thought turning in his head, asking: why? Why did things have to turn out this way? He had defeated Garnet and was more than ready to make his new life with Snow. But that was all snatched away within an instant; the sorry mistake he had made in turning his back on his other half. And now, Silver was dead.

As the darkness picked him over, Silver could still feel unexplainable thoughts of a small pup that looked so strikingly identical to; a small brown bear whose image tickled his insides; and the image of a woman, so very human-looking, with long, billowing black hair. But she couldn't have been human. Just a glance into those deep, poison-purple eyes scent chills down Silver's spine.

And then, he could feel again. Or maybe it was just the perception of feeling. Could a dead person being able make out tangible sensations? His body was laying flat on cold, hard ground. Perhaps some kind of stone. Gravity was dragging him like a drug, and though he lay motionless for possibly just a few minutes, it felt like it had been hours. Silver's mind was still reeling with nonsensical cognisance when his fingers gave the first twitch. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. Silver had no idea his eyes had been closed, and even as he slowly opened them, his pupils were only greeted by more soupy darkness.

"Does the darkness bother you, Silver?" The voice seemed to come from all directions, familiar and warm. It felt nice like a lowly beacon in a world he couldn't even see. Silver shook his head.

"It never does."

"Of course it doesn't."

Silver winced at the sharp pain that accompanied the sudden shrinking of his pupils. The light was too harsh and blinded him with a greater animosity than the darkness. But once his eyes had slowly began to adjust, the savage stinging in his head died down as quickly as it had come. Granted, the area around him was still wrapped in a thick sheet of darkness. But now, it was like a spotlight was being shown down from some massive bulb in the darkness above. The floor he was sitting on was made out of cold, hard stone fit into perfect squares, the edges of which ran in a vast circle until it met with the darkness like a wall. There was a path before him, one that ended in towering double doors. They glared menacingly down at Silver, silvery doorknobs reflecting the ominous light in every direction until the floor and Silvers black fur was freckled it. Black, heavy chains draped around the form of the doors that too disappeared into the darkness at the edges.

However, Silver's attention only stayed on the towering thresholds for a moment. He knew where the voice had come from. The old wolf sat before him with the same warm-but-serious expression he had always worn. He sat proudly next to his mate, who seemed just as mysterious and silent as the day Silver had met her. Of course he knew better; his grandmother—like Anna—had often fussed over him more than her mate, belying her reserved inward-ness.

"Grandmother and Grandfather…?" Silver had started, but then came to a very somber confirmation, "If you two are before me, then…" He looked at the pads of one of his paws. "Then my time has truly come…"

"It's the nature of being dead, Silver. Sometimes." The old female wolf spoke very gently, like a leaf gently dropping atop the surface of a lake. But Silver felt his ear raise in intrigue.

"Sometimes?"

"As in, yes and no."' Silver's Grandfather stated and raised to his paws. He gazed directly up towards the light, as if its harsh sting had no affect on him at all. Silver couldn't tell if he was just that great, or if he was just being a showoff.

"This place has many names. But I think it's more commonly referred to as purgatory, or something along those lines. You are indeed dead," The old wolf lowered his head and gazed directly at him, "but not quite."

The political response sent a pang of irritation through Silver. Did the wise and elderly always have to prance around the seemingly straightforward? And an answer of "not quite" was still unsettling to Silver. If he wasn't fully dead now, he probably would be soon enough. The thought was depressing, but not as depressing as the realization behind it. He was at a point where he couldn't see Snow again. No embracing; no kissing; no touching; no hearing loving voice or next rambunctious scheme that would more or less land them in some kind of life-threatening danger. He hid his eyes beneath the bangs of his headfur.

"So this must mean that Snow is out of my re—" It came on so that Silver didn't realize how hard he had clasped his paws down on the sides of his head until sharp stings of pain forced him to ease up. An even sharper pain had coursed through his head; though the images had been already flickering here and there, now they seemed to be speeding up and making even less sense than before. And it hurt, almost as much as it did when he got his memory back the first time. Images of Snow as a pup flickered like an old film reel again. But there was something different about them now. They weren't memories familiar to him of he and his mate's time in Jasper Park. No, this was somewhere different entirely; an event that he couldn't recognize in the least, but felt so undeniably attached to that he couldn't deny it.

And on Snow's thigh-as clear as day—was the outline of his mark of subjugation. It stood out like a glowing sore thumb, pronouncing a connection that somehow felt old and deep—one that had existed their entire childhood maybe. Silver pressed his forehead to the cool floor. It made his head feel a bit better as the images grinded down to a slow swirl once more.

"What did you see?" The grandfather asked.

"I-I saw…Snow. And my mark. And a grand room, and—" Silver's ears perked up and he looked up at the wolf that was his grandfather. The elder looked back at him with eyes of indifference, almost hard. Though he didn't repeat himself, his facial expression was like a demand for Silver to answer. "How did you know that I was seeing things—saw something?"

