A/N: Special thanks to my wonderful reviewers, Pandora Mao Malum, RobinsonSiblings, ShinyShiny9, Kira-writer, CharmedPluto, DeLuna The Cat & NutCase5.
Also thanks to DeLuna The Cat for faving as well as extra special thanks to RobinsonSiblings (again XD) because you are just awesome!
I'm terribly sorry this update was so late, but I was suddenly incredibly swamped with work. Luckily I should be able to return to regular updating now.
Hope you all enjoy the chapter. ^.^
Chapter 7
Silver breathed out and wiped at his eyes, wincing slightly as a small fleck of ash rubbed against the corner of his eye. Looking around revealed a desolate wasteland of fire, smoke and ruined buildings with no signs of life, friendly or otherwise. Blinking his irritated eyes a couple of times he returned his attention to a small mound of rubble which had been tossed together in a heap of half melted metal and broken pieces of cement and buildings. Calmly he stretched out his right hand, his glove much cleaner than his fur which now looked a light grey instead of its natural white; a side effect of the constant fire and smoke which pervaded the city for as long as he could remember.
Concentrating on a small square-ish piece of cement he sent out a small jolt of psychokinetic energy, gently lifting it into the air with a practised ease, its form engulfed by a soft blue aura mimicking his own which was prominent by the markings clear by his arms and legs. Smiling, he extended his control and lifted up the other objects in the heap first one by one and then all at once, levitating them around in random patterns in the air.
"Having fun, Silver?" A voice from behind him laughed causing him to turn abruptly to face his sudden company.
A lavender cat stood a short distance away from him with her arms folded and an obviously amused smile on her face, her golden eyes glinting with humour.
Silver beamed and released his hold on the rubble, letting it fall unceremoniously onto the floor, "Blaze, it's good to see you. I was just practising."
"I see." She walked over, "Well I'm glad you're relaxing for a change."
The hedgehog's ears flicked and he frowned, "I'm not relaxing, I'm practising. I have to be ready for whenever he appears."
Blaze sighed, "I know Silver and we WILL be ready for him the next time he shows… Especially with you practising so diligently." She smiled warmly.
"I hope so." Silver sighed before he blinked and rubbed his again. He blinked again, cocking his head and swivelling his ears to face forward fully, "Who are you?"
Blaze's eyebrows raised as her eyes widened, "What do you mean?" she turned on her heel, golden eyes scanning for any other signs of life but saw only the smouldering rubble adorning the landscape.
The world blurred suddenly and the confused hedgehog shook his head in an attempt to try to clear it. The black and red blur he was sure was a hedgehog looked almost familiar, "One of Iblis' tricks?"
No, Iblis was stupid… at least he thought he was. Then again, what was Iblis? Another Mobian? A monster maybe? Suddenly trying to recall common knowledge was like grasping at straws. Who was Blaze again? A friend or just someone he knew?
Silver clutched his head as it began to throb, "I don't…" he couldn't remember anything.
They were talking; both Blaze and the dark hedgehog but they were both saying the same thing, "Silver!"
He snapped his eyes open just as a wave of light blue psychokinetic energy rippled out, tossing both Shadow and the guards as well as causing great cracks in the walls from the sheer pressure of the exertion.
He was back in the temple with the people clad in black and the dais and he fell to his knees with a wince. His head didn't hurt anymore but he was no closer to understanding what had happened or guess why he suddenly felt so weary.
There was a moment of pure confusion and shock with only the ticking of the clock around his neck breaking the silence which had perforated the area.
Shadow picked himself up, dusting himself off and making his way over to Silver cautiously, "… You okay?" he examined the young hedgie warily, noting with surprise the light blue markings glowing by his hands and feet. The pale kid look exhausted and his expression betrayed his confusion clearly.
He had grabbed the child when he touched the gem and had seen strange sip bits of images and sounds like a video which had parts liberally cut from it then smooshed together to form one mostly incomprehensible file. Most of what he had gleaned were nonsensical but a few things had stood out to him; especially the lavender cat he had seen.
His ear twitched as he heard the sound of guns being cocked and looked sharply up, scowling at the G.U.N. officers who had gotten to their feet and were now levelling their guns at Silver, obviously regarding him as a potential threat, "Knock it off." He growled, showing his canines at the men who hesitantly lowered their weapons.
