Disclaimer: Although the original concept for this story is mine, Sonic and all other characters belong to Sega.

Author's Note: Hi ya'll! :) Right after uploading the last chapter of my story, I became inspired to write the next chapter, and I decided to add a new twist to my tale. I hope ya'll like it!

Chapter 6

As Silver walked outside of the palace door, it became apparent to him that he had somehow lost Solomon.

"That's funny. He told me to meet him outside. I wonder where…?" Silver's thought was cut short when a powerful blast of psychic energy sent him flying backward. He immediately picked himself up off of the ground, charging up his powers, ready to fight a moment's notice. When Silver turned around, he could see the old mongoose laughing his head off, leaning on one of the columns of the palace.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!" Silver demanded.

The old mongoose said in between fits of laughter, "Well, you looked so preoccupied finding me, I figured I'd ought to make myself known!"

Angrily, the white hedgehog sent the stored psychic energy straight at Solomon. Suddenly, a white flash of light appeared, blinding him temporarily. When he regained his vision, he noticed that Solomon was no longer against a column.

"I hope I didn't hurt him too badly. That old man is starting to get on…" Silver thought to himself.

"…your nerves?" Solomon said, reading Silver's mind and suddenly appearing behind the white hedgehog. He sent another blast of psychic power into Silver's body. The white hedgehog was knocked to the ground for a second time.

While he picked himself up, the old mongoose warned, "You've got to be more careful; don't think that Kamil will respect your right to private thought."

Silver asked angrily, "Well, what gives you the right to read my thoughts?"

"I am your mentor, remember?" Solomon replied with another question.

"Okay, fine, you win. But can you go easy on me, just in the beginning?" the white hedgehog asked.

The old mongoose replied, "I'll try to, but I think you're the type of person that can learn quickly, so don't expect to go easy on you for long. Now, let's focus on your technique. First of all, you can't let your emotions take control of your abilities; that will wear you out quickly, and 

you'll become very weak if you try to fight Kamil with your current state of mind. Now, we must find your inner peace."

As the mongoose was instructing the white hedgehog in the finer art of mind control and telekinesis, a small crowd soon began to form around the pair, watching them as they dueled. One of these people happened to be Victoria, who had just come back from the town square. While Silver picked himself up after being knocked down once again, he caught the white cat's eye. He soon noticed that she was very interested in his training; no one had ever tried to train under the village governor, let alone duel with him.

Victoria took notice as the white hedgehog was once again knocked to the ground. Although she knew that her father was one of the most highly trained telekinetic/enchanters in the region, she was very surprised that Silver had talent, and that he was able to put up a good fight against her father.

"Not bad for a beginner," she thought, as she watched the two psychics duel.

Silver was charging up a beam of energy and was about to send it at Solomon. He quickly lost his focus when he heard the sound of a woman screaming. It sounded like the woman was in the local marketplace.

"Oh my God! What was that?!" Silver exclaimed.

"Well," Solomon said nonchalantly, "why don't you take a look and find out?"

"Huh?" Silver said perplexed by the way the governor would casually dismiss a potential crime taking place under his watch. "I thought that was your job!"

"We've finished training for the evening, so if you want to go help that poor woman, you might as well do it now, before someone get hurt." Solomon replied. He then turned around and walked back inside his palace.

As Silver started to run over to the marketplace, the woman screamed again, sending shivers down the white hedgehog's spine. "Maybe it's not what it seems. It might be some women shouting for joy; today is supposed to be some kind of festival." Silver thought to himself.

As he approached the water fountain near the marketplace, Silver could not believe his eyes. He slapped himself in the head as he watched the pathetic scene before him. Sonic was screaming at the top of his lungs, having been severely beaten by a group of four men. The blue hedgehog was on the ground in the fetal position, weak to fight back as the men kicked him in the stomach.

"That'll teach you, thieving swine!" said one of the men, a black fox that looked to be about almost twenty-five. After he had said this, the other three men immediately stopped kicking Sonic, leaving him to go back to participate in their festival. Silver immediately ran up to Sonic, helping him up off of the ground.



"What happened, man? Why did those guys beat you up? What did you steal?" Silver asked him.

"Well," Sonic began, "there was this big table in the middle of the square, and it had all of these delicious things to eat in lavish spreads. You really should have been there, Silver; it looked amazing…"

"You didn't answer my question," the white hedgehog said, annoyed at his friend's stupidity.

"I wasn't finished!" Sonic replied, irritably, "Anyway, there was this lavish spread. I went up to one of the ladies at the table and asked where I could find some plates and a fork. She said that I couldn't have anything until I paid for my meal. I then told her that she was crazy for asking someone to buy food at a festival and helped myself to some yams. Then, out of nowhere, those guys grabbed me by the neck and beat the living tar out of me! I'm really glad you came to help when you did."

"Well, I can't block out your screaming, especially because you sound like a five year old girl." Silver replied with a smirk.

"If I wasn't hurt right now, I swear I'd…" Sonic began.

"Sonic!" Amy appeared out of nowhere. "I tried to warn you; the food isn't free. I was about to tell you when you took off, and I had the hardest time looking for you."

"I can't blame you for not telling me, but I really am hungry; I haven't had anything to eat all day," the blue hedgehog complained, "when does supper start?"

"I was about to tell you that supper was almost ready, but I see that you already went searching for food yourself."

Because Sonic walked with a limp, the pink hedgehog put her arm around him to help him stand up straight. "I hope that Shadow hasn't eaten everything in the pantry." Amy remarked.

"Knowing Shadow, he's most likely eaten the table," Sonic said flatly.

As the three hedgehogs headed back to the palace, two evil eyes were watching them from the nearby hilltop amide the fir trees.

"One day, I shall no longer be denied my vengeance," the mysterious being muttered.

To be continued