A light cold breeze blew through a white hedgehog's quills as he looked up at Tiny Planet's atmosphere. The surface of Mobious was still in view-and for these next few days, he'd be able to look from his own planet to the much larger one above. Should he be referring to Mobious in such a context though? Wasn't Tiny Planet caught in Mobious's gravity at this point-and therefore he was looking down on the planet in question? Silver never took the time to really think about these things. He was impulsive-a person of action, and he knew it.
Things had been different as of late. Firmly he was seated on this bench in the middle of a random park outside the big city. He let out a brief sigh before looking over his shoulder. Another mobian had just sat next to him. His quills were black and grey. Two green eyes which were curiously different than most other mobian's he'd interacted with. As usual, he was wearing a scarf and a coat in this cold weather. A simple black and white toque rested on his head. He'd never seen the guy's bare muzzle before, and in the last few weeks, the two of them had a habit of meeting on this very bench. Silver was used to it by now. He still wasn't sure if his company was some homeless madman to have all this free time or a decent person. Some of their previous conversations came to mind, although they mostly revolved around the same things. Almost without exception, whenever Silver found himself unfilled and wondering about who he was-if he sat down at any bench in this park, the stranger was sure to appear.
"Nice day." Silver tried to make a standard greeting in spite of the cold weather. A few flakes fell from the heavens, though few clouds existed to bear them, and the cold had a nip in it for certain. Even so, the sun was well exposed, and it's rays were somewhat comforting. The strange black hedgehog only nodded at first.
"The weather is always changing. Don't depend on it." He responded in his usual-challenging manner. Silver looked at the ground, but refrained from wiggling his feet in an insecure manner. He didn't like being like this-feeling this weak all the time.
"So it is." He answered a bit gruffly in return. "May as well be happy. It's not like there's anything you and I can do about it." The white hedgehog always saw the bright side of things.
"You're one of the few people who could change it. You already have the power you know." The mysterious one answered abruptly. But was he right? Silver thought about these words. "You could fly up, and move the clouds. You could do it every day till most of the sun's rays hit this very park. You could preserve the warm of it's eternal gift-in a small area like this. If you keep testing your powers. . . you may find you can do even more. . ."
"Fly up there and try to change the weather? Every day? That's crazy!" Silver rudely reacted. "How do you think I spend my time anyways? I won't be saving anyone of changing anyone's lives if I just keep moving a bunch of stupid clouds!"
"It's not about what you should do. . it's about what you can do. . . what you want to do. The sun pleases to give it's majestic warmth to the people of two planets. Your physic abilities and able body is yours to do what you want. But even the sun takes a break." His words were difficult to challenge as always.
"Well, I've been telling you what I want to do. And we both know that I can't do it." Silver lifted himself up with his psychokinetic abilities and floated in the air until he was almost hanging upside down.
"And here you are. . . doing nothing instead. Using your power like a mere plaything, because you have nothing to live for."
Silver's eyes squinted in an irritated fashion again. He lost control of his powers and he landed on the bench. His head was resting against the concert and his boots were pointed towards the sky. He was sitting on the bench alright-but he was upside down. "What?" He asked angerly. "What do you mean I have nothing to live for?"
"Is it any different than what you've already told me?" The stranger twisted his head in Silver's direction, allowing him to see both of his eyes and a little more of his muzzle above the scarf. His eyes narrowed in an unnatural fashion, as if he could see something in Silver that no one else saw. "You said yourself, that you feel stuck. You thought that saving the world-or this world would make you happy. But here you are- totally unable to decide that to do with yourself."
"But can I really call myself a hero if I use my powers like that?" Silver answered honestly. He moved one of his hands in front of the sun to block it's golden rays. He looked in his visitor's direction once more. His face was unreadable as ever.
"Only if you overdo it. You have every right to want to be as happy as the people you save, don't you?"
"Well. . . I guess." Silver was still looking up into the heavens.
"And aren't these people dependent on you anyways? If you didn't exist where would they be?"
