Chapter 2: The Warp
--

"Watch out, Silver!"

Silver rose his hands upwards, his power seizing a large boulder that was flung towards him by some unseen force. With a similar force, he threw it away.

"Close one," the white hedgehog breathed. "Thanks, Blaze..."

Silver and Blaze were headed towards a flame, a tall, swirling flame of destruction that lit the dark clouds above and the surrounding ruins in an evil red light. The two knew who it was and what it was going to become to be...

...and that they must stop it at any cost.

The swirling flame was Iblis, not yet in physical form but that wouldn't be too long incoming. Silver was determined to destroy him...again.

Debris was being flung from the flame at speeds that no man could ever survive going at, and Silver had just enough nerve to catch them if they got close and fling them away. Blaze was fast on her feet and made good her escape each time. Neither could do anything while Iblis wasn't physically formed or even from that distance. Iblis was just trying to keep them away as he was forming, but it wouldn't be long now.

To keep his attackers at bay, he sent his own spawn, fiery creatures carrying out his bidding, all marked by the fire and brimstone look to them.

But Silver knew that these pawns were no match against much. The larger enemies took effort, but all Silver had to do was use his power to throw large objects to crush them...or even use his enemies' attacks against them.

Blaze never feared fire; she danced in the fires. Thus so, she got up close and personal and gave the creatures something to remember her by...or not at all. Because of thus, she discovered that the creatures were nothing but fiery ash creatures, as one exploded in hot ash as she destroyed one. For an apocalyptic demon, relying on these pitiful things was just as pitiful.

"We need to get closer!" Blaze shouted, just after kicking a monster off his feet and into the inferno below.

"I know!" Silver called back. "C'mon!"

The two pressed on, and as they did, the heat grew by degrees. It got harder to breathe as the ash kicking up grew stronger and thicker. They had experienced these conditions before, but it didn't make it any less oppressing.

The two leapt up rock after rock, scaled cliff after cliff and came to a flat overlooking a large lava pit. In the center of it all...was Iblis.

Silver and Blaze ran closer, then were blown back at a large shockwave, causing the gravestone-like buildings to sway. The pair barely had enough wit to stay on their feet. Flames licked to the heavens, eliminating any color from sight but its own.

Iblis was ready. A clawed hand rose from the lava and grabbed hold of the very flat the two were standing on. Silver and Blaze felt the ground tremble at the force and saw grimly as a second clawed palm gripped the flat...then a third...

Then, it showed its head, an ugly, ash-crusted head, licking with flame and reeking of brimstone. It rose higher and higher up and soon Silver and Blaze could see what Iblis had become this time: a four-armed monster with ash-colored armor on the head and some of its forearms. Its poison-green eyes pierced underneath a canopy of rock and ash.

It opened its mouth and roared at the two, its breath reeking of sulphur. The two leapt back at both the smell and the heat, covering there faces from the heat.

Silver recovered the quickest and with all the ferocity he could mount at the time, he shouted. "Iblis! You came back, but I'm going to put you down!" Silver shouted.

Iblis growled and swept a claw at the two. Blaze jumped for it, while Silver crosses his arms in front, focusing his power within him, glowing blue-green strongly. The claw passed underneath Blaze and just passed through Silver, just as the hedgehog intended.

Silver retaliated by mind-grabbing a large fiery boulder and heaving it with a velocity unmatched. Iblis threw up one of his arms to deflect it.

The demon curled all his arms together and threw them apart again unleashing a hailstorm of fire.

"Blaze!" Silver called out, but could not see her. He threw his arms up defensively, catching the flaming projectiles. Silver heaved them towards Iblis, but he knocked them away. Dang it!

Just then, the white hedgehog espied a tongue of flame that seemed to have come from nowhere leap out and strike over and over again at Iblis face. Was it? Yes, it must be Blaze!

"Blaze!" Silver called out again. "Get back!"

