Silver & Blaze: Our Story

Deconstruction
My Choice

January
It felt weird at first. Being in an actual romantic relationship. I thought it would be a little different. With the way older kids and adults talk about it, I figured it meant that things would be really different between me and Mighty. Turns out it's the opposite of that. We're pretty much the same together…except for all the hand holding we do. Although, it's only outside of school that we hold hands due to a strict "public displays of affection" rule at school. Still, others found out somehow (i.e. Mighty possibly bragging). So I occasionally get a passing comment from someone I hardly talk to or even know. It's more accurate to say that a romantic relationship changes the world around the lovers and not necessarily the dynamic between the lovers themselves.

All that aside, the other noticeable change has been my overall mood. For the longest time even though I felt okay in general, deep down it always felt like there was some dark, bottomless pool of despair trying to drown me from within. Perhaps that's where my subtle sarcasm grew from. That place that first appeared when I was burned in the house fire just a few years ago. …So this is what it's like to be genuinely happy. To not worry about things like where Knuckles and Tiara disappeared to or if Silver is holding his own across town in the old neighborhood. To not be bothered by the growing unrest between mobians and humans or the possible threat of the new "robian" race. To not constantly think about the next encounter I'll have with Shadow…because such things don't matter when you're genuinely happy. This lighter-than-air feeling is just…wonderful. And if push came to shove and sadness ever threatened me, then I'd at least have someone to stand by my side and endure it with me.

Out of nowhere, I felt a sudden tap on my back and spun around to see Tails with my history spiral notebook in hand.

"Thanks for lending me your notes," he said as I took the yellow book from him.

"It was nothing," I said. "You were caught off guard getting sick all of the sudden right at the end of the Christmas break."

"Y-yeah. Something like that." Miles laughed adjusting his red beanie on his head.

Another freezing breeze blew by as I scanned the crowded school entrance for Mighty peering as hard as I could through the masses of students leaving. No sign of him anywhere. Strange. Ever since we got together, he was always out here waiting for me.

"Are you looking for Mighty?" I heard Miles ask suddenly.

"Yeah. It's not like him to disappear on me without giving me a heads up first. I wonder if he got caught up with something at the last minute…"

"Actually…" I looked over at Miles. "I saw him leaving about ten minutes ago. He passed me in the hallway. He seemed like he was in a rush…and really angry."

"Angry? About what?" I said.

"I didn't ask. Or more like I couldn't, he was moving so fast." The fox paused briefly to pull a piece of folded paper from his pocket. "Mighty dropped this on his way out. I don't know what it means but I'm guessing someone has been bothering him for a while. All this week he seemed agitated."

I took the paper from him and a quick skim over the contents told me everything.

"I've stood by long enough. I'm coming for what I deserve."

Dammit. Shadow. Looks like he's making his move on whatever plan is up his sleeve. I left the school grounds ignoring Miles calling after me and headed for Mighty's neighborhood. If Shadow were to ambush him somewhere, it'd have to be near there. Possibly in the grove of trees between my apartment complex and Mighty's home.

A short time later, I reached the grove almost out of breath and sweating a little underneath my winter jacket. No signs of a struggle. Did Shadow lead Mighty to somewhere else? Great. I probably should've cooled my head first…huh? There's something in that tree over there. Upon closer inspection I recognized the shining object as Espio's ninja dagger…and a note was attached to it.

"Southern edge of town near the newspaper factory."

So that's where Shadow's drawn him out to. I knew the factory's location and it's quite a run from here. I threw off my backpack and took off south praying that whatever he was going through, Mighty would hang in there long enough for my arrival.

Either time slowed to a crawl or my own strength and passion drove me to run faster because I reached the factory much sooner than I thought I would. I stopped in the parking lot and calculated where Shadow could've taken my boyfriend. Knowing him, he'd want to take his time with his victims since I get the feeling that this was a drawn out plan. And considering his reputation in town, especially with the local authorities, he'd have to toy with Mighty in some place that would allow an easy get away. The inside of the factory would allow Shadow to be surrounded easily if any attention was drawn. I better check the other side of the factory. I think it opens up into the plains on the south side of Emerald Town.

Off to the side of the building was the shipping area with a steel fence running around it. A hole in the fence allowed me passage through and after a short run around the building I was on the other side looking out towards the tan plains south of town. About half a mile out I saw the recognizable figures of Shadow and Mighty standing near some flat rocks and facing each other. I had to get out there and stop Shadow from doing serious damage…but I wasn't fast enough. After running out a few steps the boys went at it fighting each other. Even at a distance, their scuffle looked raw and dirty like wild animals and only drove me to run faster. When I was within shouting distance I cried as loud as I could to get their attention.

"Stop! Both of you!" my throat strained to yell out but it was useless.