"Probably stuffed inside some of Eggman Nega's giant machines." The white hedgehog answered honestly.
"It's only fair." The visitor alluded. "Only fair to expect payment for what you do."
"But what can they even give me? And I don't want to depend on them for my support." Silver flipped himself upwards with his powers and stood on the edge of the bench. "Besides, it's not like they'd give me anything anyways. I just do this because I should." Silver thought back to the many battles he'd fought in the common people's name. Eggman Nega's insane face pressed upon his mind with the audio of his even more insane laughter.
"Who said you have to demand anything from them? But you're right. They can't give you what you want anyways. You desire something, that you're not even sure you ever had. . . "
These words caused Silver's heart to sink. He began to lose balance again, so he jumped off the bench instead. "I don't want to talk about that. What's done is done-if it ever happened." His eyes came down squarely on his face as he looked to his left. His back was turned towards the stranger and he wasn't planning on turning around any time soon. "You can't go back and change the past."
"But you already did. You just don''t remember." The older mobian responded in his usual convicting tone.
"We can't say that. They're just dreams. There's no way all that could have happened!" Silver waved his hand as if he was trying to swat a fly in front of him, but it was clearly a gesture of great frustration.
"The past is difficult to face. . . but if you could change it-"
"I already told you, there's no way!" Silver scorned. "How do I even know I experienced all that? They're just dreams-not memories!" His temper was getting high. For a moment, he looked back at his friend- but his face was as expressionless as it always was. An endless black void, with two green event horizon's and white empty space all around him. It was amazing that Silver even recognized him as a person.
"When you look deep inside, you will know. . . because you still feel her." He answered. "Her absence-because you failed her-and you couldn't be the-"
"Enough!" Silver swung his fist into the air. "Do you have any idea what you're telling me!?" Do you stay awake at night, dreaming of some. . . solution to this guilt? That I've been eternally separated from the closest person I ever knew? Do you know what it's like to wonder if the reason you're separated from. . . from the person who used to complete you, is because you weren't good enough?" He failed to hold back all of his emotion. It came out with bitterness in his voice and anger in his face
"I do." The grey striped hedgehog answered. If he had just a hint more of sympathy in his voice, it would have helped, but thus far in all their talks, he appeared to be incapable of expressing it. "That's why I. . . don't want you to feel the same way." The black figured turned his head away from Silver's body and looked into the town nearby. Several mobians walked across the center of the park as silence fell between both Silver and his friend.
"Then don't. . . tell me that the dreams are all true. Don't remind me of everything I keep trying to forget-let's move on!" He finally found something halfway civil to say.
"We both know that's too easy. . . and doing what's easy is seldom what's right."
The words cut deep. In the last week, Silver felt like he was almost normal, but these previous three days had been eating away at him. He'd even come to this park yesterday seeking guidance-but his companion was nowhere to be found.
"I know that this pains you. . . but it's only going to continue. We're in the same situation, that's why I've been trying to help you." The elder continued.
"Why should I believe you?" The teen asked.
"Only because you already know that it's true."
Silver's heart fell even further in his chest. The mobian had spoken correctly-he had been trying to deny the reality of these dreams, but they were too real. The smell of smoke, the sounds of other survivors screaming. A great monster seemingly made of the core of the world, or the surface of the sun, resurrected an eternal number of times. But most importantly, he could still faintly hear her voice. . .
"Silver, it's appeared again!" She cried out to hero nodded. It was all that he felt he could do.
"Then tell me what I should do-assuming it's even possible." He spat the answer out in defeat.
"It's like I've been trying to tell you. You have no idea of what you are truly capable of. . ." The creature got up and took off his toque. Silver heard these movements and finally turned around to look him in the face. His eyes were slightly wet, but the expression on his face was anger. "It's fine to feel this way Silver. . . But I have the power that you need to make this right. . ." The black hedgehog looked into his hat and pulled out a transparent gemstone. It was red and gave off a soft glow. It was shaped like a diamond, but it had six main sides instead of four.
