Mephiles: This is just a quick note to clear up some obvious confusion that this fic might entail. First of all in Sonic 06 at the end time is altered by the removal of Solaris. Because of this Silver never grew up in a world destroyed by Iblis and never knew Blaze. This continuity follows up after the events of Sonic Rivals and Silver has now pursued Eggman Nega to a unspecified location of space.
Chapter 1: Side-Tracked
Silver's sensitive head-spines swayed gently in the breeze, picking up subtle details, like moisture in the air, or wind speed and translating it straight to his conscious. He took a deep, slow breath, exhaling calmly as he opened his large golden eyes.
He slowly rose from the rocky perch he had used to meditate. Surveying his surroundings with well-trained eyes, as he sniffed the air for any familiar scents. 'Nothing' he thought to himself glumly. 'Absolutely nothing' Silver lashed out with his foot in frustration, kicking up the ground and soil before him and sending tiny rocks hurtling through the field.
The field itself was about as beautiful and serene as you could possibly want. A tranquil meadow of emerald green grass, which swayed slowly back and forth like waves on the ocean. A sparkling azure sky hung above with not a cloud in sight to mar its perfection.
Silver gazed longingly at the paradise around him, his heart aching to stop and rest. 'Just a short stop, yes, it couldn't possibly hurt…' He thought to himself as he felt the cold wind ruffle his coarse white, namesake fur.
'No! I cannot allow myself to be side-tracked' He mentally chided himself, forcing his body to lurch onwards as he kept his gaze fixed before him, blotting out the tempting field around him. 'I've already lost to much time as it is, I've got to find Eggman Nega' He reminded himself over and over again, chanting it like a mantra.
Unfortunately for him he also managed to blot out the small stream directly below of him.
"Aaagh…" Silver blurted as his foot caught on a sturdy rock and he suddenly found the stream rushing up to meet his face.
SPLASH! Silver thrashed around momentarily, sending crystal clear water soaring all around him. He grunted in annoyance at his own lack of attention as he levered himself up with his front hands. As Silver lifted his head from out of the water he found himself staring into his own reflection.
Golden eyes surveyed equally surprised golden eyes as Silver stared back at his mirror image. He hesitated, temporarily halting in standing up, as he stared down at his image. He hadn't changed much, at least not on the outside; he was still albino and still a Hedgehog. However he had taken to wearing a tight, dark leather suit equipped with all types of utilities necessary for what his missions entailed.
The practical suit was easy to don, easy to wash and afforded maximum protection for minimum restriction of movement. He had taken to wearing it ever since…
'Blue Hedgehog?' Silver shook his head violently, futilely trying to dispel familiar images from his mind.
'Get a grip Silver, day dreaming is exactly why Nega keeps getting away you have to focus, don't get side-tracked' He reminded himself curtly. He took one last look at the now messy puddle beneath him before setting off towards the dusk horizon.
The little girl examined him critically from her vantage point atop a rocky outcropping. She had been watching for some time now as he blustered around in circles, obviously lost beyond all rational belief. She had remained hidden from his sight by skillfully hiding herself atop a rocky crescent behind which the sun was setting. As it slowly lowered down, daylight giving into moonlight, the glare though, beautiful, blinded anyone looking straight at it.
Her form was but a thin silhouette against the bright glow.
'That's familiar' she thought to herself as he began to approach the outcropping. The Silver Hedgehog was of small proportions and didn't appear so frightening at a glance, at least his physical form alone wasn't. Further examination revealed that he was obviously not a Hedgehog to be crossed. A dangerous light glimmered in his eyes and his walk bespoke of a clear confidence in his abilities. His head was disproportionately large and boasted an intriguing half-star set of spines, which swayed back and forth as he walked. His entire body was covered in a professional, albeit foreboding, suit of dark leather, which hid almost his entire body from observation. Leaving only a few small patches of his albino fur to clash with his apparel.
The suit left no question as to what his job was and the girl heaved a sad sigh at his apathetic approach, trampling beautiful flowers and bugs indiscriminately under foot, whilst completely ignoring the Glade around him. 'Not exactly how I remember him, but I knew some things would of changed, he couldn't of stayed exactly the same' She thought to herself, disappointed by the Hedgehog's harsh and dispassionate countenance.
