"I see… so Sonic is not the Iblis Trigger." Blaze pondered, her eyes locked on the sunset.

"He is, but not in the way we've been led to believe." Silver was laying in the grass, Cloud gazing while continuing his explanation, "you see, the princess has Iblis sealed within her soul. If she cries, that breaks the seal and releases the flames."

Blaze listened intently, her posture relaxing as she lay back into the grass beside her partner.

"Since Sonic is so close to the princess, she may have an emotional attachment to him. If something happened to him and caused his death…"

"Then the flames of disaster would be unleashed."
"Exactly."

The two lay side by side, staring at the strawberry colored sky. There was an air of uncomfortable stillness as if the truth did not free them. There were still things left inside, secrets hidden under the visibility of the mask he wore. But it wouldn't be long for it all to melt away.

"We can't continue to chase him then."

Silver looked over to his partner as she spoke.

"If we were to eliminate Sonic by any means, we would bring about the very thing we are trying to prevent." Blaze sighed, closing her eyes as she continues, "then that begs the question: what is the real way to stop the fires?"

Silver hummed in response, "I'm not sure." his eyes drifting back to the sky as he rests his hands behind his head. "But there has to be a way. We wouldn't be here if there wasn't."

/Mephiles is a liar though./
[Say what you want. I just want to fix our world.]
/And so do I. But first on my list is putting an end to that demon./

"Silver," Blaze began, sitting up as she watched the children playing around in the distance, "Do you remember when we were little?"

The hedgehog's ears perked up and he pushed himself into a sitting position, his legs crossed. "Huh?"

"I know it is a strange question given what we're talking about, but I can't stop thinking about something." The cat watched as the children played tag, chasing and laughing around the trees of Soleanna's forest. "Remember when it was my 10th birthday? You and I were fighting multiple phoenixes that set our little makeshift hut on fire. We treated it like a game of tag. I'd hit the monster, and you'd follow. It was juvenile, but it was nice." As she spoke, she saw one of the little kids fall, scraping their knee and wailing as their friend tended to them. "Then I was struck by one of their wings, and I remembered slamming into the debris that was our shelter. I heard you shout my name, then for a second, it felt like time stopped." Her amber eyes met Silver's gold ones and she smiled. "When I opened my eyes, there was something different about you."

Silver gulped as a feeling of shame and dread settled in the pit of his stomach. Did he really let himself lose control that easily? Was Venice that stronger than him? How does he even respond to this? Sure, he remembers everything up until time stopping and a little bit after that, but to know that his friend noticed this extremely sensitive change in him…

"Oh…"

"When we first met, you were a lot different than you are now. Before you think it, it isn't a bad thing." She scoots closer to her friend, her eyes looking back at the kids, "Rather, I find it interesting. As if you've become someone different one day. Someone who shares your appearance, but not your personality." She smiled faintly as the children got back up and began laughing again, running off in a different direction.

Silver looked down at the grass, unaware that he was picking at the blades as she spoke. He felt mortified but he didn't understand why. He was confused, ashamed, embarrassed, and heavy with worry. Should he tell her? Tell her that he shares a body with a different 'him'? How would you even explain that to an outsider?

"I want you to know," Blaze looked to him. She hesitated for a moment, but swallowed her nervousness and placed her hand on his, "I like who you have become as you've grown up."

The remark caught the hedgehog off guard as he swiftly turned to face her. The reassurance made him feel warm and safe as if this simple gesture and conversation was an attempt to put his insecurity at ease.

Blaze kept her soft smile present, hoping to see that naive grin wash over this anxious expression he was wearing. Anxiety never looked good on someone like Silver. She liked him how she remembers: naive and insecure, but still adamant in what he fights for. Even if he was different when they first met, they were closer than ever before now as he matured. Seeing as they only had each other, it was more than predictable.

Silver shut his eyes, took a deep breath, and sighed. With a confident smile, he held her hand and nodded.

"You've become great too, Blaze. I wouldn't want anyone else by my side in this adventure. I'm glad you stayed with me."

The cat nodded, testing her bravery as she moved closer to her friend. With slight apprehension, Blaze rests her head on his chest as the two lay back in the grass.

Silver could feel his face warm up as she leaned into him, but he didn't resist it. This was… nice. Cozy. Just them and the sky above in a world of life. He began to drift into daydreaming, wondering if this is the future they can have one day: safe and sound after the flames…

"Blaze!" Venice shouted as he ran to her side, the ashes of the monsters spreading as his boots stomped. "Are you ok?"

"Y-Yes Silver, I'm alright." The young cat stood up with his help. She adjusted her dirty cape cloak and tried to dust off the ash.

