Chapter 11: Storm Clouds

In this time, Knuckles showed me how to easily chop wood and use the older trees so the younger ones could spread out a bit. It had now been a half hour since Silver was taken to Tails' house.

Suddenly, my iTouch buzzed in my pocket, making me jump. I put down my load of wood and take out my iTouch, seeing that Tails was calling me. "Hey, Tails." I said answering the call. "How's Silver?"

"He'll be alright, Em." Tails replied. "He's asleep now, but I think he'll be back on his feet in an hour or so."

"Perfect, I'll see you guys at lunch then."

"So Silver is alright?" Cream asked.

"He'll be fine." I assure the young rabbit.

"See you guys then." Tails said and hung up.

I breathe a sigh of relief and hang up. I wasn't sure why I felt close to Silver. Perhaps it was because he eased away that tension in my back, or he and I have been through the same thing.

Tails' call set me at ease for a while, at least long enough for me to help finish gathering fruit with Cream and carry wood with the guys. At times I couldn't help but stop and look at the beauty of the island; like a bright butterfly I'd never seen before. When it moved its wings shifted colors.

Finally lunch came around and we started lugging our supplies to the small village. Rouge had taken the labarum back to my house so she can keep tabs on the place. Knuckles was against the idea of letting her get away with a chaos emerald, but Tails had assured Knuckles that only he could get into the compartment where the emerald was.

I carried the wood to the woodpile and offered to help with the fruit and water too, but Knuckles waved me off. "You need to see Silver." He said. "Go on."

I nod and jog over to Tails place. Tails must have been looking out the window because he opened the door and allowed me in.

"He's still asleep," Tails explained as he led me to where Silver was staying.

The room was painted a light blue and looked like a regular boys room. On the bed was Silver; he was sitting up and about to test his legs. He looked up and smiled as we entered.

"At least I though he was." Tails said, offering an embarrassed grin. "How do you feel, Silv?"

"Better," He said, finally standing and straitening his body. He smiled with pleasure that he remained standing. "Much better. What's left to do?"

"Just water," I answer. "But Knuckles told me to come here."

Silver smiled and took a step. Then two. He smiled again and lifted a hand to a baseball on one of the shelves. A blue glow settled over it and it floated to his hand. "Tails, how long until my abilities are back to normal?"

"If you practice," Tails answered. "I'd say about two weeks."

Silver looked at the ball in his hand before looking at Tails. "You don't mind if I use this do you?"

"Not at all." Tails replied before looking at me. "Sorry for dropping you."

"You didn't drop me," I relied. "I slipped, it wasn't your fault."

Tails smiled but still seemed mad at himself. I put a hand on his shoulder and grin at him. "Hey, don't worry about it. I didn't get hurt, right?"

"Right," Tails said.

"And I'm not mad, am I?" I ask.

"No," Tails answered, smiling slightly.

"So, don't worry about it." I said. "Chin up, okay Tails?"

"Alright," Tails answered. "Thanks Em."

"Now that we have that straitened out," I said. "Lets go eat, after all that excitement I'm starved."

"I'll see you out there then," Tails said, exiting the room.

Silver took some more steps forward, but his legs were still unsteady and he stumbled forward. I easily caught him as he fell. "You need someone to lean on?"

Silver nodded. "At least for a while."


My life was like this for the next few weeks. Silver steadily got stronger with is abilities and was soon flying for short periods of time. I had warmed up to Vector and the CDA and I showed them the proper way to cook s'mores. Knuckles took me almost everywhere on the island, showing me places to hide if push came to shove, and he, Sonic, Espio and sometimes Shadow started teaching me self defense and how to fight. Sonic taught me some more songs on the guitar I gave him and even suggested I play a song one time after dinner.

I always kept my Touch on me in case Rouge called that my parents were home, but there was nothing. I was starting to get worried and I was starting to wonder if Rouge was alright there all on her own. I knew she was a spy and could hold her own, but something was telling me that something was wrong.

Since it was raining that night, we all gathered at Tails' place just to hang out. I'm not sure how, but we all started playing another game of riddles. Knuckles started, boasting that no one would guess it.

"I am a creature of the night, silent when I hunt. I can hear a creature's heartbeat from far off. I have sharp weapons that no prey can escape. I come in many kinds. What am I?" He said a sly smile growing on his face.

I knew I wasn't the best at this game, but it was fun to keep my mind sharp. Tails had taught me how to break down problems after I told him my problems with math, so I broke the riddle down the same way, trying to focus on one piece at a time. It's nocturnal, and silent when it hunts…. A wolf? No, they may be good hunters but they don't hunt silently. A cougar or big cat? No they use the element of surprise. It may be a bird of prey…

"Wow, Knux," Sonic said. "That's a good one."

Knuckles only smiled. "You guys give up?"

"No way!" I said. "It's only the beginning of the game. I'm not quitting that easily, Red."

"Good thing I have all night," Knuckles said leaning back in his chair.

