[Approx. 56 km from land]
[Southern Sea, Mobius]
[Year 56XX]
[It has been a week since our last confrontation with Enigma.]
[Argentum and I have been keeping our spirits up, keeping hope alive while still regaining control of our emotions. I have taught him how to come to terms with what happened and he returned the favor. I never knew there was a side to him that felt things so deeply. It enraptured my interest in knowing more about him.]
[This morning, Argentum had spotted another falling star after a long wait. He suspected it to have crashed somewhere in Sanpelagroso- a mysterious location off the coast of South Island.]
[Now armed with the emotional stability, we began our journey.]
[This time, we will defeat Enigma.]
[Until then,]
[Μόλυβδος]
Moly paused for a moment as she finished writing her closing statement. She looked out to the vast ocean around, then to the hazy island ahead of them. That was the place. The place where their hopefully final battle will be had. She thoughtfully added something to the footnote of her entry.
[P.S. Do not let your heart overwhelm your mind. You have a job to do. A world to save. Do not disappoint.]
"Moly, are we there yet?" Silver groaned as he slowly lifted his head from his held knees.
"Silver, you know we aren't anywhere close." She stated, putting her journal into her backpack. "Please stop asking."
The boy gave an annoyed sound as he rest his head on his knees again, his arms only securing them to his chest as he shut his eyes in defeat.
The four chao were watching in amazement at their reflections in the sea, laughing and splashing each other playfully. They certainly weren't as uncomfortable as Silver was, nor were they as serious as Moly. They were just being kids and having fun, but they were within their limits to ensure they didn't lose their guardians.
It has been about 3 hours since they had left País Misterioso, having traveled for any signs of trouble and ultimately coming up empty. Until early today when Silver spotted a shooting star and heard a distance rumble. They didn't hesitate to make their way towards the point of impact.
However, there was one thing standing in their way- miles and miles of ocean. Definitely too long to levitate without collapsing from exhaustion, and no Rift to travel through. Their only option was to go en route via a marine vessel.
Now, not living in Onyx City or being familiar with any sort of nautical knowledge made their choice and options vastly limited. They couldn't just build a raft and go on their way, it would've fallen apart from the ocean's current. Stealing from the City was out of the question due to the heightened security bots. The only place refutable was País Misterioso, which lucky enough, they didn't stray far from.
The settlement was less than hospitable, feral mammals and big cats lurked around every corner, waiting to strike. Old decrepit and abandoned lodges lie in ruins and previous lush vegetation was now lifeless. It was the same as the other sections they've been to: lackluster and extinct.
Fortunately, they were able to scavenge up small canned food from abandoned lodges and even found a small (narrow wooden two seater with a reasonable gap between the front and back seats) old-fashioned fishing canoe. The native felines must have used these boats to venture the oceans and fish for work before they eventually went extinct.
Now, they were drifting on the ocean in their quaint little vessel. Moly at the front and observing the waves ahead, and Silver who sat behind her and was trying to block out anything having to do with said waves.
Moly took the thick branch they had been using to paddle forward, and calmly pushed the water to the side, assisting their forward motion.
"Can't we just go back? Or fly there?" Silver asked, already knowing the answer.
"We aren't going to head back when a star fell in our proximity. You know this."
"What about flying?"
"You'd pass out before you even got to five miles. Besides, we were extremely lucky to have retrieved what we found at País Misterioso. You're just going to have to deal with it."
Moly pulled the branch from the water and set it horizontally in the space between them. She turned to face Silver who was blankly staring down at the teal ends of his boots as well as the rich wood of the canoe, as if any of it was interesting at all. His eyes seemed unfocused and seemed pale, his body rigid and still.
"I know you don't like this, but it's the only mode of transportation we have." She reminded him as if he had forgotten. She knew he didn't, but she had to say something to help him.
Despite being able to levitate and fly at high altitudes (ones that didn't affect him physically) and velocities, he hated anything having to do with physical gravitational motion- motion that he himself wasn't in control of.
He was able to do incredible things with his psychokinesis- lift exceptionally heavy objects, levitate against the force of gravity, remain unaffected by things outside of his auric field, temporarily immobilize his enemies- but when he wasn't using his abilities, he was just as vulnerable as anyone else.
