Sorry this is so short. But, then again, epilogues aren't supposed to be long...right?

A Bleak Future

Shadow was dragged away from the portal by Sonic, who wanted to assure the safety of his best friend. Tails had attempted to fix the machine for three days following Silver's leave. He couldn't figure out what was wrong and ultimately admitted defeat against it. After a couple weeks, everything seemed to fall back into place, as if none of it ever happened. Of course they never forgot: Elise was still worried about Blaze and the black hedgehog's heart still belonged to Silver.

Knuckles went back to guarding the Master Emerald. He visited every now and then to say hello and poke fun at Shadow for a bit. No one thought it funny anymore. The red echidna was always yelled at by someone who defended the hedgehog. Amy went back to chasing Sonic and he went back to teasing her by running at a slow pace. Rouge tried to steal more of the princess' jewels, but was caught and had to return everything she had taken.

Tails took over Scourge's lab on the fourth floor. He finished the tesla coil and the house had free electricity. The basement, where the fox's lab once was, had been turned into a work station. The portal was placed here so Shadow would one day have a chance to meet up with Silver again. Everyone felt pity for him. He had lost one of his good friends and his boyfriend.

Shadow returned to working at GUN. He monitored security cameras and escorted royalty around Soleanna. One day, when he was cleaning out the office, he found Scourge's old drawing of Silver. He had someone paint it, and it was hung up in his bedroom. He stared at it nearly every morning, remembering the times they shared. He also had a scrapbook of every picture that had been taken of the white hedgehog. But, it wasn't enough. He still missed his lover every day. It only worsened as the years went by.

Silver, on the other hand, wasn't as upset. He went back to live with his father. Scourge accompanied them and made such and impression that he was adopted into the family. The white hedgehog was also favored by Dr. Finitevus, who had surprising survived for quite a long time. No one knew how, and he didn't want to reveal his aging secrets.

Iblis was no longer a problem with their father constantly around. However, they had a new enemy to worry about: Morpheus. He was a shape shifter that summoned a black fog. It destroyed everything in its path and even swallowed furries whole. Silver wasn't afraid of it, though. The demon only appeared at night to those who had dreamt about him. Besides, he had Scourge, so there was really nothing to worry about.

Blaze finally took her proper place as princess once Iblis had been contained. She dreaded it every day, and for a while wrote to Silver and complained. But, after a year or so went by, they grew apart. The white hedgehog was preoccupied with Dr. Finitevus' lessons, and the purple feline was busy ruling over a country she wanted nothing to do with.

Silver did miss his lover. He had nothing to remind him of Shadow's appearance: no pictures, notes, drawing, nothing. He did have his memory, and the engagement ring that was given to him. It was a beautiful gift, one that he never took off. His father was always pestering him about it. 'Take it off! He's not here anymore! You're not getting married to him! It'll never happen!'

He didn't take it off. He would never take it off. No matter what his father or anyone else said, Silver knew that Shadow would return to him. It wasn't like the black hedgehog to forget so easily, that he was certain of.

I want to thank everyone again for all your reviews and positive feedback! It means a lot! I just hope some of my other stories will turn out this good. XD