"Don't get cocky," I said. "Because the answer is an owl."

This made Knuckles give me such a look it made me laugh. The shock on his face was simply priceless. Now I knew why Rouge liked to tease him so much, the faces he made were always so rewarding. "How did you guess?"

I simply shrug. "Tails was helping me with my math and showed me how to break down problems. So I thought I could do the same with a riddle. Turns out I was right."

Knuckles, though disappointed that I guess it so easily, chuckled and shook his head. "You're turn, show off."

I smile and started my riddle. "To some a puff of fresh air, to others a lethal breath. In me you can fly, in me you may die. I bubble with joy whenever you're in me. You need me for life, like a man needs a wife. What am I?"

I smile and look around as everyone ponders the riddle. I spent almost every night searching for different riddles to play. I looked over at Espio for some reason. He grinned at me and winked. I winked back. Espio had taught me this riddle, promising it was a good one. I knew I should have saved it for later, but thought it would be fun to keep them guessing. After a long moment with no answers, I sighed. "Come on guys, it's only the second riddle." I said. "Sonic I'm surprised you don't know it."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked.

"I won't say," I said. "Consider it a clue."

"Lets see, something I would know, huh?" Sonic mused.

"Gas!" Vector shouted. "To some it can give life, but to others one breath of it and you're dead."

"I guess that would work," I said. "But that's not the answer."

Suddenly, Tails' eyes lit up. He snickered and looked at Sonic, but didn't answer. Sonic looked at him but continued thinking about the riddle. Soon, Knuckles figured it out. "No way," He said. "I think this is a riddle perfect for Sonic."

As if on cue, Vector sneaked into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. He handed it to Charmy and whispered in his ear. Charmy snickered and flew up until he was above Sonic. Sonic heard the buzz and looked up as soon as Charmy poured the water over Sonic. Sonic leaped up ran to the other side of the room. The rest of us laughed at his reaction.

"You got it Sonic!" I laughed.

"Not. Funny." Sonic said as he shook himself dry, but I saw the smile on his face and heard him chuckle.

Suddenly, Shadow's wrist chimed, making him jump slightly. He opened the communicator and found it was Rouge. "What's up Rouge?"

"Where's Em?" She asked, in a tone I didn't like.

I stopped laughing and walk over to look over Shadow's shoulder. "I'm here. What's going on?"

"This came in the mail," Rouge said, turning her wrist to show us a small TV. By now everyone gathered around Shadow, much to his discomfort. He got up and plugged his communicator into the computer so we could all see easily. I recognized the TV as the ones Bokoon always delivered.

Rouge pressed the play button and Eggman's face appeared. "Hello, my dear. That was very clever of you to go hide with your new friends. But sadly, it left these two vulnerable."

The image shifted to a cell. There, to my shock and horror, where my parents. My dad was holding my mom, and both looked horrified. "Em," My dad said. "Stay where you are, no matter what!"

"Oh, pish posh!" Eggman said, turning the camera to himself again. "If you want your mommy and daddy safe and sound, you know what to do."

The message ended and Rouge came up on the screen. "I got it almost a half hour ago. I was trying to find a way on how to tell you gently. Sadly, this was the only way. I'll be back in about an hour. Rouge out."

Shadow closed his communicator and looked at me, knowing what I was feeling. I backed away and shook my head, tears filling my eyes as the reality sank in. Silver took a step toward me, trying to comfort me. I was blind in my shock and terror, so I turned and ran out the door into the storm, a voice in my head saying that it was my fault, that I was to blame for my parents capture. I ran and ran, trying to get away from… I don't know what.


"EM!" Silver shouted as I ran out. "Em, come back!"

Silver was about to go after her, but Shadow stopped him. "I'll find her. You're still rebuilding your abilities, the last thing we need is you getting lost out there. Besides, I know this pain, I'll talk to her."

Very reluctantly, Silver nodded and allowed Shadow to go look for me. He activated his hover shoes so not to sink into the mud and to find me faster. He skated through the dark jungle, memories of Maria flashing through his mind. Following them were memories of Molly. He knew what loss was; he knew that I was blaming myself.

He stopped at the natural hot spring that Sonic and I stopped at once. The warm water gave off steam from the cool air, making the air around Shadow hot and muggy. Above the droning of the rain, Shadow heard me crying. He followed the sound to where I sat in the cold, wet grass. He came over and embraced me, completely out of character. I struggled at first Surprised by his embrace, but I hugged him back, clutching his arms and sobbing into his dark fur. "It's my fault this happened to them!" I cried. "If I let Eggman have me they would be fine!"

"And leaving them in the same situation as you are now," Shadow said, using the same tone he used to comfort Molly.

I felt his arms hold me tighter. I felt like such an idiot crying like this. This was the second time I had to lean on someone and cry on them. Before all this happened, I hardly ever cried, feeling it showed weakness and that I needed someone's hand to pull through tough situations. I learned not to let things get to me, not to let word hurt. That was before, when I had my parents near. Here, I felt very small and alone. What was wrong with me? "It's my fault."