"…"

"Grandfather…?"

The elder wolf let out a sigh, short, but heavy, and cast his gaze to the side of the stone floor. He looked as though he were going to answer him, mouth slightly open to form the edge of a word on his tongue. But he seemed to rethink it at the last moment and shook his head, instead rephrasing his question. "You saw Snow as a pup, right?"

"Grandfather,"

"And a small brown bear—one with a pink scarf and gray eyes?"

"Hey—"

"And a woman? With long black hair and—"

"HEY!" Silver stamped his paw on the ground one, fierce time, effectively silencing the old man in mid sentence. The midnight wolf gave an irritated snort—his grandfather liked to dance around the answers, but at this point, Silver hadn't the patience for it. His grandfather allowed his fallen gaze to reconnect with Silver.

"Memories." His grandmother had spoken up first. She didn't look too particularly pleased in saying so, but maybe Silver's bothered expression was starting to get to her. She brushed past her mate, despite whatever defiant look he may have given her, and became level with Silver. "What you're seeing are your memories." That couldn't have been true. The images flickering around in Silver's head were only distantly familiar of places he had never seen and people he never knew. They were memories that felt more like a stranger.

"But I thought I got all of those back."

"Not…not all of them. Some had to be kept hidden away from you. There wasn't any other way, really…" She added hastily, "I guess it only makes sense for them to come back now at the thread-end of your life."

"It only makes sense? What use could they be if—" It didn't make sense to Silver, not at first, but before he could even get another word out, yet another realization hit him. One that caused him to look at the old couple with a kind of edged anxiety. Perhaps they saw it in his clear, silver eyes, for their return stares were like that of a thief being caught in the middle of climbing out the window.

"You had something to do with this…?" He asked, gently hesitant.

"Silver, we—"

"Delia, no." The old male's voice had suddenly gone stern—so much so with an alpha authority that both Silver and his grandmother—Delia—turned their attention on him. He made his way over to them, then closed the gap in between. His paw brandished Delia back, eyes hard and strong on her.

"He has a right to know." Delia hissed.

"And he will, but I can't let you tell him. Please, won't you stay back this one time?"

She could've punched him. She looked so very ready to, a look that even made Silver take a step back. But her mate did not move from between them. Delia snorted and backed away only a short distance away from them. What on earth was going on?

"Silver," His grandfather turned to him, "Listen to every word I say clearly." The old wolf slowly—very slowly—leaned over until his muzzle was tickling Silver's ear. Slowly, the words came out, hissed into Silver's attention as though just hearing them alone was like some sort of taboo.

And every word was suddenly like a key, unlocking scene after scene of forgotten memory. The reels of pictures that had been spooling around in his thoughts were suddenly whirling out of control, rattling against the edges of his brain as they re-arranged themselves; filled the gaps in forgotten areas of black like rubbing a blurring smudge form the face of a window pane. Silver's eyes widened, trembled, and he wasn't sure if the spinning room was enough to make him stagger off of his feet. He could remember everything; he could remember how and why Snow was marked; He could remember why the bear in the pink scar constantly plagued his memories; he knew who Aurora was. But more so, he could remember the woman in black. The woman with her long, flowing dark hair, black satin dress that clung to her body like an extra set of skin; her fingernails long like ebony knives; the grin of her purple lipstick mimicking the color of her eyes. And as the realizations swept over Silver like a wave, he felt angry. An uncontrollably, infallible anger rising up like a wild flame with his memories as the match. He understood why the old wolf had treated the words he had spoken like such a taboo.

"Silver…I know, you probably—"

"YOU!" Silver's speed was unrivaled even in such a sorry purgatorial state, and he had thrown himself onto the elder wolf before even he could realize what was going on. His paw pressed like an anchor into his chest, all claws drawn, fangs barred, and fire spitting in his vibrant Silver eyes.

"Chrona!" The older female wolf called out in reflex, but thought better of moving lest one of Silver's claws cleave into her mate.

"This—all of this is because of YOU!" Silver's right paw raised high over his head. His claws were poised right for the old wolf's forehead, ready and capable of instantaneous death. The old wolf's eyes widened—clearly, he had expected a reaction, but maybe not one so strong as this; not one that would have put him within an inch of his life. He couldn't move—didn't dare to move—not even when Silver's claws suddenly dropped towards him without question. Chrona flinched his eyes shut.

What he heard and felt, however, were even more unexpected than having been knocked down. Claws had struck, but only deep into the ground inches away from his ears. And warm, minute splatters blotted his nose. First one, then another, before the drops had slowly multiplied into a salty, warm drizzle on his muzzle. The old wolf slowly opened his eyes and gazed up. Tears—angry tears—poured from Silver's eyes and rolled off his cheeks uncontrollably. The air of danger that had once emanated from him had all but dissipated, and now he had been reduced from predator back to child. Delia, who had clasped her paws over her muzzle, finally realized she had been holding her breath and let it out sharply.