Venice made a face at the other one's name but shrugged it off. He had to get used to being called the other's name if he wanted to fit in. A tough pill to swallow, but necessary to survival.

The 12-year-old hedgehog looked around, seeing the ashen remains of their city. The sight filled him with such anger and resentment for Mephiles. He couldn't wait to end him the next time they meet.

"Silver…"
"Yes?"
"My cloak is…"

Venice looked to his friend, seeing her cloak disintegrating into nothing. It must've been singed one too many times and finally was falling away. Surprised and a little scared, he covered his eyes and turned away. As much as he hated to admit it, he was really bad at social cues unlike his other.

"I-I'm not looking, Blaze!"

The cat sighed and shook her head at her friend's blissful ignorance. He truly thought she wouldn't have clothing on under her cape? Luckily, she had on a thin-strapped tank top and a pair of white stockings. Out of all of her clothes she's thrown on while growing up in Crisis City, she always found her undergarments to be reliable and somewhat fireproof as if made specifically for the harsh environment of their world.

"Silver," she walked over to him, hands on her hips as she huffed, "I'm not naked."

Peeking through his fingers, Venice sighed with relief, feigning to wipe sweat from his brow. As if this was that big of a deal. "Thank goodness! Now uh… We should probably find you some clothes-"

"No. A new shelter first."
"What? What's wrong with our little shack?"
"It's too easily noticeable. We need to hide in a more secure location."

Venice groaned loudly as he crossed his arms, "Blaze, cmon! Our home is fine as it is! We don't need to keep moving when we get ambushed! It's just a thing that happens."

Blaze growled, her eyes darting to her friend, "So you would rather be ambushed day in and day out than find a more stable structure to call home?"

Venice looked away, rubbing his arm nervously. "I mean… I'm pretty used to it so…"

"Just because you're used to it does not make it right." The cat put her hands on her hips, looking at the shelter and pondering. "I think we should find a place up high, like a skyscraper. The more distance we put between ourselves and the flames, the harder we will be to locate."

"I see…" The hedgehog thought about what she was saying. While it made sense, he was finding a hard time understanding why the ground was such a bad place to be. After all, it was all he knew- the ground and staying put as a target. Maybe something that broke that cycle would be good for him and the other one. "When you put it that way, I have to agree with you. Maybe some distance might be good."

The two pre-teens looked at each other before nodding, now on the same page and understanding each other.

Tapping into the other one's energy, Venice began to levitate. He flew high, looking around at the vast nothingness of a landscape. There was nothing of salvaging anymore.

[Why are you using my power?]
/Because you're too incompetent to wield it./
[...]

"Silver! There!" Blaze shouted as she jumped from ledges up to a rooftop near her friend. She pointed at a skyscraper that had the top blown off, most likely due to some explosion.

[You're stealing my power, and you're calling me incompetent?!]
/It's not stealing if I'm saving our life./

With a nod, Venice tapped into more telekinesis and lifted his friend so that she was flying with him. He pulled her close with his power, making sure he didn't lose his psychic grip on her.

[A-Agh! S-Stop! It hurts!]
/Then go back to sleep! I can handle this!/
[N-No! This is MY power! You won't take it!]

The second the other one said that Venice could feel his energy draining from him. He felt tired, dizzy, and as if he was floating (mentally that is). This was bad; he was currently too high in the air to lose consciousness and couldn't risk falling and dropping Blaze at this height. He struggled, his red aura fizzling as he forced himself to keep moving.

Blaze watched her friend with worry. She knew he was pushing his limits with having to go against the pull of gravity. They were up so high, it made her whimper in fear as she tightly shut her eyes. She knew Silver could do it, but with how unstable his power was getting, it made her more and more anxious.

[GIVE. ME. BACK. MY. POWER, VENICE!]

Venice could feel the other one's hands around his throat, mentally choking him the more of his power he used. Struggling to stay awake, he flew faster. He managed to make it to the building just as his psychokinesis dissipated. He and Blaze fell onto the highest floor, skidding across the gravel from the propulsion.

Blaze stopped herself from skidding across, panting and trying to settle her frayed nerves. How she hated her acrophobia, but that was the last worry on her mind. She slowly opened her eyes, quickly sitting up when she realized where they were. They had actually made it to the building! They could finally be safe for a night!

"We made it… We made it, Silver!" She smiled, standing and turning to her friend. Her smile faded as she saw him clutching the sides of his head. "Silver?" She ran to his side.