He turned back to the white hedgehog who was shakily scrambling to his feet, "I… I'm fine, Shadow, but can we go home?" Silver asked, his soft golden eyes looking up at the older hedgehog with a inaudible plea; he was tired and confused and something about that weird vision was scary and sad to him.
"Fine." Shadow sighed, nudging the boy, "Get moving then." He doubled back and tentatively picked up the gem, internally relived when he wasn't pulled into a vision.
"Take cover!" An officer shouted, drawing his attention at the same time he caught a whiff of what smelt like lava or brimstone, causing him to whip around in alarm.
Several of the biters- or the prowlers as G.U.N. had deemed them- were attacking the agents, leaving scorch marks on the ground. Shadow rolled quickly to avoid a couple of them as they lunged with blackened, unsheathed claws hearing them hiss as they instead collided with the dais with it breaking and collapsing on top of them with a loud crack.
He heard the officers open fire but he igorned it, focusing on the creatures nearest him, leaping up into the air and slamming down on top of the closest with the heels of his shoes and hearing a satisfying crack as it was pushed down from the sheer power and momentum of his strike.
Ears swivelling to keep for being caught from behind, Shadow drew power from the chaos emerald he had picked up from the incident at the orphanage and struck a few more of the creatures with chaos energy which ripped through them, "Chaos spear!"
"Ah!" He heard Silver yelp somewhere near the other side of the room, his surprise barely audible over the commotion and the slight echoing of the battle that cascaded all around them.
Feeling his fur stand on end, Shadow changed his stance, recklessly dropping his defensive advantage and took off towards where he had last seen a glimpse of Silver. A prowler swiped at him as soon as he had taken his eyes off of it, leaving smouldering claw marks on the side of his muzzle and forcing him off of his feet and causing him to slam into the ground with a pained hiss.
His heart pounding in his ears and his sense sharpening unbidden, the ebony hedgehog rolled as soon as he hit the floor, wincing as dust was blown into the fresh wound from his quick movement. All that ran through his mind was the realization that he had to get up to his feet and the fact that the young hedgie was scared and helpless.
Roaring in rage, he used his elbows as leverage and launched himself up and landing a solid roundhouse kick at the nearest one, the child's terrified voice making him see red.
"No! No! NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!"Silver screamed, backpedalling until he felt cold, worn stone hit his back. Golden eyes wide as he trembled violently, watching several prowlers surround him in a semi-circle, blackened teeth bared as they closed on him with ferocious growls and fiery hackles raised. He raised his hands in a futile attempt to ward them off, "Go away! GO! AWAY!"
His head pounded as his heart sped up as the distance between them closed… These were the monsters who took away his home… these were the ones who had attacked his family…
Suddenly he could smell the burning building around him and heard the screaming as the smoke made his pounding head swim as the fire spread all around. He was the only one left but the fangs and the heat of the flames was threatening to snuff him out, but his hands were shaking and he was so scared.
He saw them leap up at him and time seemed to slow down; suddenly he saw himself in the middle of a world of ruins and fire with thousands of the lava creatures descending upon him in swarms, everyone else… gone.
And that thought terrified him more than anything, "I won't let you!" Silver screamed, just as time snapped back to its usual flow, power surging from his mind through his palms, and a light blue energy erupting from them and blasting the creatures back, causing them to fly over and across the room, hitting the walls with a clear, audible crack.
Heart still hammering he threw him palms out again and blasted more creatures away, somehow picking them up and tossing them with his mind as far away as he could.
Again and again, he tossed them until he finally couldn't lift his arms anymore and collapsed to his knees, his vision blurring; completely exhausted. He began to tip over to the side but he was caught and supported by what felt like two gloved hands.
"Sha…dow?.." Silver murmured, his eyes already sliding closed as he struggled to stay conscious.
"Yes?" He heard the older hedgehog reply, his voice close by and the support shifted, as his body was lifted up and held against something soft and fluffy; most likely Shadow's chest.
Silver nuzzled the dark mobian as the last strands of his consciousness slipped away, "I don't want to be alone."
A/N: A little shorter than my usual chapters but I couldn't end it properly if I lengthened it, so I hope you like it anyway.
Flames will be used to destroy all lingering 'work' that pesters me during the holiday.
And thanks to everyone who has been sticking through despite the wait in updating.