"No way, you can't actually- "
"This is a Time Stone." The figure offered. "With this, we have the power to travel through time."
Silver intently focused on the gem. "That's a myth." He answered. "This planet only reacts with those stones to show visions of the past and the future. Nobody can really travel through time!"
"And yet, here you are-here with me. Both of us having lost someone precious to us in the past, looking for a way to get them back and be complete. You remember me in your dreams. . . you know that I've done it before."
The white hedgehog looked away. He didn't want to remember, but sure enough, this black and grey hedgehog was also a prominent figure in his supposed past. "I. . . remember. . . something."
"You will remember even more in time. The question is, are you going to find out-or wonder the rest of your life if you could have changed it? Made things right where you failed?" More silence consumed the two of them as Silver thought of his response. "Well?" The elder hedgehog continued to propose his solution.
"That's crazy. All of this is. You should go." Silver shook his head in disgust.
"I know you'll do what's right instead of what's easy Silver. It's the only thing a hero would ever do. To save everyone-everyone he could." The one with green eyes turned and laid his precious gem on the bench inside his upturned toque.
"Everyone." Silver whispered to himself. Save. . . everyone. "Wait! Me-Mephiles!" He finally remembered his name. "What are the consequences. . . if I go back?
"Who knows?" Mephiles turned around to address Silver as he started walking backwards. "Maybe, everything will change. If you use Chaos Control with a stone dedicated to time like this-like in your dreams. You may even hijack a long forgotten and erased timeline. Just know this-that if you go back, it's more than likely that this time-this world. . . will not be the same when you come back. I understand that it was. . . difficult to create this reality the first time"
"To trade this world. . . to save one person?" The young teen began to lose his breath as he looked between Mephiles and the glowing stone.
"A world you gave them in the first place, as you've told me you remember. Never forget everything has a price. . ."
"I know."
"But how much will you really have to pay?" Mephiles added. "Retracing your steps. . . finding the one you never should have been separated from. With her help, and if you stick with her the entire time. Maybe the two of you can save everything-including her this time. After all, was it worth leaving her behind? Is it ever worth losing anyone?"
"No one. . . especially not you." The faint memories of a lavender cat became clearer in his mind. "Risk everything to change one part of the outcome-that's. . . that's what I'll do!"
"Hahahahaha!" Mephiles laughed as he span around like a ballerina. "That's the spirit! Oh how Ironic fate can be. That the one who gave this world life-is going to risk it all so that he can save one person. Aaaaaahhhhahahahahaha!" He danced as he wandered off. "Farewell, Silver the Hedgehog. I look forward to meeting you again soon!"
The black mentor's actions would have surprised Silver, but in the time they'd shared, he found that the hedgehog was as insane as he was smart. Laughing at serious matters was nothing new-in fact, it was expected if anything. "The only thing. . ." Silver impressed upon his mind. "The only solution to everything." He picked up the stone and looked deep into it's clear structure. Visions of a fiery wasteland and himself, running alongside a cat were displayed again and again. "This is my right. I. . . " He remembered holding two chaos emeralds, and handing them to the cat-just like in his worst nightmares of regret. "No! Blaze! I. . .I can do better! I can fix this. I can save you-nothing is going to get away from me!" He took a deep breath before clenching the stone tightly. Looking around, he was surprised nobody was giving him strange looks over his emotional fit. "This is the right thing-I know it is. For the future of my world-and the future us. . . Blaze! Chaos-" The first start of the timeless mantra was uttered.
"Control!" In red electricity, his entire body was consumed. Nothing of his form was left behind, not even a single quill. In the middle of the park, the soul that created this peaceful world, disappeared, and everyone looked on with wonder. Mephiles peered out from behind one of the buildings and watched with great satisfaction as people were puzzled over Silver's disappearance.
"Soon again indeed. . ." Mephiles pulled a green Time Stone out of his pocket. "Sooner than you think. . ."