/Damn it, Sliver! We almost died!/
[You shouldn't have used my power! I'm not here to just drain constantly!]
/Does it even matter anymore?! I'm the only one who can fix the mess our life is in!/
[Hah! Talk about some unwarranted self-importance! Why don't you give me back my body?! You've had it for too long!]
/Like hell I will!/

The two copies ran at each other, fists colliding with the glass between them. Despite not landing a physical hit, they could feel the force of the punches and kicks as they fought. This blank space that was their mental safe haven was such a warzone of uncertainty and fear. How ironic.

The hedgehog tried to stand but stumbled back, his back hitting a girder as he clutched at his head. It was throbbing with such an intense pain it felt like it was going to explode. His eyes were so tightly shut that tears began to fall. He felt someone grab him by his arms, but all he could hear was the yelling and fighting in his head.

[I hate you! Get out of my body!]
/I hate you!/
[Why didn't you just let Mephiles kill us?!]
/Why didn't you just let Mephiles use us?!/

As the two boys yelled, their fists collided with the glass barrier once more, knocking both of them back with force and draining both of them.

[O-Ow…]
/Rrgh.../

The hedgehog and mink glared at each other, fighting for being aware. Seconds passed before Venice finally closed his eyes, relinquishing consciousness to his other half.

Silver weakly opened his eyes, his vision doubled as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.

"Silver? What's wrong?" Blaze shook his arms, desperately trying to get him to focus on her.

"B-Blaze? W-Where-" he choked out before his breath caught in his throat. He turned away from his friend and managed to take half a step before falling to his hands and knees. He coughs harshly before vomiting up bile. He shuddered and whimpered as his head hammered with a migraine.

Blaze's ears lowered as she saw just how unhinged her friend was. She certainly hasn't seen him this bad in a while, but it was enough to make her worried. She sat beside him, rubbing his back with care as he struggled to regulate his breathing.

"Deep breaths in and out. You'll hyperventilate if you breathe too fast."

Silver followed her instructions, tears sliding down his cheek. Not because he was sad, but because of just how drained he was. He had no energy whatsoever, which meant if they were going to be attacked, he won't be able to fight back.

"S-sorry…" He choked out, pressing his fist to his mouth, trying to subdue the lingering nausea.

"Don't be!" Blaze caught herself being too forward and she dialed it back. "I.. I apologize if I made you push yourself." She took notice of his golden eyes and blue energy. Strange…

"No, I-it wasn't you, Blaze!" He spoke up before recoiling, holding his head as a surge of pain course through his body. "I guess I just pushed myself too far." He gave her a weak smile. "Going against the laws of motion isn't all it's caked up to be."

Blaze and Silver sat in silence for a handful of seconds, letting things around them settle after all was said and done. The clouds in the sky began to gather, slowly beginning to blot out the sun. A sign that night was on the way.

"We should find a salvageable spot inside the building. It would give us cover from the elements." The cat spoke up, looking at the clouds as she stood.

"Yeah," Silver agreed as he stood up, "I agree. The sooner we rest, the better."

"Especially for you, it isn't a good idea to be out in the open with how weak you are right now." She gave him a worried glance before taking some steps to the opening of the floor below.

He couldn't shake the feeling of shame that seemed to embrace him. He despised feeling weak or as if he couldn't protect himself or his friend. But… he was also in no mood to argue either given all that's transpired.

The two of them began to jump and climb past the debris in the room below. The building was heavily damaged, but it was the most shelter they had in months. It was better than being exposed and out in the open and would serve as a safety barrier between the harsh heat and scouting enemies outside.

"Here, three floors from the roof," Blaze started as she looked around. "No large panels of glass, just some small windows we can peek out of."

Amazed by the strange placement of objects in the room, he investigated what was still standing. Office desks, some books scattered around, papers were everywhere. What was this place?

"We may be able to hold out here for a while." Blaze sighed, sitting down on the carpet. It was a welcomed change from the asphalt and gravel they normally slept on.

"Right… That might be a good idea." He sat beside his friend, bewildered by the soft floor they were sitting on. "What is this place?"

Blaze looked around. "I'm not sure. I didn't get a good look at the name of the building before we came in. I would assume it's a meeting space?" She thought.

Silver nodded before yawning and rubbing his eyes. He laid down on the plush carpet, sighing in relief from how soft said carpet was against his bristled body. "I'm so tired."

Blaze took it upon herself to lay next to Silver, pulling her knees into a fetal position as she faced him. "We should rest before we go scavenging."

"Good idea." He turned to his friend, smiling at how peaceful she looked. "You must've been so tired, Blaze… I'm sorry we didn't agree to do this before."