He didn't get motion sickness normally or easy (having been too used to levitating at high speeds his whole life), but being on-board this niche watercraft was proving to be a small trigger for it. It could've been the repeating up and down movements from the waves, or the chance that breakfast just wasn't sitting well. The fact that their canoe was just a typical two person capacity and so low to the water only accentuated the motion.
He was so bored.. and sick. Bored and sick. It took all he had to keep from retching up breakfast, but luckily the urge wasn't overwhelming. The ocean was fantastic and all, but not when you have lingering queasiness in your body. He groaned exasperatedly and melodramatically as he threw his head back and stared at the sky.
"A tad overdramatic, eh?" Moly gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Not that I'm not enjoying this or anything," he looked up at her as he rest his cheek in his palm, "but what do we have to do to pass the time? I mean, normally I wouldn't complain, but we've been slowly going in the same direction for hours."
There was something about this annoyed-little-kid demeanor that made her give a silent laugh. She shook her head and searched her knapsack.
"Hmm... Well, are you hungry?" She asked. The only response was a nauseated whine. Of course he wasn't. Setting her pack down, she watched as the chao fluttered around the sides as they played around. She leaned forward a little, gently rubbing Silver's shoulder in a comforting way. "You know, trying to block out the world won't help." She stated, watching as he opened his half-lidded eyes. Stubborn, he closed his eyes once more.
"Chao chao!" Topaz exclaimed as if agreeing. It sat atop Silver's head with a smile. Jade chimed in agreement as it sat between his boots, sitting on the floor of the canoe.
He smiled meekly at the chao beneath him, looking up to meet the happy energetic one on his head. Sadly, his smile didn't stay too long before his mind was thrown back to the nauseating motion.
"Why do I feel like this? It's awful." He asked as he crossed his arms across his knees, eyes still partially droopy.
"It's called 'travel sickness'. It'll pass." She replied, keeping her patient composure. She took his hand, her thumb brushing past the gently pulsating teal symbol.
"But I'm not sick."
"Not the kind you're used to. This kind of sick happens when your mind doesn't register movement properly."
"But I know we're floating up and down on water, and..." He went quiet before groaning sickly, hiding his face in his hands as his stomach turned from the mention of it. He felt Topaz gently pat his head.
Moly sighed and shook her head. He wasn't dumb, he knew what she meant but just wanted to try and distract himself, which to his dismay, wasn't working. She thought for a moment before smiling to herself. Turning to the side of the vessel, she put her hands out in front of herself.
A soft blue-violet light faded into her palms as the canoe's movements began to stabilize slightly. This caught Silver's attention, moving his hands from his face as he looked around. The four chao clamored together by the sides of the watercraft to watch their guardian in awe. The waves were slightly less aggressive as they were before (not much, but to Silver they were), having gentle rolling movements that made the unbearable motion somewhat tolerable.
"You... You can control water?" He asked as he watched his friend intently, the nausea lessened and was replaced with curiosity. "How? I mean, does it work the same way my psychokinesis does?"
Moly's ears perked up at his curiosity, a slight blush tinting her cheeks. She turned to face him and surprisingly didn't let her concentration drop.
"I've had this gift since I was a kid." She began, the calming hue shrinking to focus on one spot of the water. "I have similar telekinetic reaches too, but they take a lot more out of me. I only save it for battles."
"Like your archery equipment, right?" The white hedgehog asked as he leaned over the side of the canoe, watching as Moly managed to separate and orb of water from the endless ocean. He was so astounded, his golden eyes bright with excitement and wonder, not even paying attention to his friend's grateful expression or the slightly lessened seasick feeling in his body.
"Right." The fox turned away from the side, holding the levitating orb of water in the indigo outline. "Hydrokinesis comes a lot more easier to me than psychokinesis. Same with Telepathy; It is much easier to use telepathy than to speak vocally for me."
Silver watched in bewilderment, smiling softly as he listened to her speak. Finally after a week, she was opening up more and more to him. She told him about her father's fate, how she escaped the Science Center and how she followed him through his travels. Not to mention that she was a fair enemy in their sparring matches together.