They were too far into the heat of battle and I was left with no choice but to intervene the only other way I knew how. A searing heat built up in my right hand, one that caused a brief moment of nostalgia. From there I let my emotions go and put it all into that hand allowing the heat to intensify and the fireball grow. And then it was launched towards the boys but I was sure to aim it off to the side. It landed close enough to stop their primal battle.

"Blaze!" Mighty shouted.

Our eyes met and the anger and worry within me cooled quickly once I saw him with no serious injuries aside from a few bruises. Unfortunately, the moment was shatter when Shadow shot to his feet and began to charge me with a glowing fist. He caught me unawares momentarily but once I analyzed the situation, the fireball reappeared in hand ready to strike down the dark hedgehog. But it never came to pass. Shadow was just a few feet from me when he stopped dead in his tracks and a strange, sea green aura surrounded him. My heart skipped at the sudden occurrence and I took a few trepid steps towards the immobilized hedgehog stuck in a charging pose like some action figure.

When I looked passed the hedgehog at Mighty, he, too, wore an expression that was just as shocked as I was. And then his eyes suddenly darted back towards the factory and he lifted a finger pointing in awe. The sight that awaited me made my jaw drop and my knees weak. I fell back gasping harder than I ever did before. Silver, my first and closest friend, the boy who always relied on me for emotional support, and stood by me even after the house fire accident, floated silently towards us. His body surrounded by a large, ghostly aura glowing the same sea green color surrounding Shadow and eyes shining just as bright with the same color. The closer he got with his stern glare, the more nervous I grew and backed away in a slight panic. He must've taken notice of my body language for his expression became sympathetic, a look I fondly remembered, and he descended to the ground.

"Blaze, relax. It's just me," Silver said as he held out a hand towards me.

I knew it was Silver, I remember seeing his powers during the hostage situation two years ago. But…I didn't think his abilities would mature so quickly and make him seem downright intimidating. Even to me. Again he spoke my name gently but his voice contrasted too much with his godly, glowing eyes and bright aura that rose off of him like smoke.

"I-I know it's you Silver," I said not even bothering to mask my fear. "But…but…what the hell happened to you?"

The silver hedgehog was taken aback by my words and he examined himself.

"Oh," he said. "I didn't notice it was that intense this time."

He closed his eyes and immediately the aura faded. I could finally see the boy I remembered. But the loss of Silver's aura also had the side effect of releasing Shadow from his hold and after the black hedgehog stumbled forward a bit, he glared at my friend and charged him instead. Without flinching, Silver raised his hand quickly towards his attacker and Shadow was stopped again mid-pose. The aura returning to both of them though not as intense as it was around Silver. With a flick of Silver's wrist, Shadow was sent sliding back across the dirt and held down in a straight position by my friend's powers. The light colored hedgehog approached his opponent.

"If you haven't noticed by now, I've had a lot of time to get better with these powers," Silver said with a look of pure disdain in his eyes. "And even more time to think about Blaze and whether or not she was safe from you. Looks like she wasn't…so I'll have to fix that."

Suddenly, Shadow began to writhe on the ground gasping for air as if the oxygen around him disappeared. I finally realized what Silver was doing and ran over to him latching onto his arm.

"Stop it Silver! This is going too far!" I said.

"But he's hurt a lot of people, right?" said Silver. "Like those kids who disappeared last summer? I heard they went to your school."

For a moment, my determination faltered at the memory of Knuckles and Tikal but I regained my composure and pulled harder on Silver's arm.

"You're just becoming what he is and solving a problem using force! What good will that do in the end?"

"It'll save the girl that I love! That's what!"

He shoved me away and the shock of his statement left me speechless and helpless from falling on my rear end. My mind literally went blank as I stared up at the boy who used to rely on me so much. This is what's become of him without me. This confident, mature, and…aggressive person. The same words that could be used to describe Shadow…applied to Silver now. And what's more is what he said. "…the girl that I love." That's how he feels about me now? No. I'm sure Silver's always had those feelings for me but was just confused by them. Somewhere inside of me I might've given that possibility a thought. The possibility that Silver's over attachment to me was more romantic than childish. But thinking of that kind of thing always embarrassed me and made me feel weak. So it's no surprise I brushed off the chance of romance between Silver and I as something silly. Well, I can't do that anymore. It's out in the open now. Out in front of my real boyfriend Mighty and…oh that's right…Shadow.

I stood up calmer than I've been since this wild chase began and approached Silver still strangling the black hedgehog. I spoke his name gently and the second he glanced over was when I hit him as hard as I could with my fist. Silver fell and lost concentration on his telekinetic powers freeing up Shadow.

"Ow! What was that for?" he said rubbing his sore cheek.

My face felt hot and flustered but only because of what Silver said and not because of what he was doing.

