This story arc starts with "Chapter 20: Lack of Strength".

Chapter 24: Future's Past

Silvia found her way onto the roof of the warehouse. Looking around, the world was different from what she knew. Further proof that what her brother said was true.

The silver hedgehog girl sat on the roof edge, and looked down distraught. Could her brother really hide this from her? He was doing everything SHE wanted to do, and even more that she couldn't have known she wanted. And he wouldn't tell her? To protect her? She didn't want to be protected.

Silvia was a strong girl, but this really upset her, and she began to cry.

After a while, she heard, "Silvia!? Hey, Silvia, are you around!? I want to talk...!"

"Sapphire..." Silvia sounded. "Up here...!"

The yellow hedgehog girl walked outside, and looked up, seeing Silvia on the roof. "Silvia! There you are! Can I talk to you!?"

Silvia wasn't sure what to do, so she decided that talking to her would be alright. She hopped down so Sapphire didn't have to find a way to climb, and landed perfectly on her feet.

"You speeders sure have a way of being able to handle high falls," Sapphire noted.

"Eh, we hedgehogs just... slow our fall with our quills," Silvia explained. "You're a hedgehog, too. Maybe try it sometime?"

"I... 'm not interested in... sky-diving," Sapphire replied. "Silvia, are you okay?"

Silvia stiffened. "I- not really."

"L-let's sit!" Sapphire said, following with, "sorry, I'm not good with this."

"It's okay... how well do you know my brother?" Silvia said as the girls sat down on some wooden crates.

"I've kind of only just met him," Sapphire said. "I thought he was a good guy, but... I'm not sure. But... I think he's just trying to do the best he can."

"I just... I was the one who always wanted to go on an adventure, you know? I never knew what Silver wanted, and I always encouraged him to find something. I mean... I only make fun of him since I'm his sibling, but you have to admit, those powers are useful and pretty cool. But I- I-" Silvia sighed, "I just had my own dreams I wanted to follow, and now it feels like my brother stole those for himself."

As Silvia wiped her tears, Sapphire thought about this. "You know... time travel is... difficult. I mean, if you screw up the tiniest thing, then maybe your entire future will change, and you can't tell how. Like... how do you know that me knowing that your Sonic's descendant won't affect things?"

"I... suppose I don't know... but how could it change anything?"

"It could change the course of history. I mean... I'm Sonic's sister... his adopted sister! I don't know if I'll be recorded in history, so, you know..."

"I... think I recall hearing the name Sapphire in history class... but I never really paid attention, so I don't know."

"That's okay. If I'm going to make a name for myself, then I want to figure that out by myself. But, that's the thing. If I can speak on Sonic's behalf, as I was wanting to say, I haven't known him for very long since he adopted me as his sister. But I can see that he is a free spirit. ...I don't think that he's very interested in getting tied down to a girl."

"Okay..." Silvia said, starting to see her point.

"Well, for you and your brother to be his descendants, that means he has to have kids at some point, so eventually he will get tied down. If... he knows this will happen... then who knows what might happen. He might give up on everything he likes, which could affect how he might of changed if it were to happen naturally. Or he could refuse it somehow, and then it'll never happen, or happen right."

"That sounds convoluted," Silvia replied.

"Yeah, but... it's possible. I don't know how time travel works!" Sapphire exclaimed. "It could be that, it could be a split timeline, or a paradox, or a million other things. Time itself could collapse! I don't know! ...But Silver, he might know. He probably does, to a point. He might of had to make hard decisions before, terrible ones even! And I think... he needs to be careful, you know. That's how he's protecting you."

"B-but- I'm from the future. To me, this time... it already happened. How would this affect me!?"

"I... well, maybe people are... coming to the past, and doing things that might change time. So, Silver maybe has to be the one to fix things. It must be a difficult job," Sapphire said. "Maybe, whoever told him to do this, thought that he was the only one who could do it."

"...So you don't think that I'm capable?" Silvia asked with sorrow.

"N-NO! I don't think that. But we're dealing with something so complicated that even I can't understand it. I'm just saying that Silver might understand it, but well... everyone has their own strengths. And those strengths should be used where they are appropriate."