"Hmm…" Admittedly, it was nice to hear him own up to his stubbornness, but she was also too exhausted to make anything of it. "All that matters is we're here and safe for the time being."

"Yeah." The hedgehog smiled at his friend before closing his eyes and giving into relaxation's temptation.

"Goodnight, Silver."
"...Rest easy, Blaze."

Morning came and went the next day. The two were chasing after Sonic, but not to ambush him as previously intended. Instead, they wanted to join forces with him and prevent the flames of disaster from being released. To do that, they would need to catch up to him and rescue her from Eggman.

From the talk around town, it was determined that Sonic was headed towards Kingdom Valley. The only way to get there is to pass the Tropical Jungle and follow the dirt path south. Prepared to make their peace, the two nodded at each other and dashed off.

"Eggman must be trying to release the flames. That has to be why he wants Elise so badly." Silver spoke, levitating alongside Blaze who ran.

She growled, "Sounds just like him."

"Do you know this guy? You speak about him as if you know him, Blaze."
"No. But I do get a strange feeling of deja vu when we chase after our target."
"I see…"

Thankfully, it did not take long to find him. He was surrounded by a circle of Eggman's mechs, all powering up and taking aim.

"Blaze!"
"On, it!"

Silver cloaked himself in his telekinesis as Blaze summoned wisps of flames. Using his power, he propelled himself in front of Sonic, landing and slamming his palm on the ground. A shockwave of psychokinesis spread out around him and locked up the mechs, sparks fizzling from their cores. A second later, flames collided with the mechs, welding the wires together and shorting out their weapons. With a grunt, Silver threw his hands up, sending the mechs back and breaking them upon impact.

Blaze took her place next to Silver before turning to face Sonic. The light gray hedgehog stood and looked to his previous enemy.

"You look like you're in a hurry, and we don't plan on stopping you." Silver spoke, watching as the cobalt hedgehog crossed his arms and gave him a wary look.

"What's going on?"
"Circumstances have changed. I need to rescue the princess."

Sonic looked to the lilac cat by his side, then paused. If they were serious about this, then why would he try to stop them? Surely if they had ill intentions, they weren't showing. He was willing to put aside their previous squabbles For a chance to save Princess Elise from that egghead.

The blue hedgehog sighed and flashed a cocky grin. Giving a thumbs up, he took a few steps ahead of them. "Alright! Try to keep up with me!"

Kingdom Valley was almost a lost oasis of Soleanna's relics. Ancient crumbling obelisks and buildings stood tall and wondrous, greeting the three adventurers with large waterfalls and swift air currents. It was beyond words in terms of beauty but was full of hostility as well.

Eggman's mechs inhabited the buildings, ready to stop the blue blur from chasing him down.

Needless to say, the mechanics were rendered to useless junk and scraps as the three fought their way through to the heart of the valley.

Sonic took notice of the mechs filing in one direction, spin dashing into them, and following the path. He was always moving forward towards his goal no matter how bleak things looked. It made Venice interested and made Silver a little envious.

Silver levitated and managed to stay at a consistent speed next to the blue hedgehog. He could feel Venice inviting towards the front of awareness as if he himself was being pulled back. Not forcefully as he had grown accustomed to, but as if they were standing side-by-side. Venice looked at Silver as if asking permission to speak.

"Sonic," Venice's voice blended with Silver's, making it impossible to distinguish, "you're always so focused on the present."

Sonic looked over at his acquaintance, his green eyes widening at the change in colors before him. He wondered what type of strange power this hedgehog had to change his energy signature and his eye color like that!

"Yeah? If we didn't focus on the here and now, we'd be stuck in primitive times." He gave him a grin.

"But focusing on the past… How do you keep it from controlling you?" Venice's eyes stared ahead of the path, "How do you continue to follow a goal even when all hope is lost? After everything that has been entered, why focus here?"

"Because the present is what influenced the future."

Venice looked at him, a little confused by what he meant.

"We can't change the past or what happened. But we can influence how the future turns out."

Sonic stared ahead, jumping from air streams before jumping off of a tree branch.

"Like that!" He slowed his top speed for Venice to catch up, "If I let my past hold me back, I would've fallen or busted my bones back there, but trial and error taught me how to avoid obstacles. Learning things in the present as I grew up helped me understand tactics for the future when I pulled off risky stunts."

"I see…" Venice thought for a moment, retreating into his mind with Silver as he let him have control.

"You can't go back in time and stop yourself from trying to kill me." Sonic noticed the aura and eye colors return to what he was used to and smirked.

Silver looked down, still feeling guilty for what he had done.