The cat kept attacking, landing savage kick after savage kick into Blaze's armored head. Suddenly, there was an explosion on Iblis' head, sending the cat off and back onto the flat. Her soul was lit with fire and it made her just as light.

"Silver!" Blaze exclaimed. "We have to break the armor on the head. Hurl everything we got!"

Silver stared at her briefly, then nodded. "Let's do it!" He spread out his hands, focusing his power onto any large object hardy enough to break the armor. He then threw his arms forward sharply, and as if by magic, large rocks and metal beams were hurled forward at perilous speeds.

The hedgehog couldn't aim properly while carrying such large objects, so several went wild, but some connected. Iblis reeled back, and the two could see fragments of his armor flying off. They were succeeding...

Iblis straightened up, now missing over a fourth of his ashen helmet. He breathed in deeply and then opened his maw; revealing the fiery inferno of his inner self.

Silver threw up both hands, using his power to deflect the flaming breath of the foul beast. He prevented his own demise, but could not prevent the stench of brimstone of Iblis' breath; it sickened the young hedgehog.

Blaze had been trying valiantly trying another round at his head, but Iblis grew smarter. When Blaze launched an offensive, the demon launched his own defensive. Before the purple cat could even get off the ground, the four-arms of the demon flew up and came crashing down on the platform, shaking it. Silver and Blaze held out their arms to keep balance. The platform held, but that was too close. Both didn't have to look to know that there was 2000-degree-Celsius magma not 100 feet below.

"I have an idea," Silver said suddenly. "Blaze, can you distract him for a moment?"

But before either of them made a move, a black hedgehog suddenly appeared in front of both. Waving its arms, it shouted "Back to your flames, Iblis..."

The hedgehog threw its arms forward, and waves of energy flew out at lightning speeds. They struck the demon in the head and chest, piercing the crusty flesh of the fiery being as if it was like slicing butter with a hot knife. Iblis faltered, screamed one last roar, then collapse in a splash into the magma. Ash flew miles into the atmosphere, adding more to the thunderous clouds above.

Silver and Blaze were amazed at the sudden appearance, and how quickly he did away with Iblis, even though they both knew that Iblis would be brought back...

Without turning, the stranger spoke, almost in a whisper. "That will keep him for a while...but he'll be back...as always..." He turned to the cat and silver hedgehog. "I have been watching you for some time, constantly sacrificing your time vainly to fight the demon Iblis. It purely amazes me you are willing to make such a sacrifice, no matter how foolish and unrewarding."

Silver gritted his teeth. "Are you saying we should just give up? Let him kill off all of us!?"

Blaze reproached the young hedgehog. "Calm down, Silver...let him finish..."

"If you intend to keep fighting this way...yes. Eventually, he would get so strong that nothing you could do could stop him. You would just perish in flames."

"Then tell us what we should do!" Silver blurted out again, pounding the side of a ruined pillar in frustration. "How can we completely destroy Iblis!?"

Blaze crossed her arms. She had been meaning to talk to Silver about this whole ordeal with Iblis, but perhaps it was best to hear it from a stranger.

The stranger turned around finally, and the two saw him as he was. Jet-black with indigo highlights on his limbs and head spines, one especially dominant one from between his eyes up over his head. He wore bands of brass over his wrists and ankles, and wore shoes like skates. His eyes seemed to be crystal green. He was like a living shadow.

"By knowing the truth, Silver, of course..."

Silver looked up, regarding the shadowy stranger.

"Such as grass comes from seeds, or a baby bird from its egg, everything that walks the earth has an origin. It is needless to say that Iblis cannot be stopped by normal conventional means now; however, if the chain of events that awoke Iblis was broken before they have finished, Iblis would not exist. The chain must be broken to stop Iblis, and the destruction of this world." The hedgehog waved to the mayhem around.

Both were interested. These battle-weary veterans have fought Iblis for what seemed to be forever. If they could get rid of Iblis once and for all, by any means, they would do it.

"Is that all we have to do?" Silver said eagerly. "Do you know how we can do it?"

"Come with me; there is more to see before the task..."

