Silver didn't like being alone. At least, not usually. The hedgehog often felt... anxiety when on his own. However, he understood, or at least thought he did, that his job of instilling justice didn't leave much room for friends. Still, he didn't seem to mind having a companion after so long. His shoulders were relaxed, and he held a pleasant smile as he spoke to the bat that had forced himself on the adventure.
"... and that's the legend of the serpent," Relic was saying, "Or at least, what we can gather of it from the ruins of the late Knuckles Tribe." He was rather engrossed in the subject, and was visibly excited from the history. His gold wings were outstretched and moving back and forth as if in flight.
"You're really into this stuff, huh?" Silver said, smiling. He laughed a little, even as he moved over another root in the path as they made their way out of the forest. His eyes were carefully examining the forest path ahead of him, but were light and friendly.
"Of course I am!" Relic replied, laughing, "I mean, aren't you?" He paused for a moment, as if expected an answer. Silver was formulating an answer, but he wasn't entirely sure. The silence hung and almost seemed to deter speech, but Relic cut through it anyway. "You aren't serious, are you? You time travel, and you don't like history?"
"That's not it," Silver responded, sounding slightly annoyed, "I just haven't paid that much attention..." He almost mumbled the last part, as if he was a child being scolded. He heard a stifled laugh from behind him. He sighed. "Hey! I have more important things to worry about!" Relic nodded.
"Yeah, I get that," He said, his voice portraying the smile on his face, "You just have to look around more. Anyway, where is this time machine of yours, anyway?" He had caught up to Silver, and was walking beside the hedgehog now.
"Like I said, it's complicated..." He said hesitantly. He was tugging on the edge of his glove, and had slowed a little, knocking into Relic. "But... I have this thing that makes portals in time..." He stopped for a second, thinking, before kneeling down and reaching into his boot, pulling out a strange, cylindrical device.
"Is that it?" Relic asked, examining the device as close as he could without taking it from him. Silver nodded slowly, as if contemplating something. "So, why don't we use it now?" Relic had his hand on the object, his eye twinkling, his wings stretching.
"I can't," The hedgehog explained, pulling the device from Relic before sliding it back into his boot, "I need to get something to power it first."
"Like...?" Relic inched in closer, his eyes sparkling, his teeth showing in a smile.
"Like a Chaos Drive, but they're pretty hard to find in this time period," Silver concluded, "There's only one place where I can get them quickly and with-" He stopped himself as he stumbled over a root, but was caught by Relic. "- the least amount of hassle possible. Thanks."
"No problem," The bat replied, flashing a smile, "So, where is it you can get these Chaos Drive things?" As soon as he asked, he heard a sigh emit from the animal in front of him. Relic had considered the possibility of shady business, but this only cemented the thought. "Wait, you aren't talking abo-"
"Yes, the black market," Silver cut him off, "If that makes you uncomfortable, you can leave or wait outside."
"No way!" Relic said, "Do realize how many artifacts are pawned away on the black market? It's a gold mine- figuratively and literally!" He smashed on hand onto the other, and Silver could have sworn he saw a fire in his eyes; at least, he would have if he had been in a more observant mood. Still, he found his partner's determination unsettling. Not that it was the most unsettling thing to happen to him...
Relic had expected the black market to be a line of tents in a series of back alleys, each kept by a shady character in dark robes. Or maybe he had expected the black market to be a series of underground sales by otherwise legitimate businesses, where only those in the know with the password can access their shadier products. What he hadn't expected was, predictably, what ended up being the reality.
"You can stay out here if you want," Silver said as he lifted the manhole cover. Relic passively wondered why there didn't seem to be any cars using the road behind them. They were, indeed, in a back alley, between a large corporation headquarters, whose name neither Relic nor Silver had bothered to remember, and a bank. Relic would have asked how the Bank got by without getting robbed.
"I already said I wanted to go in," Relic reminded his time-travelling acquaintance, though he looked over his shoulder as he said so.
"You don't have to," Silver continued, his face softening, "Really, it's fine."
"And pass up on this opportunity? Not a chance," Was Relic's reply, the fire in his eyes returning. Silver wondered if this would be a regularly occurring event. So, the bat now undeterred, Silver dropped down under the manhole. He was instantly bombarded with smell, and his hand instinctively went to his nose. Relic dropped down after him, and the teal glow of Silver's power appeared on the man hole cover as it went back over its hole. They walked in silence through the sewer, partially out of having nothing to say, and partially because their hands were in the way. Relic could only notice the greenish water lining their concrete pathway, and how dark the tunnel was. Their only form of illumination were the torches occasionally lining the path. Relic almost felt comfortable in the tunnel; it was reminiscent of the underground portion of the Mystic Ruins and of the many Pyramids he'd seen in Shamar.
The sewage tunnel ended with a wooden door, with "Beware: High Voltage" written on it in red lettering. Silver opened the door swiftly, and, giving only the briefest of looks over his shoulder, went inside. The chao at the front desk seemed to recognize him, and grinned a large, toothy grin.
"You need Chaos Drives, yes?" The chao said in an indeterminate accent. Relic examined the market; there were a variety of items scattered about. He had heard that, at one time, the shop had a legitimate business for Chao Gardens and their keepers, but, with the opening of ChaoMart, the shopkeeper had to turn to shadier products to make ends meat. Relic could still see shades of the rumor's base; there were Chao eggs on a few shelves, and one shelf with several mini-fruit-trees. However, that was the extent of the likeness; Relic found that the rest of the shelves were lined with jewels, documents, and antiques. He was sure that he saw at least one artifact that had been personally stolen from him, but he couldn't guarantee that it was the same. The chao reached under the counter and pulled out a red cylinder with a glowing center. "You have 100 rings, yes?"
Silver sighed lightly, "Of course..." He threw a pile of rings onto the counter, conjured up from wherever it is he keeps the golden, shrinkable items; Relic theorized that he kept them in his boot, as he had with this time travel device. Silver furrowed his brow as he snatched the drive from the chao's hand and stamped out of the door. Relic was tempted to grab one of the necklaces to inquire about a price, but he decided against it. Besides, he had another adventure to get to.