"...I just... I just wanted a chance, okay. And it feels like I was just... overlooked."

"Well, I don't know what the future is like, but maybe it's not like that. But you know, you should be proud, to have a brother that'll do his entire world... just to save his family."

Silvia smiled a bit. "I suppose." Then she thought of something. "I like you, Saph. Could we be friends?"

"H-huh? O-okay, sure, but- Aren't you going home soon? Like, to the future?" Sapphire asked. "Don't get me wrong, I-"

"Hey! You're right, except... Silver didn't explicitly say that, so... I was thinking..."

"Wait, you want to stay here? In this time?" Silver said in surprise, once his sister and friend returned to the group.

"Yeah, I want to have the chance to see this time, and make new friends here!" Silver told her twin.

"But Silvia, you don't-"

"I do get it, and I'm not just saying that to get you off my case. Saph and I talked about time travel, and I get that it's challenging. But I won't tell anyone else but our ancestry, and I'll try not to screw anything up!"

Silver sweat-dropped a bit. "But... you don't know history that well."

"All the better!"

"That just means-"

"Silver, don't you always come back to fix things anyways," Knuckles noted. "Like, I've heard you've come from destroyed timelines."

"Wait, what- How does time travel work for you!?" Silvia exclaimed in surprise. "Like, do you wake up one day in a different... world?"

"You mean 'timeline'?" Sapphire said. "Do you exist permanently in our timeline?"

Silver sighed. "I use legendary gems, similar to the Chaos Emeralds, but they control time specifically. They're called the Time Stones. I can use them to time travel, in turn, I have to protect them." Then he turned to his sister. "Are you sure you want to stay here? I have to go back, you know..."

"Yeah, I've already decided."

Knuckles put his hand on Silver. "Don't worry, we'll make sure she's safe. And I know she'll get along with Sonic."

"Yeah... okay, Silvia, you can stay here."

Silvia cheered. "Oh, thank you, bro!"

"But you have to be careful. Whatever adventures you join, just don't be reckless, okay? I'll come visit, but I need to take Eggman Nega back, before he wakes up."

Silvia hugged her brother, saying, "I'll see you later."

Once they were done, Silver turned to Sapphire, Knuckles, and Big. "Thank you, for helping me save my sister."

"And thank you, for getting me my Emerald back," Knuckles replied.

"Your welcome. And Sapphire, keep getting stronger," Silver said. And then seven hexagonal gems appeared around him, and the still unconscious Eggman Nega. As the gems, the Time Stones, Sapphire assumed, began to circle around the silver hedgehog, there was a bright light, and the two then disappeared.

"Silver will be alright," Knuckles reaffirmed. "Now I need to get this back to the island," he said as he patted the large Master Emerald.

Big, who had just been watching, pretty confused, outside of the touching moments of the twins, asked, "can we go fishing, now?"

Sapphire looked up. It was dark now. "I think we need to go to bed. But I'd love to fish with you tomorrow!"

Silvia chuckled a bit. "Not my style, but okay, I'll come."

"I suppose I'll come to, once I am sure that the Master Emerald is secure," Knuckles added.

"Okay! I guess it's a hangout!" Sapphire announced. "I'll make sure to get everyone fishing rods!"

"You're kidding me, I thought you were Silver!" Sonic exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting a girl. Sorry about that."

Sapphire and Silvia decided to stay at a hotel that night, instead of heading back to Tails' workshop, while also informing them that they were seeing Big for the next day, and to both confirm that they were okay and successfully helped Silver and Knuckles, and to ask if Tails could get them some extra fishing rods.

Since Sapphire didn't tell them about Silvia, they thought that she was Silver, since they looked alike, aside from how they styled their front quills, their clothing and quill dye, and of course, gender. They were surprised to find this it wasn't Silver at all. Though Sapphire was surprised herself by who came with Tails.

Sonic and Shadow came with, as well as Amy, Cream, and Vanilla. Knuckles had arrived earlier just after Sapphire and Silvia did, and everyone else came about half an hour later.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Silvia told Sonic. "I've tried really hard to prevent this, but sometimes people still confuse me with my twin."

This shocked everyone further, except for Knuckles, who was smirking in amusement, Big, who was just minding his own business as he prepared everything for fishing, and Sapphire, who was starting to giggle at the situation.