"Killing is wrong," I answered though the punch was really for embarrassing me in front of my boyfriend. "It doesn't matter the reason. I could never forgive someone who takes the life of another."

My friend was still dumbfounded but finally had nothing to say and just soothed his wound. At that moment, I heard Mighty call out to me and when I looked in his direction Shadow was getting up and growling under his breath.

"Found you…" he said glaring at Silver.

The speed at which Shadow moved after that was unreal. Even I couldn't stop him from wrapping his hands around Silver's neck. The two boys wrestled against each other until a gunshot stopped them landing in the dirt nearby. When all of us looked back towards the factory, a group of adults, some in suits and others in plain clothes, were running towards us with weapons in hand…and among them were Rouge and Miles? The boy was kneeling down with his gun aimed at the two hedgehogs but then he stood and ran towards us along with the rest of the group. At the same time, a harsh wind kicked up right near me forcing me to shield my eyes. When the quick gust died down, I saw Espio grab Shadow by the arm and the two took off heading west out into the fields. The group of adults suddenly split up at Miles's command: half went after the fugitives with Miles while Rouge and the others approached myself and the two boys. Mighty came to my side and grabbed onto my hand.

"Are you three hurt?" Rouge asked when she reached us.

Aside from the slight bruise on his face I gave him, Silver was fine. Mighty was a little worse for wear due to his fight with Shadow. Obviously, this was something that wasn't overlooked by the bat.

"Ah, don't mind me," Mighty said putting on a smile. "These are just superficial. I'll be okay."

Rouge still grimaced and I don't blame her. He got into a fist fight with Shadow and only got away with minor bruising.

"In any case, you should consider yourself lucky," she said pointing at Silver.

When he looked at her he chuckled a bit and blushed in embarrassment. Perhaps he's seen her before?

"A-are you that lady from before?" he said. "The one who talked to me at the water fountain?"

She ignored his question and approached the hedgehog and grabbed his face. She looked over the bruise and then glanced at the rest of his body, I guess to make sure he wasn't seriously injured. Silver chuckled again admitted that I was the one who hit him in the face.

"If it was to put him in his place then good job," she said as she took out her cell phone and started sending a message. "Can't have two boys running around abusing their powers."

"Rouge," I said. "what's going on?"

"You'll find out later…the both of you I guess," her eyes flashed onto Mighty for a moment. "For now, just go home and stay indoors for the rest of the day. And as for you…"

All of the sudden, Rouge took out a small, slender, metal object and pressed the barrel of it against Silver's arm. He yelped leaving me to believe she had just injected him with something.

"I'm taking you home," she said grabbing the hedgehog by the arm.

"W-wait!" Silver tore away from the bat. "Just who are you? And what did you put in me?"

For a moment Rouge looked taken aback but smiled as she reached into the inside of her blazer and took out what looked to be a thin wallet.

"My apologies kid," she said flashing her G.U.N. I.D. at Silver. "I got caught up in the mission and forgot my manners. Rouge the Bat, undercover G.U.N. agent. And that injection was just a chemical to suppress your powers temporarily."

"Oh. I get it now," said Silver.

"You've heard of me? From Sonic I assume?"

The hedgehog nodded.

"Look, I know it was wrong for me to use my powers like that but…" Silver paused to look at me with regretful eyes and then his attention was back on the G.U.N. agent. "Can I just have a moment to talk with Blaze? Please?"

Again, Rouge took out her cell phone but only took a quick glance at it.

"Fine. You got three minutes," she said.

A look of relief washed over Silver and Rouge, along with the four other G.U.N. agents, walked away to give us some privacy. My longtime friend faced Mighty and I…and his expression turned into one of concern. I guess it's time to have "that talk" now.

"I guess I'll have to be straight forward about this," he said. "Blaze, I don't like it. I don't want you to be with him."

My jaw dropped but only because I never expected Silver to take such a stalwart stance against my relationship. I was sure he'd accept it with some reluctance.

"Hey now hold on a second," Mighty said as he released my hand. "Don't you think that's a little unfair to demand? Especially since you haven't seen her for a few years? Not to mention, you don't know a thing about me."

"I've known her for a lot longer than you have so don't tell me what I can and can't say to her."

"You're free to say whatever you want. I just think bossing her around crosses the line."

"I'm not bossing her around. I'm just looking out for her since she'd do the same for me if I unknowingly put myself in a dangerous position."

"So she's as naïve as you are? Talk about a backhanded compliment to someone who still speaks respectfully of you despite feeling like she was your babysitter at times. I think Blaze is perfectly capable of deciding what's right for her."

"Like how she decided to start dating you? From what I saw, you practically cornered her until she agreed to go along with it you hypocritical bast—"

"Just stop! Both of you!" I came in between the boys the moment Silver took a menacing step towards Mighty.