"Whatever the circumstances are for what you did or what you're doing now doesn't matter. What matters is how you plan to handle yourself now and let it lead into the future."

/He's insightful… I can't believe you almost killed him./
[Yeah I get it.]

"You know, you remind me of my pal Shadow." He chuckled. "He used to let many things bother him, and he went a long time trying to understand his past." Sonic gave a melancholic smile as he reminisced on the painful memories. "We were enemies for a long time. Then one day, that changed when he decided to move on from his trauma."

"His… trauma?"
"Yeah. It changed him for the worst for a long time."
"...Oh."

He skids to a stop atop a cliff edge, keeping an eye on the sky as he continued, "he's come a long way since then."

Silver and Blaze stopped a few inches behind Sonic, listening to what he had to say. They kept their eyes on him as he continued speaking.

"The difference between you and Shadow is obvious." Sonic looked back at Silver, closing his eyes as he spoke his mind, "You tend to feel a stronger sense of empathy. You want to do the right things no matter who gets in your way. If someone does, you try to stop them." He opens his eyes and chuckles before putting his hand on his hips. "You saved my life when I was surrounded when you could've ended me had your reasons not changed. You didn't, and that says a lot about you."

Silver gave a faint grin and nodded, appreciating and outsider's views on his not-so-righteous actions.

"What I'm saying is that the present, this moment right now, this is what matters. From here onwards shapes our future."
"You… You're right. Thank you, Sonic."

Sonic gave a thumbs up in reply.

This tender moment did not last long though. A deafening explosion was heard in the sky, far out of their field of vision. The trio immediately looked to the sky, seeing smoke start to fly in and flames began flying in. Not long after came a burning ship- Eggman's.

Sonic's eyes widened as he ran towards the very edge of the cliff. He held his hand out as he shouted, "ELISE!"

The flaming aircraft began to fall towards an island in the distance, fire engulfing the craft before it combusted on impact with the earth.

Grief-stricken, Sonic fell to his knees, unable to take his eyes off of the tragedy. He was too late and too far away to reach Elise. He was too slow… and it broke him. Life was gone, a princess who was supposed to lead her people. And it was his fault that she was dead. He slammed his fist into the ground, growling at himself as guilt started seeping into his chest.

Blaze and Silver looked away, their expressions falling to one of disbelief.

"The princess, she's…"
"She can't be… She can't be dead!"
"Silver, our world isn't going to change."

The ivory hedgehog paused, remembering what Sonic had said to him about living in the present and influencing the future.

/You can't go back and change the past, everything is predetermined./
[Maybe not the past, but we can change this instance. It isn't too late, is it?]
/… Wait a second..!/

Venice pulled his other half aside, taking full control once more. He approached Sonic, putting a hand on his back as he reached behind his quills and pulled out the white chaos emerald. "Hope isn't lost."

Sonic slowly looked to his strange-colored ally, wondering what he meant. His eyes fell to the chaos emerald.

"Remember, you said you can influence the present to change the future. We can use Chaos Control and go back to an earlier point in time and influence her outcome!"

Sonic's expression turned from mourning to hopefully and wide-eyed. He took a glance at the flames on the island before standing and grabbing his turquoise emerald. "I understand."

"We have to try." Blaze added in, taking a step forward as she watched the two hedgehogs face off.

The two of them nodded and held their chaos emeralds up as they shouted, "Chaos Control!"

Just like last time, a space-time right split between them and swirled with chaos energy. Sonic jumped to the front before turning and tossing the turquoise emerald at Venice who caught it.

"I can handle what's next. Besides, you've got somewhere to be, right?" He gave a smile to his ally before raising his fist, "I'll make sure to change Elise's fate. And that in turn should save your future as well."

Venice nodded as he smiled, more determined than ever before. "Right, just go save her. We can handle the rest." He looked back to Blaze who shared a smile and took a step beside her friend.

"Thank you, Silver and Blaze!" Sonic gave them a thumbs up before disappearing into the portal.

Blaze and Venice looked to one another as if asking each other if they were ready. Nodding, they took a step back, focused on Crisis City, and jumped through.

As the duo landed, they immediately felt the pressure of the heavy atmosphere and the heat of their world. It was the same before they left, smokey and oppressive with no other life in sight.

"Now I know how to change our world," Venice started, putting the emeralds away in his quills, "we don't have to change the past. I'm sure of it."

"So you have a plan?" Blaze asked as she crossed her arms, interested in the seriousness of his nature. "If that's so, then we must hurry. I sense his flames."

"Right."
"But…"
"Huh?"

Blaze began to walk ahead of her friend before giving him an incredulous look. "I need to talk to you about something, Venice."