'Still, he was her Silver and she had been waiting far to long to deliver this message'She continued to herself, reinforcing her resolve. She smiled gently and began to walk towards the Hedgehog.
Silver walked onwards with his head bowed, paying attention to the path his feet were taking, so as to avoid another embarrassing mishap like what had happened at the stream. Despite this he found his usually focused mind constantly wandering back and forth between memories and dreams. Like watching a badly tuned television, flashes of people and places constantly interrupted his thoughts, though he was certain he had never seen before.
Silver shook his head vigorously, wishing with all his might he could just forget the sordid affair. As if his own mind was out to betray him, an unfamiliar face suddenly flashed through the recesses of his mind. It wasn't so much a problem that he kept seeing things, all his time spent alone hunting for Eggman Nega had caused him to long ago come to doubt his mental stability. No, the thing that scared him most about these visions was that they didn't seem like random facets of his broken mind trying to communicate to him on a deeper psychological level, no they seemed more like, well…
"Memories," he murmured to himself quietly
The entire event had happened not so long ago, at least in one sense, in another sense it had happened several hundred years ago. Either way it still confused Silver to no end. He had long ago stopped trying to figure out how time travel worked.
Anyway, the fact of the matter was that he had pursued his quarry to the distant past, or at least a distant past, only to lose Nega's trail. Eventually he had only managed to discover and defeat Nega with…Help. Much to his chagrin.
The help had come in the form of a cocky Blue Hedgehog and what appeared to be his morbid and somber doppelganger. The entire trip had been far to disturbing for Silver's taste, and that was okay. He did deal with Nega and his psychotic schemes on an almost regular basis so he was used to it.
What disturbed him wasn't Nega, it was…
'Blue Hedgehog? Why did he seem so familiar?' Like an itch where he just couldn't reach, memories and experiences he had no recollection of seemed to lurk, tantalizing him as they held the answers to his crisis, dangling it just beyond his reach. Like a flood it threatened to overwhelm his every dream with a lifetime he remembered but knew he didn't live.
'Every day I fight my enemies and win, yet every night I fight for my identity and lose to myself' Silver quirked his lip, at allowing himself such a, albeit slight, poetic introspection into his own mind. 'If only he could remember then maybe…'"Excuse me, excuse me?" Silver jerked, turning roughly at the unexpected touch. Allowing his telekinesis to flare around him as he prepared to engage his assailant.
The little girl examined the Hedgehog glowing with teal flames with barely suppressed wonder. Then she smiled. "Your funny" She giggled to herself as she walked up to him, disarming him with the most innocent smile he had ever seen, and probably ever would see.
"Ummm, Okay" He said awkwardly, closely examining his little guest. The girl was small, probably six or seven. In shape she resembled an anthromorphic cat of some sort, covered in a lightish pink fur with a red spot on her forehead. Her hair was tied up into a knot on her forehead.
"Can I Help?" Silver queried, hoping to break the awkward silence, which seemed to of settled between the two. The girl seemed unphased by the situation and instantly adopted a thoughtful expression, appearing to dig through her mind for something hidden.
'This might take a while' Silver thought to himself as he took a long and exasperated breath. The girl's eyes lit up like light bulbs, their radiance flashing over the entire area momentarily.
"You could walk me home!" she squealed attaching herself to his arm as she giggled happily to herself.
"What!" he yelled, in outrage shaking his arm furiously, but to no avail, the girl appeared to have merged herself to his arm. Silver groaned in frustration.
'I don't have time for this' He reminded himself. Silver looked down at the girl, she stared up at him with the most pathetic little pout he had, and ever would see.
"Alright let's go" He consented, resigning to his fate. The girl smiled.
"Your still so naive" she said with a slight smirk
"What?" Silver asked in alarm. The girl merely hummed, trailing ahead of him. Silver stared in a mixture of shock and a strange, yet unsettling feeling of…
Familiarity.
'One way or the other it looks like today I'm going to be sidetracked' He thought to himself
The End... For now!
Mephiles: Please drop a review and some critical criticism is always appreciated, thanks for reading and i hope you enjoyed it. I'll try to put the next chapter as fast as I can