"Wait, you're Silver's sister?" Sonic asked.

"Not only that, but his twin!?" Amy added.

"...So was this what Silver wanted help with?" Tails asked Sapphire.

The yellow hedgehog nodded.

Shadow recovered from his shock quicker than everyone else, and decided he didn't care, at least not as much as he did about Knuckles. "I hope you treated Maria properly."

"Maria?" Silvia asked.

"I-it's a nickname," Sapphire explained. "It's a long story."

"Eh, I like Saph better."

Knuckles couldn't meet Shadow's eyes. "Well, I-"

"It was rocky at first, but after I really saved him with Big's help. I think we're okay now. He even helped me after a... impromptu finishing blow."

"My, that sounds quite... exciting," Vanilla said, trying to hide her concern for Sapphire's wellbeing.

"So, Silvia, do you got powers like you're brother?" Sonic asked.

"No, I'm more of a..." Silvia started, before running behind the blue hedgehog, "quick chick."

"Oh, so you're fast, eh? Nice to know that there are people like me in the future. I can't believe Silver never thought to tell me about you."

"I-I'm sure he had a good reason," Sapphire chimed in.

Sonic raised an eyebrow at his sister, before turning back to Silvia. "Just so you know, you're not the first person to challenge my speed," he said smugly.

"Oh, so you think I'm challenging you?" Silvia replied, equally as smug. "Then why don't we make this official and have a race?"

Sonic pointed to a large mountain in the distance. "From here to that peak, and then back. Think you can handle that?"

"Oh, I've been waiting to test myself like that. You're on!"

"Tails, can you time us?" Sonic asked his buddy.

"On it!" the fox replied.

Sonic and Silvia stood by each other, getting into running positions, as Tails prepared a timer on his device.

"Ready... set... GO!" Tails shouted as the hedgehog runners shot off.

"Be careful!" Sapphire shouted to the racers, though she wasn't sure if they could hear her.

"Oh my, she is a lively one, isn't she?" Vanilla said.

"She seems really fun," Cream added.

Amy huffed and turned away.

"What's wrong?" Sapphire asked Amy.

"There is no way in Chaos that Silvia is taking Sonic from me," she replied.

"Um... I think she has good reason not to want Sonic. She's a lot like him. More about the rush of freedom, and not romance."

"What was that!?"

Then Shadow appeared by them. "Don't threaten her."

"I... I wasn't," Amy freaked out.

"I'm sure Sonic and Saph's new friend will be back in a short while," Tails interjected. "Until then, I got everyone fishing rods, at Sapphire's request. Hey, Big, want to show us what to do?"

Big couldn't be happier to share his hobby with everyone. Knuckles and Shadow got extra-strong reels, to account for their heightened strength, while the other had regular rods, Cream being supervised by her mother.

Once Sonic and Silvia returned (Sonic won the race, but it was close, apparently, and the blue hedgehog claimed to have a new record. Did he race from here before, or was he just bragging?), they also joined in the fishing fun, even though it wasn't something they'd find super enjoyable. Sonic actually got into a competition with Knuckles and Shadow to try to get the most fish. This was a competition that Sonic actually lost, due partially to his lack of patience, while Knuckles was able to pull out several large fish. Tails noted that fishing competitions were based on the weight of the fish, so the echidna actually won through the combined weight of his fish.

Silvia tried to compete too, with the girls, but they were more chill, and just wanted to fish. Sapphire, in fact, wanted to fish together with Big, and Amy tried to get close to Sonic (perhaps another reason that he lost). Big, the fishing expert, of course, got the most fish, and might have won the impromptu competition, if he actually cared to be part of it, but all he wanted was a fun day with friends and a delicious meal.

Which of course, everyone got, as all of the fish they got started to get grilled. Vanilla also brought stuff for a picnic, to make up for what happened earlier.

While everyone began to enjoy their fishy meal, Shadow came up to Sapphire, who was eating a sandwich, since she didn't like seafood that much.

The yellow hedgehog girl began to blush brightly as Shadow sat next to her.

"Hey, Shadow..." she said. Then she remembered, "oh! I-I have your emerald!" And Sapphire handed Shadow the mystical gem.