The shadow leapt over the ruins as if he was light as a feather. Silver and Blaze gazed at each other, and the latter followed suit after the shadow. Silver remained for a time, thinking...

Breaking the chain of events to defeat Iblis. Could it be that simple? He secretly admired this person's willingness to help them out of the blue, despite his somewhat creepy looks. Those eyes seemed to be cold...

Silver didn't dwell long. He charged up his power, picked himself up and followed after the two ahead.

- - - - -

Viper was unnoticeable in the dark alleyway between the Sunset Resort and the Sapphire City Train Depot. He had been observing his target's favorite "pit-stops" patiently, although unrewarded. Time was of the essence, but in this bustling city, he could not simply rush things. Rush led to unnecessary complications; it was better to wait patiently.

Metal-Sonic was en route to Knothole, and Shadow was doubtless already scouting Angel Island. Viper was tempted to find transportation towards Angel Island; he could see it slowly drifting south; however, the possibility of running into Rouge, who was if she spoke truth already en route to the Island, was too much for him. He did not trust women, for their thoughts in his mind were unpredictable, but above all, he disliked Rouge overall, ever since they've met.

He heard voices, he shrunk back slightly and listened in, partly out of curiosity, partly out of the possibility of information. One never knew...

"...so my Mom said that if I don't bug her, I might get a new bracelet for my birthday," said a high, quiet voice, interjected further by a high voice a-chattering.

"That sounds great, Cream!" another said, just as high but more vocal.

Amy and Cream, and her chao, Cheese. Viper was familiar with these two girls from past meetings; on the Egg Fleet flagship and in the Black Arms invasion. He continued to listen in, knowing that Amy seemed to have Sonic on radar at all times; she might spill news on Sonic.

"Have you heard from Sonic, Amy?"

Well, speak of the devil...

"I haven't seen him since those aliens nearly destroyed the planet. I miss him..."

"No, you know Sonic. He's off exploring the world or probably harassing Knuckles again." Amy giggled at the thought; she knew Knuckles to be a hot-headed person, and Sonic enjoyed pushing him to the limit. "If he's here, I'd be the first to know, naturally."

"You always seem to know if Sonic was nearby..."

That meant only one thing; he was not here. The human suspected as much, otherwise he would've have seen it, even before Amy. Still, he did owe Amy the confirmation; he wasn't about to commend her for it though.

Amy, Cream and Cheese continued to small talk. Viper pulled off of his belt a small communicator, but despite its size and simple outside nature, it had a very powerful range, and virtually untraceable. Metal-Sonic tweaked them himself so it only would work on his robot frequency.

He whispered into it. "Mecha, Shadow. I've confirmed that our target is not within Sapphire City. No change in Emerald activity."

A voice promptly responded. It was Shadow. "That leaves the Island. Mecha has already been to Knothole and did not find the hedgehog."

"I appreciate you keeping me informed." It was sarcastic.

Shadow apparently just disconnected since the connector light switched off. Viper smirked. Typical.

Amy and Cream didn't seem to consider leaving anytime, Viper observed, but he was patient. It was the Emerald he had that might cause a problem.

Little did he know that it was already announcing its intentions within the duffle...

- - - - -

"HYAH!!"

Knuckles shouted, driving a spiked fist into the base of a large oak tree. Backing up, he watched as the tree crashed to the ground with a nice satisfying din. Securing it with leather snaps, he, Tails and Sonic dragged it towards a gully which was already filled with rubble, other down trees and rocks. Water was seeping through small cracks in the makeshift dam, but it was small.

"This one should give us more support for finishing up the dam," Knuckles grunted.

"Fantastic," Sonic grunted. "I could use a break..."

"Again?" Tails couldn't resist saying.

"Hey!" Sonic replied impudently. "I need my breaks too!"

They pulled the tree to the waterside of the dam. Knuckles ditched the straps. "All everyone, on the count of three, shove. One...two..."

