A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. School life, Family life, life on and then life in a band collided and the outcome was…unsavory. I might be a while before I update again. Thanks to Crazy Muffin Assassin and to Lord Kelvin for editorial assistance and insightful reviewing, respectively.

Silver's POV

I lay in bed next to Blaze, contemplating all that had happened. First, Mephiles came after Sky. Then, Shadow. Who's next? Me? Blaze? And why is he collecting the chaos emeralds? So many questions, so few answers. I haven't been getting much sleep lately. It's three in the morning and I haven't gotten a wink of sleep. I've been too busy worrying. Not about Shadow, I know he'll be fine. I'm more worried about Rouge and Charmy. Rouge looked like she was on the verge of breaking down and Charmy, who is normally bouncing off the walls, was quiet. And if that wasn't enough, my birthday is coming up in a couple days. On March twenty-seventh, Sky and I will turn eighteen. Today's the twenty-fifth, so they're still two days until then. There are still preparations that need to be arranged for the wedding.

Shadow's POV

I hate Crisis City. The whole place is filled with noise. Not the kind of noise you'd expect in any normal metropolis, but the creaking and groaning of iron beams, encouraging you to worry about whether or not the whole thing is going to collapse on top of you. Naturally, I didn't catch a wink of sleep. Early the next morning, or at least, I think it was morning, while Sky was sleeping, I heard Silver and Blaze talking amongst themselves.

"C'mon Blaze, we have to go while they're still sleeping" Silver whispered. I could see their dimly lit figures moving about.

"Are you sure it's a good idea? I don't trust him. He seems double-binding" Blaze whispered back.

"Blaze, it's the only way to save the future. We made a pact to do whatever it takes, and he says he knows what to do" she reluctantly agreed, and silently sneaking out. A light bulb went off in my head. If the pair of them were sneaking off to "save the future" then time travel is involved. And here in Crisis City, I'm guessing no one really knows how to use the chaos emeralds, let alone have enough for a jump through time of the magnitude to get to the Day of Disaster. Who else can travel effortlessly through time? Mephiles. Not only that, but if I time this correctly, I might be able to retrieve the chaos emeralds. I'll have to be sneaky. I really don't want another confrontation with Mephiles unless absolutely necessary. I followed them out into the ruin of the former city. I wonder how Sky would react to this. How would she react to her brother and his best friend disappearing without a trace, abandoning her in Crisis City? I shook my head to dispel these thoughts. If I get distracted, I might lose Silver's trail.

Silver and Blaze had taken off running. I almost lost them. I had to follow through an intricate maze of streets and alleys. How do they do this? About halfway through, I tripped, narrowly avoiding sharp, rusted metal. Is it really necessary for them to take the most dangerous and treacherous path to get to their destination? Why can't Silver just fly them over and avoid possible injury? Of course, now that I bring it up, that's more or less what Silver does. To span the gap between two buildings Silver creates a makeshift bridge of rubble. Silver and Blaze crossed the bridge without a second thought, I, however, know how careless Silver can sometimes be, so I was less than enthusiastic to trust his craftsmanship. Silver and Blaze had already started down the side of the fallen building, so I guess I have no choice. I lightly set one foot on the structure to make sure it was sturdy. It was. But when I started to run across it, it started to break apart. Running out of options, I jumped. My hand caught the edge of the next building over. Agonizingly slowly, I pulled myself up. The dynamic duo were already three buildings away by now. When I get back, the first thing I'm going to do is slap Silver. Silver and Blaze came to a stop at another run down building. Great, more decrepit buildings. The building wasn't quite as ruined as the others. What makes this building so special? With militaristic stealth, I crept along the edge of the structure, inching towards the door. Inside, Silver and Blaze were conversing with a third voice. Mephiles, no doubt. They mentioned something about the day of destruction, Iblis trigger, and a blue hedgehog. Of course. Mephiles can't just go and kill Faker himself. I groaned.

"Wait, I think I heard something!" Blaze voice called out.

"What? Where?" Silver asked, momentarily losing his composure. "Is it Sky? Did she find us?"

"It's nothing to worry about" Mephiles assured them. "I'll take care of it later"

"If you're sure… Well, see you in the past" from that point, I assume Mephiles sent Silver and Blaze to the past. Now's my chance. On the count of three.

One…

Two…

Back in the past…

Blaze's POV

"Ok, so, we have the priest, the flowers, the band, the location, and the food. All we need now are the clothes and the date"

"Ok" Silver said. "So, we'll meet the others at the mall to get fitted, right?"

"Exactly" I said.

