Chapter Four
This chapter starts off in a flashback that started from the previous chapter.
Silver and Sonic walked through the forest without talking much. It seemed as if they weren't going anywhere, but the forest slowly became less and less dense.
'Hey Sonic' Silver spoke after ten minutes of continuous silence.
'Yeah Silver?' replied Sonic.
'Do you have any family?' Silver asked. Sonic smiled and replied 'I'm glad you asked. I have a young daughter about your age. Her name's Blaze, a sweet young girl.' 'What about a wife?' Sonic stopped walking, Silver stopping a few steps ahead.
'Amy. She was my wife but she died ten years ago' Sonic managed to say.
'Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know' Silver said, surprised about what Sonic just said. 'Don't worry about it okay. Just try not to mention her around Blaze' Sonic replied. Sonic started walking again and Silver stayed and looked at the ground, taking in what he had just heard.
'Hey, you coming or what?' Sonic asked.
Silver lifted his head, smiled and ran to catch up. Sonic and Silver continued to walk, talking about Blaze and where they were headed. Only when they came to a small clearing in the forest did they stop. In the middle of the clearing was a small hut. Sonic started walking towards the hut, Silver only following a second behind.
'Is this your home?' Silver asked.
'Yeah, it has been my home for fifteen years' Sonic said, proudly.
'I'm home Blaze!' Sonic called out as he walked inside, followed by a shy Silver. 'Dad!' a voice cried out. A purple cat ran up and hugged Sonic, who returned the hug.
'Hey sweetie' Sonic replied. Blaze and Sonic broke the hug, allowing Silver and Blaze to see each other.
'Oh, who's this?' Blaze asked. Silver would have answered, but was stunned.
'Hi' was all Silver could say. 'I don't think I've seen you before. What's your name?' Blaze asked, waking Silver up.
'Oh, um, I'm Silver' he managed to say. 'Silver, that's a good name. I'm Blaze' she said, extending her hand.
Silver took her hand and shook it. 'Blaze, I need to talk to you for a moment' Sonic said. 'Oh okay' Blaze said, following Sonic out of the room. Silver silently waited near the front door. He could hear Sonic and Blaze talking, but he couldn't make out the words. A few minutes later, Sonic and Blaze walked back in.
'It's decided, Silver until you get your memory back, you're staying with us' Sonic said.
'Oh, I don't want to impose on you guys' Silver started.
'Nonsense, it's just in my nature to help those in need' Sonic interrupted. 'Well, if you insist…' Silver said.
'I don't want to sound rude or anything, but what is the catch?' Sonic looked at Silver, surprised he worked it out so fast.
'Well… In truth you don't have anywhere to go and if you want to stay here then people have to know who you are or have someone that knows you well' Sonic said. 'And?' Silver asked, curious.
'The only way we can think of you to stay is that… that… that you pretend to be Blaze's brother!' Sonic managed to blurt out. 'What?' Silver yelled. 'Blaze's brother but why?'
'Like I said, it's the only way you would get to stay here and Blaze has always wanted a little brother…' Sonic answered. 'But we have only known each other for five minutes' Silver said, still confused.
'Blaze said she will give you three days and if both you and Blaze still want it then you can join us' Sonic said.
'But I don't want to be her brother, I just want somewhere to stay till I get my memory back' Silver continued. 'Like I said, we are the only people you know and if you want to stay with us, you have to pretend to be Blaze's brother' Sonic said. Silver stood in deep thought. Should he do it? Pretend to be the brother of someone he barely knows. He kept thinking until one part of him said 'Just do it!'
Silver looked at Sonic and said 'Okay then.' 'Well, you better get settled in then, Son' Sonic said, chuckling at the end.
'Hey, brother I'm okay with, but 'son'. No way!' Silver said angrily. Sonic's reply was laughing harder. Silver sighed.
'Great, I've lost my memory and I have to pretend to be someone's son. What could make this situation any worse?' he thought. But Silver didn't know what would happen to him in the next few days.
Over the two days Silver got into the routine of living with Sonic and Blaze. Silver would wake up in the morning and help Blaze clean up the house. Sonic would leave early in the morning to work in the rice fields in town and come back in the evening.
At first Silver didn't know what to do once the jobs were done, so Blaze took him to a spot that only she knew about. Blaze took Silver to a cliff that overlooked the town and the fields Sonic worked in. He wondered why she brought him there and she answered it is somewhere she comes to think. Silver had no idea what she was talking about until he felt the wind come. Blaze liked it because it the wind was gentle and calming but Silver found it different.
To him it was as if the wind was singing to him, so he closed his eyes and listened to it. Blaze smiled and walked up to him, putting her hand on Silver's shoulder, snapping him out of his trance.
'Do you like it here?' she asked. 'Yeah. It's nice and peaceful' Silver answered.
'Well, you and I are the only two people who know about this. Even Dad doesn't know' Blaze said, proudly.
'Then, why are you showing me?' Silver asked. 'Well, if you're going to be my younger brother then I should have a knack for knowing what you like' Blaze said with a smile at the end.
'The crops down there, something bad is going to happen' Silver said. Blaze looked at Silver strangely and shook her head, thinking she was hearing things, before saying,
'Let's head back alright' Silver nodded.