"Three!" All three shoved the oak tree as hard as they could, rolling the tree into the water. The flow of the water pushed the tree into the dam. The tree turned until it was flat up against the dam.

"Perfect!" Knuckles leapt down into the muddy ditch, scooped up the shovels and began slinging mud onto the dam. Sonic and Tails followed suit. All were muddy already, so didn't object to more.

"So, what were you saying again, Sonic? About the Emerald?"

Sonic had brought up the Emerald's strange behavior a bit before. It was Tails' first time hearing it too.

"Well, it was weird, pal. After Tails ditched for the night, the mighty whitey Emmy started flashing, like some police light."

"What did you do to it before?" Knuckles casually asked, driving another scoop of mud and rocks onto the dam.

Sonic considered his words before answering; Knuckles was always chiding him if he treated the Emeralds as toys. Deciding there was no real way of hiding the truth, he said midly. "Played catch?"

One of Knuckles' eyebrows flew up, as if Sonic said a vague joke. He expected Sonic to say something like that, but still it did not explain the Emerald's strange behavior...unless..."Did it hit another Emerald?"

"Nope, just the ground. The other Emeralds we have were in the Tornado and in my room." Sonic shrugged.

Knuckles drove the shovel in the ground, anchoring one foot on the spade of it. "The white one isn't completely stable, so it might've been experiencing a power flux."

Tails gulped. The idea of a Chaos Emerald showing power instability gave him nausea. He saw what electronics do if a flux happens in the power; they fried. Knuckles left his perch on the shovel, climbed up the bank and disappeared into the adjacent forest. Sonic and Tails stared after him, looked at each other, befuddled, then they too scampered up the muddy bank, slipping some as they went, and looked for Knuckles. They discovered he had not gone very far at all. He had gone about a hundred meters into the forest, found a new perch on a rock. He seems distant, even as they came closer. Sonic couldn't help the feeling that this was getting to become a bigger deal then he had first imagined.

Sonic hesitated, but asked, almost timidly. "Knux?"

The red Echidna made no move. This was an indication that Knuckles was worried, almost to the point of scared. He only saw him like this only once before, back during the Death Egg.

Tails ventured further. "Knux, you're scaring us. What's wrong?"

Knuckles didn't move for about three agonizing seconds; it was like talking to a gargoyle, silent and moody. Finally, Knuckles' head turned slightly, his dreadlocks swaying. It was his turn to consider his words.

"Sonic? Tails? Have either of you heard of the Great Disaster of Ages?"

Tails and Sonic locked eyes. One would've have to have been living under a rock fifty deep down to not to have heard about it. "Yeah, the one where the Chaos Emeralds discharged at once, nearly obliterating the planet," Tails said.

"That's it." Knuckles turned around, still perched in the boulder. "It was over two thousand years ago, some time after Chaos had been sealed away by Tikal. No one saw it coming, but it should've been expected. Thousands of years before that, when the Chaos Emeralds were made from the global Chaos aura, no one knew that an eighth Chaos Emerald had been made too by dark beings, bent on controlling Chaos for evil. It was this reason why it was colored black, not reflecting light. The Onyx of Darkness, the Black Chaos Emerald."

Sonic had seen the Black Chaos Emerald himself, too many times he told himself. He had first encountered it when he and Shadow had fought the Biolizard during the ARK incident, although neither knew what it was. Ever since then, this Emerald seemed to have world destruction in mind as it played a part in the Black Arm Invasion too.

"The Black Emerald was so powerful that it rivaled the Master Emerald. The Chaos Emeralds could not exist under two ruling gems, so the Black Chaos Emerald literally split the Chaos Emeralds apart, leaving the tarnished Chaos Emeralds, feeding destruction into the field although not fully evil like the black one, and the untarnished Super Emeralds. The Chaos Emeralds disappeared off the Island and spread across the world, leaving the Super Emeralds on the Island, at the time virtually indistinguishable from the Chaos Emeralds...then.