"Why…?" Silver's voice croaked, "You stupid, sorry old man, why did you do this? Because of you, Nina is dead! Because of you, Snow got dragged into all this—she almost died! If she would have been killed, what would I have done? Huh? And now," Silver slammed his eyes shut and growled, "Because of you, I can never see my Snow again."

"Because of me, you were able to meet Snow in the first place." Chrona stated. He had quickly found his cool again and now he lay composed beneath Silver despite still being overpowered. Silver's eyes widened, as if trying to find some sort of rebuttal to give and coming up with nothing. So instead, his mouth hung slightly open, now possibly feeling more stupid than angry. This foolish old man didn't deserve to be right. He didn't deserve the shred of mercy Silver had allotted him.

"Silver, please try to be calm, as hard of a request that may be." Delia finally felt it was safe enough to move forward. She, like her mate, had fluidly moved back into her composure. She didn't walk too close, but just enough to level the attention with the midnight wolf. "We know what we've done is wrong. We understand all the bad things that we've done to you—both you and Garnett. But now you have to understand that we had no choice. We had to fix the mess that was made, and your memories—your life—they were necessary for that to happen. We really had no choice."

"You had a choice." Silver scoffed, "You just wanted to cover up your mistakes. First with Nina when I was whole, and now with Garnett and even poor Aurora!"

"Wrong, now get off of me." Chrona spoke sternly. Silver looked down at him glaringly. Was he really in such a position to make threats? But with the last of his tears, Silver reluctantly took a step back from his captive. Better to keep what little bit of dignity he had left than to turn into the old codger at his feet. Silver's paw must have been pressing harder than he had thought, for the old wolf coughed for air upon release. That made Silver regret his attack. A little bit.

"Nina's predicament was a mistake," The old wolf rolled up to a sitting position. His paw rubbed his chest and he looked as though he were still reeling for air. "We misunderstood the situation. Killing your first subjugate was not the right course of action for us and we regret taking her from you. But taking your memories captive and putting Snow in harm's way is something I'm not apologizing for, Silver. It was born out of necessity whether you want to believe it or not."

It was a blunt response that made Silver just about as angry as he had ever been. Necessity? Playing with the lives of others had now become a necessity? Silver let an involuntary growl roll deep from within his chest. Whether Chrona heard it or not was unclear, but both he and Delia clearly understood the contempt held in Silver's eyes. Chrona's eyes looked more tired than they had been earlier. Sure, he was still holding his composition up, but the calm was but a thin wall holding back a sea of tiredness. He brought his paws up to his face, rubbed his fingers between his eyes where the lines seemed to be the thickest. And after a long, unspoken moment, he began to talk again.

"Silver, I know you're aware that when you and Garnet were separated, you took an equal share of the power you hold dominion over—both a little bit of light and a little bit of darkness. But…" Chrona sighed, "Unlike you, Garnet only became more and more enraged until it became out of anyone's control. The result of his rage—by letting the darkness saturate his heart—led to the death of every spirit's earth-bound form and almost lead to the destruction of our souls in the Valley of Kings. Don't you see it clearly now?" He placed his paw onto his chest, right across his heart. "It had to be you to stop him, you who once was part of him. You were the only one who could match the power of rage with something even more powerful—love. Your love for Snow. it kept you out of the dark and it was the only way to put an end to Garnet's madness, Silver. If you had your full memories of everything…well, we were afraid that you might have gone down an arrant path too."

"But look now!" Silver exclaimed, stamping the ground. "You made me fall in love only for that love to be snatched away!" His voice cracked and he realized that this was also the weakest he had ever felt; at a point in his life, he was once proud and strong; at a point of his life, he had protected his loved one with everything he was; and now, there were no more points of his life. His life was gone. "My heart is broken…I can never see Snow again because I'm d—" the word caught, "—Because I'm dead…"

"…" The older female wolf slowly raised to her paws and looked at him. Her expression didn't seem so hostile anymore, which was kind of refreshing for even Silver's emotionally wrecked state. She gave a small smile, "Yes and no, like we said earlier. It can't really make up for all the things that have happened to you, but…Chrona and I have called you here from death to give you a gift—a real gift from us."

"What kind of gift…?" Silver felt himself ask automatically.

Delia looked him straight in the eye. "Your chance at life again."

Who's Nina? Who's Aurora and what is her relationship to Garnet and Silver? What exactly did the old couple do? And what was Silver's true past? In honesty, I was really debating releasing this chapter zero because of how heavily it ties into the prequel. But since everyone's been waiting so patiently, I felt bad about not having anything ready. So tune into the next chapter zero (There are only three) and definitely look out for the prequel