"Right, we should probably leave soon" the mall wasn't that far from here. Our house is right on the outskirts of Station Square. A quick run should be sufficient to get there. We left within ten minutes. From there we ran alongside each other into the city. The city was huge. There were more people here than I've ever seen anywhere else. At the mall, there was a veritable sea of cars; at least 1000 were parked outside. We agreed that we would all meet inside, just past the entrance. Sure enough, when we walked into the huge structure known as the mall, they were all there. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Marine, Rouge, and the Chaotix. Sky was already here too. She went early because she couldn't bear the thought of spending any more time near me than absolutely necessary, but I'm not complaining. She was standing next to Tails on the far side, away from the others. If she gets anymore anti-social, I might mistake her for Shadow.

Silver's POV

"Ok, guys, this is the part where we split up. Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and the Chaotix, you guys are coming with me. Everyone else will be going with Blaze" Sky immediately groaned. I sighed. This seems to be happening a lot.

"See you when you get back" Blaze said in my ear, kissing my cheek.

"I can hardly wait" I replied affectionately. We went our separate ways. Blaze and the girls went off the left, almost dragging Sky. The guys and I went in the opposite direction, gazing longingly after them. After walking past a couple of stores, we came to one that sells suites. Upon walking in, we were greeted by a competent looking gentleman.

"Hello, sirs, my name is Howard, how are you all doing today?" he asked. He appeared to be a raccoon, or something like that. He had tawny coloured fur and a darker patch encircling his eyes.

"We're fine, thanks," I answered. "Could we possibly rent tuxedos?"

"Of course, sir. What, may I ask, is the occasion?"

"Wedding" I responded simply. His eyes lit up. Strange. I couldn't tell quite what colour they were. They changed with the light. At one angle they looked green, at another blue.

"Excellent. Come right this way" he walked off, motioning for us to follow. We weaved in between racks of clothing and other customers. "Here we are," he said, stopping abruptly. "So, how many do you need?"

"Seven" I responded. That means one for Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, Tails, Espio, Charmy, and me. Vector had decided to wait outside, as he was not needed.

"My math might be a bit rusty, but they're only six of you" Howard said, slightly confused. Crap, that's right. Shadow's still not here.

"Our friend is indisposed" Sonic stepped in.

"That's too bad. Ok, just tell me what size you need and then you can try them on. If they're to you're liking, good. If not, you can try something else," we all informed him of our sizes (or tried to, as none of us wear clothes on a regular basis). It was like that music montage scene in the warehouse in Big Fat Liar when Jason and Kaylee were trying on all the costumes. It actually turned out pretty well. Mine fit perfectly. Sonic said his was horrible, but that's just him hating clothes. Knuckles' tux looked a bit too big, so he had to try again. Tails was having difficulty putting the pants on with his tails. Espio was neutral about the whole thing. Charmy was excited, despite his previous silence due to Shadow's absence. For a while, I almost didn't notice him. Now, he was bouncing up and down, giggling, and making a racket in general. We got a second suit in Sonic's size because he and Shadow about the same height. Finally, when we were all situated, we paid the raccoon at the register and left with our purchases in plastic bags. We met up with Vector outside, who was just listening to his headphones. I don't mind clothes, but I don't want to have to wear them everyday. I wonder how the girls are doing so far.

Blaze's POV

This is getting nowhere fast. I've tried on at least twenty dresses, but none of them feel natural. They're all overly eccentric and gaudy. We'd already decided on what the bride's maids would wear. They were going to wear lilac coloured strapless dresses with off white pumps. They had already gotten their dresses, and now we were waiting on me.

"How's this one?" Rouge asked, holding up another dress. It looked promising. It was strapless, had almost no back, and had a rose pattern near the left shoulder. But when I tried it on, it just didn't feel right. It felt kind of itchy and just weird. When I told her as much, she started to get annoyed. Thankfully, Amy and Cream were understanding. Marine was keeping Sky company, who was standing outside, talking. One last dress. That's all I'm gonna do for today. This dress was plain white. It had straps, but no back. I walked into the changing booth and slipped it on. This one was different. It felt good to wear. It wasn't uncomfortable or intrusive. This is the one. Perfect, now we can get out of here.

Sky's POV

"Where do you suppose Shadow is now?" I asked absentmindedly. No matter what I tried to do, my thoughts always drifted back to Shadow.

"I dunno, mate" Marine replied. "Probably somewhere bad" the though that Shadow was in danger made me feel even worse. I already figured he was, but if other people are coming to the same conclusion, then it can't be a good sign.