"The elders of the Island realized then that there was evil afoot, and the split in the Chaos Emerald would signal the splitting of the global Chaos aura. In response, they commissioned jewel growers to grow the Super Emeralds into bigger sizes, hoping that the bigger size would feed more of the "good" energy, keeping the dark energy in check. It was a foolish venture. Size doesn't matter, since the Black Emerald was the size of a normal softball while the Master was the size of a large truck, and nearly as powerful as the other.

"In response to the Super Emeralds, the Chaos Emeralds grew unstable, fluxing their destructive energy across the world, each Emerald displaying its own power. That's why the seven regions of the world are named after jewels. You're from the Sapphire Region. The Blue Emerald fluxed there, causing tidal waves and floods over the land from the bay."

"How was it stopped?" Tails asked.

"The present Guardian, Gustaf, knew that the Chaos Emeralds would soon discharge enough energy that it would destroy the planet. He soon found that the Black Chaos Emerald was about to discharge too AND the seven Emeralds would follow suit. That would be the last straw, he knew, and he hastened to the Hidden Palace, took one of the large jewels from the bed of the Master Emerald, they being made of the same as the Master. He used its power to summon the Chaos Emeralds, and not a moment too soon. Just as they were summoned, they discharged. On that solemn hour, thinking quickly, he used the jewel as a conduit, taking in the immense energy, and shooting it out into the stars. This ended up killing him and the jewel shattered, but the Chaos Emeralds receded. Their energy re-stabilized to normal levels, and the world, though scarred, survived. We all thought that was the end of it..."

Tails asked first. "What do you mean?"

Sonic caught on. "You mean...it might happen again?"

"The Black Chaos Emerald wasn't destroyed then. That was another mistake. It was never found. The world just focused on cleaning up what was left."

"Wait, Knux, we don't even know if the other Emeralds are doing the same thing. We can't just jump on the worst possibility..."

There was a crack of a twig, and all three turned towards the source of the noise. In the shadows of the trees, something was coming this way. The light wasn't good enough to tell what it was. It was coming this was, and judging by the noise it continued to make, it wasn't planning to hide.

"You think it's one of the Chaotix?" Tails asked.

Knuckles didn't answer, still watching the trees without moving, dark thoughts pushed aside.

They didn't have to wait long; a shape stepped out of forests, an angular, black hedgehog, red highlights on limbs and spines.

Shadow.

Sonic relaxed. "Heh, so Shads. Glad to see you since you toasted the Black Arms..."

Shadow replied. "I wish I could say the same to you."

Sonic smiled. Shadow was sarcastic. "I see you haven't lost that charm, even after smashing into the earth a second time..."

"If you don't mind, Sonic, I wish to say something..."

Sonic crossed his arms, eyeing Shadow.

Shadow regarded Knuckles. "Knuckles, I need to ask you about something..."

Now Knuckles was interested. Shadow rarely asked anybody about anything, so he asking the other kind of left Knuckles unprepared. He slid down from the boulder, crossing his arms after landing. "What is it, Shadow?"

Shadow paused, then lifted a green glowing gem towards the red Echidna. It was the Green Chaos Emerald. "It was pulsing." Shadow wasn't one to beat around the bush.

Sonic and Tails locked eyes again. Knuckles froze. Shadow sensed that there something was amiss, and he soon guessed what it was.

"The others are too?"

Sonic regarded Shadow. "Yeah..." Sonic rubbed his nose. "Last night?"

Shadow's head swiveled to Sonic. "Yes...both the green and light blue ones did it."

Tails gulped audibly.

None of the four knew that all of them were being watched. In the trees hid Rouge the Bat, who had considered speaking to Knuckles too, but Shadow turned up and asked her question. Just as effective, she deemed. It wasn't less comforting really. Other Chaos Emerald owners might follow before too long. She secretly hoped Viper would show up...

Shadow continued, "I heard some of what you said about the Great Disaster of Ages and the Black Chaos Emerald. Do you know if there is a way to destroy a Chaos Emerald?"