Two days later, Blaze took Silver into town. By then he had met Tails and Cream and knew about most of the people at the village, but hadn't actually met them. Blaze had thought it was time for Silver to meet a few people and make some friends, but it was harder than that.
As they walked into the village people looking at them, wondering who Silver was. Silver was still shy and partially hid behind Blaze.
'It's alright' she said, calming Silver.
They walked through the village to a large tree on the outskirts of the town to see Tails and Cream waiting for them. 'Blaze, Silver!' Cream exclaimed, running to meet them.
'Hey guys!' Tails said, following Cream. 'Hey Cream' Blaze said, hugging Cream.
'H-hi Cream' Silver answered, coming out from behind Blaze. Silver was still a bit shy around Tails and Cream, but he could talk to them face to face when Blaze was around.
'Hey Tails' Blaze said, breaking the hug with Cream. 'Hey, Tails' Silver said. The four walked over to the tree, sat down and started talking. It was minutes before the next problem arose.
'Well, well. Who's that?' came a voice. Everyone turned their heads to see Shadow and Rouge, the dominate kids of the village. All four of them stood up with Blaze standing in front of Silver.
'So, who's the kid? Is he new?' Shadow asked. 'Haven't you heard? He's my brother, Silver' Blaze answered. 'No he isn't. You're not shy, but he is' Rouge said.
'Yeah, but brothers and sister aren't always alike' Cream countered. 'And you two can be intimidating at first' Tails followed.
'True, we can be intimidating' Shadow said. 'Let me talk to him'
Blaze stared at Shadow and took a step sideways. 'He-hello' Silver managed to say. Silver felt that if he said or did anything wrong there and then, he would die.
'So, you're Blaze's brother. I heard she had a brother but never got to meet him' Shadow said. 'Y-yes, well, I've been a-away' Silver answered.
'Fair enough. I'm Shadow, this is Rouge' he followed. 'N-nice to me-meet you b-both' Silver said, still intimidated. 'Nice to meet you too' Shadow replied.
'We'll be off then' Shadow and Rouge walked away from them. Silver fell onto his knees and let out sigh as colour returned to his face.
'You alright?' Blaze asked, holding a hand out to him. 'Yeah, barely' Silver answered, taking Blaze's hand and standing up. 'Wow, I could barely talk to Shadow when I first met him' Cream said, trying to make Silver happy.
'Well, he is intimidating' Silver replied. Tails and Cream both laughed while Blaze sighed. Two hours later, Blaze and Silver went home.
Over the next few days, Silver met more people and the village elder, Knuckles.
It was Day 7 when Silver left the house early. He went into the village and looked around, since he wasn't as shy as before. It wasn't long before the first person was infected and part of the crops started dying. Silver walked through the village and past a group of kids.
'Hey, there he is!' one said.
'Get him!' another said.
Silver stood there, puzzled on what was going on, but ran when he understood. 'Other kids might not understand you' Blaze's words went through his mind. Silver ran into the forest, hoping to lose the kids there, but they followed. Silver climbed up into a tree and sat down, thinking they wouldn't be able to reach him. The kids stopped at the base of the tree and started talking, but Silver couldn't hear them. They walked away from the tree, turned around and started throwing rocks at him.
Silver fell out of the tree and landed on his knees. The other kids kept throwing rocks at him, so Silver shielded his face with his hands and looked away until he heard a familiar voice.
'Stop it!' Silver turned to see Blaze standing in front of him, shielding him from the rocks. For a few more seconds, they kept throwing before they all realized who it was and ran. Blaze turned around and knelt next to Silver.
'Are you okay?' she asked.
'I'm okay, but you're bleeding' Silver replied. Blaze had cuts and bruises around him. 'Don't worry about me. Let's get you home' Blaze said. Blaze took Silver home and wrapped him in bandages.
Silver insisted that she needed it more than he did, but she kept saying she was fine. Once Blaze had finished bandaging Silver up, she covered her cuts and bruises, told Silver she would be back in an hour and left to go deal with the kids. Silver, meanwhile, went the usual spot, wondering why the other kids were chasing him.
He sat down and watched over the village. He wondered what was going to happen to everything. Crops were withering away and people were dying from a mysterious disease. Just as he was about to be lost in thought, he heard something behind him.
'Well, well. There you are.' Silver quickly stood up and turned around in one motion. It was Shadow. 'Oh. Umm, hey Shadow' Silver managed to say.
'Let's skip the small talk. I don't know who you are, but I know you're not Blaze's brother' Shadow replied. 'What are you talking about?' Silver asked without fear or hesitation.
'You're too different to Sonic and Blaze to be related to them at all. I've known them long enough to tell who's related to them without any introductions. So tell me, who are you and what are you doing here?' Shadow asked. Silver sighed. There was no way he could get out of this without telling Shadow the truth.
'I don't know who I am'
'What do you mean?' Shadow asked, confused.
'I have amnesia. It started a week ago. I remember running through Melody Forest and falling unconscious. Next thing I know, Sonic found me. He took me to his home and made me his son. I didn't know what to do or where to go, so I accepted' Silver explained.
'Fine then. I'll let you stay here, but on these conditions. You stay Blaze's brother and you don't come into town. If you do that, I'll keep this place a secret. Deal?' 'If you and your friends stay away from here, then okay' Silver replied.
'Fine. Just remember, stay away from the village' Shadow said as he walked away.