I felt Shadow shake his head. "No it's not. Don't think that for a second. We'll get them back from him, you'll see. Don't cry. Ssh, Ssh," He continued to talk soothingly until I felt myself calm down. I never knew Shadow to have such a gentle side. I stayed in his arms until the rain stopped, even then I still leaned against his chest, listening to his heart beat as single, silent tears fell. "This is twice I would put my family in a dangerous situation." I told the dark hedgehog. "Twice! Both because of this sixth sense. Why couldn't I stop it this time? Why couldn't I…." I hid my face deeper into his fur to hide my tears.

"Ssh." Shadow said, still trying to stop my tears. "I asked the same thing when Maria died. I blamed myself for her death for a long time. I still wish that I could have saved her, but it was her death that helped me find what I was created for."

I inhale, and breathed a ragged sob. I was no longer crying, but my breath was still trembling. Now I realized how cold I was being pressed against Shadow's wet fur. Shadow releases his embrace and stands. "We should head back. It's late, and we need to prepare you to face Eggman and get your parents back."

I nodded, wiped away a stray tear and stood to follow Shadow. I didn't know what was in store for me, but I knew a battle was certain.


We returned to Tails house where everyone was waiting, including Rouge. Silver was the first to his feet and he ran up to me.

"Sorry for running off like that." I said, slightly embarrassed at my actions. "I wasn't thinking strait."

"No harm done," Sonic said. "I do the same thing sometimes. Running makes me feel better in a bad situation."

I smile as Rouge got a towel for me. "I'm sorry about the bad news, hon."

I wipe the rain and tears off my face and manage a smile. "Don't be. You still have the message right?"

Rouge nodded.

"Good, then maybe we can find out where Egg-brain is keeping my parents." I said. "Tails you think we can trace the message?"

"I can try, Em." Tails said. "We can use the band too."

"You… still have that?" Silver asked.

"Shadow thought it may help us find out where is was made and therefore leading us strait to Eggman." Tails explained.

"And I think I should kick things into high gear with my fighting skills." I said. "I don't want to slow you guys down during the rescue."

"That's the right attitude!" Rouge said. "How about we start first thing?"

"Sounds great." I answer.

"I have old armor and some ancient echidnian weapons I can train you with." Knuckles said.

I was forcing myself through the conversation not to start crying again. I had regained control and I wasn't going to break down again, it was bad enough that I did in front of first Sonic now Shadow. I smile and nod at Knuckles request. "That would be great." I said. "But, I'm not an echidna or a guardian, how can I use their weapons?"

Knuckles grinned slyly, making me wonder what he had in mind. Just then I heard a yawn. I look over at Cream and Tails. Cream blushed as her eyes drooped slightly. "I'm sorry," He said. "I didn't realize how tired I was."

"Not a problem, Cream." Tails said. "I think we should all get some sleep so we can rescue Emily's parents. Sonic, how soon can we start."

"As soon as you and Shadow find Eggman." Sonic said. "And after Em gets a hang of fighting. For now, lets get some sleep. We have our work cut out for us tomorrow."

With that, we all returned to our huts. Shadow had invited me to stay at his place for the night since he would start my training first thing, so I follow him to his two story home and crawl into my place on the couch. Knuckles again let me borrow the green chaos emerald before I left and I placed it on the end table. I watch the emerald for I don't know how long before I felt my spine tighten. I pick up the emerald and close my eyes, wondering why my sixth sense was bothering me. The emerald eased my sensation, but then I kept having thoughts of Silver being trouble.

Soon the sensation went away, but I was still uneasy about something. I put the emerald back and close my eyes. But all night I tossed and turned, unable to shake the odd feeling. It was like back in my Dark Time. That night, I was very glad that Jesus was my savior and that Shadow was just down the hall.


Silver had fallen asleep very quickly. He wished there was a way to calm Emily's fears, but he couldn't think of a one. He fell asleep thinking about how he lost Blaze. He had gone back in time many times to try and save the lavender cat from that fate, but nothing worked; each time she was carried off to the clouds, each time she called back to him as she vanished from view. "Good luck, Silver."

He heard it plain as day. He woke and sat up, looking around his room for the source. But there was no one there. Saddened, Silver lay down again, willing the memory to the back of his mind. He was almost asleep, when he suddenly realized he couldn't move. He opened his eyes and realized that there was a blueish purple mist around his body. Before he could shout for Tails or Sonic, the mist crawled up to his throat and compressed. Silver gasped, trying to make a sound to get help.

"So you're my double," Silver turned and looked at another hedgehog that looked and sounded just like Silver. "How pathetic. No matter, Eggman will be happy to have you back, Silver."

Silver squirmed, but his eyesight was fading and it was hard to think. He managed to glare at the other Silver before blacking out. The last words he heard was the fake Silver whispering in his ear. "Not to worry, Silver. Emily will be along soon. Chaos Control."