"So, do you think you've become stronger, taking part in yesterday's mission?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah... but I also had to question what... it means to be a hero," Sapphire admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"That man we fought, Eggman Nega... He said that Silver abandoned him. He did everything he did, stealing the Master Emerald, and using Silvia as a hostage, for revenge. I just... I thought Silver was a good guy. I get that being a time traveler is probably tough, and he's a good friend, but..."

Shadow's gaze fell. "...I'll admit, I'd probably would've done the same. And I don't even need to consider the angle of time travel. Quite frankly, I'd rather not get involved with it, personally."

"Really?"

"If I did, then you'd think I'd go save the real Maria... But that's not the point. I'm just not that kind of hero, if you'd even consider me heroic. Sonic would probably try to save someone, if he could. If that's the kind of hero you want to be, then be it. Don't let someone else's actions discourage you. Your path is yours to forge."

"Shadow..." Sapphire replied, starting to tear up. "Thank you."

Shadow looked at Sapphire's weapon at her side. "If you want, I could help you with target practice. I'm more of a firearms expert, but I think I could... help."

"I-I- Yes, I'd love that," Sapphire responded.

Shadow finished his fish, and got up. "Then I'll see you later for training. I think it's for me to go."

"Hey, can't see you soon enough, Shads. See you later!" Sonic called out. Everyone else gave their goodbyes, and Shadow then disappeared in a flash.

As Sapphire was about to continue with her sandwich, Silvia popped by her next.

"...So," Silvia coyly said. Then she whispered into her friend's ear, "you like him, don't you?"

"What!? What are you talking about?" Sapphire exclaimed.

"Shadow, of course. Your face says it all!"

"I- no-"

"Come on, admit it."

Silvia's grin was so big, that Sapphire felt like she'd just keep being pressured if she kept denying Silvia's observation, so she decided to tell the truth.

"...O-okay, I like him. B-but don't tell anyone!" Sapphire replied nervously.

Looking around, no one was paying attention, all of them in their own little conversations, and Big was playing with Froggy, Cream, and Cheese.

"Don't worry, my secret. And also, I freaking knew it! I got an eye for these things," Silvia said.

"Y-you do?" Sapphire replied. "I didn't think you were into that, you're so much like Sonic."

"I am, but I love romance. Not for me, but other people's. My brother thinks I'm too nosy."

Sapphire nervously giggled, not sure how to take that.

"But don't worry, I've got your back!" Silvia continued. "I'll help you get with Shadow!"

"I thought you weren't supposed to mess with history," Sapphire said, honestly just hoping to make Silvia drop the idea.

"What, are you saying you DON'T think you have a chance with him? Wrong! You just gotta go for it!"

Silvia raised her hand for a fist bump, and Sapphire shyly returned it. If anything, she was happy to be making such great friends.

Author's Note: I am so happy to finally be able to introduce Silvia, and integrate her into this story. I've been wanting to do this for a long time! She's one of my older OCs, so I don't even remember why I made her. Luckily, I've made an OC Profile for her a while ago, so I should just read my own profile for her. If you want to see Silva's OC Profile, you can find it (and my other OC Profiles) on my DeviantArt, where I am known as "Cobalt-Gemini".

Shame that I'm about to take a hiatus on this story, since I need a break from it. I'm uploading an explanation for this as its own chapter, next chapter, though I will remove it once it is irrelevant and I came back to this story.

And what do you think of Silver using the Time Stones to time travel? I think it makes a lot of sense, since these stones already exist in the Sonic world, through Sonic CD, and they never explain how Silver time travels post-Sonic 06.

Also, I somehow got hooked on the idea of Sonic characters using Chaos (referring to the God of Destruction we know from Adventure DX) as a sort of fake curse word. Hey, in the IDW comics, Surge actually says "Sweet Gaia Below", which I love! It's clever, and a relatively inoffensive way to have characters curse, especially as someone who doesn't like swear words, and will personally censor them if I'm writing a character known to use them, to both respect the character, while also doing it in a way that I am comfortable with. But, no censorship is needed here I think!

That's all I've got, so let's finish this up. See you guys later!