Knuckles looked at Shadow again. It was common knowledge that the Chaos Emeralds themselves were invincible to the decay and destruction upon themselves, defying the very laws of thermodynamics. Shadow was asking for the Chaos Emerald's weakness.

"The undoing of a Chaos Emerald can itself destroy the world."

Sonic winced. "Dang..."

"If left alone, it will destroy the world. What choice do we have?" Shadow continued.

Sonic and Tails looked at Shadow and Knuckles, facing each other. This was tense, and neither knew how to ease it, but both knew that both the hedgehog and the Echidna were correct.

Suddenly, something caught Sonic's eye. Was it the wind, causing the branches to move, causing the light to flicker, or was it...

"Shadow! The Emerald!" Sonic pointed to the jewel.

Shadow flashed his eyes at the other hedgehog, then back at the Emerald. It was flickering! Shadow dropped the Emerald, and leapt back, arm in front to protect his face. Knuckles followed suit, the green light grew brighter.

Sonic didn't know if it was madness or quick thinking, but one eye-blink he was looking at the Green Emerald, the next, he was fleet-footing it at near three hundred miles per hour. He was headed to the Tornado, where he had stored the White Chaos Emerald, and the Yellow Emerald was there too. He reached the plane, still in walker-form, a few seconds later; he dug out his duffle bag and threw it open.

He was blown back fifty feet, the Chaos Emerald's energy discharging into a physical blast, winding Sonic. Coughing, he got onto hands and knees, blinking into the Emerald's light. Was it...speaking?

The soul that possesses evil's fire
The tears shall call the flames

The shadow that possesses time's old flow
The tears shall call the flames
Through the Seven, evil shall rise
Shadow and Flame shall unite once more
The tears of royalty, shed in sorrow
The Flames of Disaster shall rise once more...

A...prophecy?

Sonic braced as another wave of force swept through from the Chaos Emerald, and another, and another, more powerful then the last. The excess Chaos power was screwing with his head, he couldn't think. The light increased. He only imagined that Shadow, Knuckles and Tails were witnessing the same thing.

Then, one bright blast sent Sonic a tumbling...but not onto the ground...

The White and Yellow Chaos Emeralds have summoned the Chaos Control.

Elsewhere, the events were the same.

Shadow, Tails and Knuckles were blown back into what Tails described later, past what made sense. It was like he was blown through a movie set, where he just crashed through the scenery and into something else.

The Green Chaos Emerald has summoned the Chaos Control.

Rouge was blown out of the tree, and had just enough sense to not land on her wings. She too was swept away by the power of the Emeralds.

The Violet Chaos Emerald has summoned the Chaos Control.

The Chaotix had just arrived on the Floating Island, and had barely walked a few feet when the Red Emerald, flickering undetected, exploded into red, hot light, sending the Chaotix scattering by the force. They soon were swept away by the Red Emerald's power.

The Red Chaos Emerald has summoned the Chaos Control.

In Knothole, Metal-Sonic had broken into Sonic's house to talk to him alone, despite his feelings, but found no one there, but the Blue Chaos Emerald in the hammock. He had already contacted Shadow and was about to leave, when the Blue Emerald began to flicker. Before he could react, he was blown against the wall by a wave of blue energy. The blow knocked out Metal-Sonic, and didn't feel it as he was swept away by the Emerald's power.

The Blue Chaos Emerald has summoned the Chaos Control.

Deep in Sapphire City, Viper was abiding his time but was knocked down as the Emerald in his duffle has discharged. The resulting noise startled Amy and Cream, and both ran into the alley to investigate, just to meet the same sweeping wave that carried away a bounty hunter.

The Light Blue Chaos Emerald has summoned the Chaos Control.

Deep in the Black Mountains, one black gem poured out its evil power in one fell wave.

The Black Chaos Emerald has summoned the Chaos Control.

- - - - -

It was dusty.