They had definitely gotten a lot closer to each other. Moly trusted him and he trusted her. They traveled everywhere together, took turns caring for the chao and, more recently, began to show more physical intimacy. Hugs were becoming common as with hand holding, they both didn't mind any of it.
Moly closed her eyes, focusing the blob into a figure of some sorts as she began, "From what my father said, there aren't many of us who can control the elements. At least not anymore." She gave a sour look at Onyx Island in their distance.
Silver gave her a look of worry before speaking up.
"Is it hard? To control the water?"
"No, it is actually quite easy."
"Is there a limit?"
"Of course, I cannot control the entire ocean."
Silver smiled and blushed in embarrassment as Moly laughed at his question. "Hey, I don't know anything about elemental stuff!" He tries to defend himself, an incredulous look on his face.
The chao resumed their playful behavior, flying up and circling above the two passengers heads as they played catch with one another. The two watched as the chao played above them, smiling before gazing at the clouds.
Moly could only smile, something she was finding more and more easier in the company of Silver. The cold sturdy wall she had built around herself was breaking down, finding herself vulnerable but secure. He listened when she spoke, helped her control her panic attacks and taught her what he knew about the Astrum and Felsic.
He was always so interested in her and vice-versa, always wanting to learn about each other and learn about themselves. They were equally matched when it came to power, shared the interest of a peaceful world and both were determined to save their time. The more he thought about it, the more he came to realize that their meeting in the past wasn't just by chance.
"You know..." Moly began, moving her hand to the ocean, settling the orb back to the body of water and letting nature take control once more, "I haven't really been the best friend. I've made mistakes, made you feel hurt when I tried to push you to fight," she paused, turning her head away from his eyes, "I questioned you too much about Blaze."
Silver went quiet, his gaze turning down to look at the wood of the canoe once more. He's still torn up by the amnesia about Blaze, only having gotten to the point of being at peace with it. That's the kind of stuff that happens with time travel. You lose people. He won't lie, it hurt a lot; Losing memory of people you cared about-people who cared about you- felt like you were missing a piece of them in your heart. While he did his best not to think too much about it, it still crossed his mind every now and then.
Moly watched his expression change from listening to brooding. Worried that her words had upset him, she leaned over and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"I'm sorry for putting you through so much."
Silver could only sit there, red-faced and wondering why she was hugging him. He wasn't sad, he was... well, maybe a little sad, but not from her. She hadn't done anything wrong.
"Moly, I-"
"Silver," she pulled herself away from him, staring deep into his quizzical gaze. "I know what you're going to say, but trust me when I tell you this." She hesitated for a moment before exhaling slowly, her face blushed. "No matter what happens to us, no matter if the world falls apart, no matter what Enigma does..." She delicately placed her hands on his cheeks and rest her forehead against his, "I'll stay by your side."
"Chao~." Jade and Topaz landed next to Silver's feet and watched while Cobalt and Scarlet sat across parallel to the other two chao that chirped in agreement.
The silver hedgehog's face was red as can be as he stared into her amethyst eyes before she closed them, their foreheads still touching and noses inches away from each other. What does he do now? Just sit here? How do you respond to something like that? His mind was racing with questions as his heart pounded. He gulped nervously as he shakily took her hands.
"I..." He finally spoke up, prompting Moly to open her eyes to give him her attention. "I'll stay by your side too." He finally said in a hushed whisper, his voice was timid.
The fox smiled, seemingly reassured by those words, leaned in and held him close. Her hands slowly moving from the top to his lower back, stopping just below his back quills.
Silver shuddered from the gentleness of her touch, his heart beating faster. This was a new touch... something he wasn't used to but it felt secure. There was an energy here that he was unfamiliar with. Moly never moved her hands from his shoulders when they hugged, this was the first time. Assuming it was okay and he had the permission to, he repeated the same motion, moving his hands under her coat to feel the fur on her lower back. He smiled as he shut his eyes, resting his head against her shoulder as she gave a light ghostly chuckle.
This was strange, but it was a good strange. Something that the two of them didn't want to end.