I looked out to Rouge and the other agents. Apparently I was loud enough to get the bat's attention but she just turned away and went back to whatever she was discussing with the other adults. She must've figured that whatever was going on between the three of us didn't need G.U.N.'s attention. Thank goodness for that. Mighty spoke to me gently but I held up a hand towards him and Silver. This atmosphere is starting to suffocate me a little. All of this commotion over me… I can't stand it.

"Just do what I ask. Please…" Silver said calmly after crossing his arms and looking away from me.

"Why should I?" I said.

"Because…you don't need this right now. You don't need a relationship. Not while he's out doing whatever he wants."

"And if G.U.N. captures Shadow, then what?"

"Then I'll let you do whatever. I'll never bother you again about this."

"You're lying."

He looked over at me from the corner of his eye and knew that I could see he true feelings right now.

"Well…you won't hear a word out of me. I'll keep my thoughts to myself and stay out of sight."

"Until we do something else you won't like."

Silver's brow furrowed as I hit another emotional target on him but he remained silent.

"Going back to what you said earlier…that you saw us. Just how long have you been spying on me?" I said.

"Just before your birthday," Silver answered. "I figured out how to sustain flight and occasionally went across town to just…watch you for a few hours."

Usually I'd be repulsed over the thought of being stalked but this is Silver we're dealing with. Any obsession with me is normal for him.

"You need to stop doing that," I said to him.

"I don't think I can keep that promise," he said.

"I know you won't. I'm not that naïve. But I have to say it or else you'll assume that I want to be watched over like some toddler."

Silver let out a weak embarrassed laugh as he dropped his arms to his sides.

"I guess…I got ahead of myself…again." He laughed pathetically at himself while I maintained a straight face. "Looks like you don't need me after all."

"If I need you I'll tell you myself. Just go already," I said in a flat tone.

Not once did Silver look back at me as he slinked away towards Rouge and the others. And at that moment, the sight of watching Silver walk away without a hint of anxiety over me, was when my heart began to crack and tears gathered in my eyes. Suddenly Mighty grabbed my chin and turned my face towards him for a passionate kiss on the lips. But it was too much for me and I pulled away and wiped my eyes.

"Nothing's going to happen," said Mighty. "Friends fight but it hardly ever changes much between them."

"I know but…I don't know how long it'll be like this. Before Silver finally walks away for good."

He took me by the hands and leaned his forehead against mine with the most benevolent smile he could muster up underneath his injuries.

"Did you forget what I told you? That I'd always be at your side through everything so you'll never be alone? I'm right here Blaze, so stop worrying."

"Stop worrying" he says. But does he really understand how hard it is for me to do that? Like clockwork something terrible has happened to me for three years now and I can feel it happening again. Deep down to the core of my bones I sense that all of this is the calm before the storm. Before something unimaginable happens again. What it is I'm not sure of. Right now my feelings are split down the middle between Mighty and Silver. I hate Silver for what he's been doing and for what it's turned him into. He's supposed to be gentle and full of hope and curiosity not paranoid and possessive of me. And Mighty…he's such a wonderful person now that he doesn't hold back on his feelings and doesn't think so lowly of himself. But slowly I've noticed a subtle desperation in his actions. He seems so eager to express his love for me. At this point, it's obvious this is all because of Shadow. While I am pissed at him for causing so much calculated turmoil, the fact that he can reveal a person's most honest emotions can't be ignored. I know this because that's what he's been doing to me for these two years. Revealing how sympathetic and concerned I am for him despite his actions. I say one thing and act the complete opposite around Shadow… And now he's done it to these two boys using me as the centerpiece. But as far as this impending storm is concerned, who will be the next to disappear from my life, the answer is too shrouded for me to see because I'm being tugged at from all sides. And because of these muddled feelings I couldn't reciprocate the smile I knew Mighty wanted to see. So I lifted my head away from his with my eyes closed.

I shook my head and he tightened his grip on my hands in response. I grimaced at the feeling of his hands and he pressed his lips against mine with so much passion and fear that I cried. Not because I felt guilty for allowing him to get so close, but because I knew that one day this relationship or my friendship with Silver would shatter. Eventually, I would have to choose one over the other. When we parted, Mighty wiped away the tears running down my face.

"Those don't suit you at all. You know that don't you?" he said trying to cheer me up immediately just as I expected him to do.

"Yeah," I managed a faint smile just so he could stop the desperate display of affection.

He chuckled and hugged me gently and I felt calm enough to embrace him in return.

"So Miles is a G.U.N. agent," Mighty said. "That's quite the surprise."

"Nothing surprises me anymore," I said.

And I really meant it. The kid being an undercover agent was the furthest thing down on my "worry list." I had to figure out some way to resolve this emotional battle between Mighty and Silver…and, possibly, Shadow if he manages to escape from those agents.