That was the condition of the room that the white hedgehog found as he, a black hedgehog and a purple cat strode into it. They had traveled far from the ruins of the city and into what looked like a ruined base, high in the mountains, near the ruins of an even older city, so it appeared. The first thing that they had noticed was that the computer systems were still active, amazingly. Despite the rundown around, this remained "alive."

"Where are we?" Silver asked.

"The ruins of Acropolis, more specifically a base of a great scientist. Over two hundred years ago, a brilliant human by the name of Dr. Albus Kintobor had mastered the technology of robotic industry, far more then anyone at his time. Technology was literally at this command. While the scientists at the time mostly were studying through alchemy, Dr. Kintobor broke tradition and made many scientific discoveries. However, his brilliance got to his head and he soon turned from scientist to dictator, threatening to rule the world, and with an army of powerful robots at his disposal, he would've succeeded."

"No way!" Silver blurted out.

Blaze was amazed as well, but she possessed a cooler manner, despite her fiery nature, so to speak.

"Indeed," continued the hedgehog. "Then, he met resistance in the form of a person, who could run faster then sound itself. He was able to stop this dictator, but in a rash move, released Iblis. I do not know if he knew what would happen if he did release him, but it destroyed the world.

"To fix this world, you must change the past."

"But that's impossible!" Silver again interjected. "Nobody was ever to be able to do anything like that, not in a million years!"

"With my help, you can..." The hedgehog turned to Silver. "As you possess the power of the mind, and Blaze the power of flames, I, Mephiles, possess the power to travel through time."

"Really!?" Silver exclaimed.

"Indeed. I can take us back over two hundred years ago, before the Day of Disaster. To change the past, we must eliminate the person responsible for this catastrophe. Once this is done, Iblis remains sealed away, and the Flames of Disaster will not occur.

"This is your task, Silver and Blaze; you must go back and eliminate the one who released Iblis, the Iblis Trigger."

Silver let it sink in. "Eliminate that guy, the world will be saved..."

"Correct. Take this."

Silver looked up, surprised as a talisman, with a black jewel wrapped in its silvery wings, was thrust into his hands. "Wha--?"

"Look into the widest facet of this jewel. If you need to find the Iblis Trigger, you must know what he looks like," the hedgehog, Mephiles, continued.

Silver regarded Mephiles for one second, and then peered back at the jewel. He was suddenly aware of how cold the talisman felt, even through his gloves. It felt uncomfortable, and he tried using his psychokinesis to get it off his hand, but he couldn't for some odd reason. This slightly unnerved him, but was soon distracted when the insides of the jewel seemed to catch fire. Peering closer, he looked into the widest facet.

It felt as if he was being pulled into the jewel, as what he was seeing soon filled his vision. He felt like he was now floating above a burning inferno, but it was not a hot fire. This was too weird, he thought. Suddenly, his attention was soon drawn to an outcrop of rock which seemed to be coming closer. On this rock was a dark figure. It stared down over the inferno.

Silver could tell it was a hedgehog. He soon "hovered" towards and behind the hedgehog. He did not go undetected apparently, as quickly, the hedgehog half-turned towards Silver. Fire must've leapt up behind him, for the light brightened up enough to see the hedgehog's features.

Long spines. Red shoes with white straps and brass-colored buckles. Blue fur. Green eyes.

The hedgehog swept his hand towards Silver, the latter flinching instinctively.

Silver lifted his head up, gasping slightly. He was back in the computer room with Mephiles and Blaze.

"I saw someone!" Silver exclaimed. "Is that blue hedgehog the Iblis Trigger?"

Mephiles nodded.

"Blue hedgehog..." Blaze said quietly, taking the talisman from Silver and peering in herself. She seemed to have saw him instantly as she handed it back to Mephiles.

"I will take us over two hundred years before now, at the time the Iblis Trigger was alive. Once you two get there, begin immediately. Time is of the essence."

Mephiles lifted the black talisman upwards, and Silver and Blaze saw as it melted into what looked like a portal. It grew bigger and bigger, swallowing them up. It was bewildering.

The portal receded, taking all three away, leaving the computer room empty and alone.