"I don't know him very well, but Miles thinks pretty highly of him" Miles? She must mean Tails. Wow, I just figured Tails was scared of Shadow. "And why do you care so much about Shady anyway? Are you two an item?"

"What? N-no…" I stammered unconvincingly. My flushed face sold me out. Once again, I was reminded of our almost-kiss and how close we were to kissing. I longed to be that close to him again.

"Don't worry, I won't tell no one," the raccoon said, winking at me. I sighed. Why me?

Shadow's POV

Three! I rushed inside the building just as Silver and Blaze disappeared through the portal. There was the portal, but no sign of Mephiles. Along one wall was a rather large computer with files on the Day of Disaster; the day when Faker screwed up and got himself killed and Mephiles combined with Iblis to destroy everything. Hey, Vector, I found the computer room! Oh, well, so I didn't get the chaos emeralds back from Mephiles. At least I get to go home.

"Shadow, fancy meeting you here" I nearly jumped out of my fur.

"Mephiles" I growled, striking an offensive stance.

"Calm down, Shadow; we don't need to fight. We're both quite alike, actually" he raised his hands defensively, to show he meant no harm. His voice had a strange melodic texture to it, like he was trying to impose his will upon me through hypnotic suggestion. Well, I've got bad news for him; it's not going to work.

"Save it. I don't want to hear it"

"We both hurt people"

"I used to hurt people," I admitted. "But now I only hurt creeps like you"

"Then what about Sky?" my blood froze when he said her name. His voice was so full of mock sympathy, that it made me want to puke. My shock made him smile, or would have, had he had a mouth. He was so close to getting beaten.

"You told her you'd be fine. You've been gone for days now. She's been crying for those days and can't do much more than lay in bed. You lied to her. Not a very good way to start a relationship, if you ask me" an evil glint made itself visible in his eye. His voice became progressively more malicious. "Maybe I'll go comfort her" that crosses the line.

I punched him right in the nose with every intention of breaking it. It felt satisfying to feel my fist collide with his face. He reeled back, holding his nose and shouting in surprise. I continued my assault. Two more punches and a kick to the gut. The last kick sent him flying into a pile of rubble, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"If you go anywhere near Sky, so help me, I will destroy you" Through the cloud shot a blast of purple energy. I had to bend over backwards to avoid it altercating with my face. The first blast was followed by several more. Using my natural agility I weaved my way through the volley of purple energy. As I was jumped out of the way of one, another glanced my shoulder. The force of it spun me around and knocked me to the ground. I looked over at my shoulder. The uniform was torn at the shoulder and now I was bleeding. But I was just getting started. Unfortunately, so was Mephiles.

"I thought you didn't care about anything. Perhaps I was wrong, hmm, Shadow? Do you care about her?" He walked over to me with an amused looking expression. I quickly got back up to my feet. I punched at him again. Before the blow could land. He grabbed my wrist and spun me around. We broke apart, and his claws sliced up the glove on my left hand. His claws caught on my inhibitor ring with a metallic click, and jerked my whole body forward. I raised my free hand to swing at him again. This time, my fist passed right through him. His foot slammed into my chest, and it was my turn to smash into a pile of debris. I stood again, expelling all the dust from my lungs. Mephiles just stood looking at me, probably planning my downfall. I tensed in preparation for another attack. Instead of fighting back, he laughed and disappeared into the shadows. Coward. Next, I noticed that the time portal was closing, I had maybe seconds before it closes and I have to find an alternate mode of transportation. I ran and jumped, sailing through the air. I sunk through the portal effortlessly.

I've tried a great many times to describe what it's like to travel through time, but it's so far fetched that I can't quite put my finger on it. It was like being in a giant panorama room, but instead of one picture, there are thousands, like a cross between the intersect computer room and the levels from Super Mario 64. There were scenes from the past, and scenes I guessed must be from the future, but so far as I could tell, none from my time. Damn it, I'm never gonna get home at this rate. Of course I have no idea what "this rate" is, because time is apparently indistinguishable while traveling through it. After what seemed like hours of scouring the pictures for any recognizable detail, I found one from my time. I did my best to maneuver in the time flow; there was no gravity. With effort, I flailed my way to the past.

I was dumped into the ruins of the military base I was guarding earlier. I staggered and fell on my side. Mephiles really did a number on this place after I left. There were G.U.N. troops all around, cleaning up the wreckage. Obviously surprised by my entrance, they padded over to me cautiously, with guns raised.

"Identify yourself!" one of them commanded. Is that really necessary? Identify yourself? Really, how many black and red hedgehogs do you know that work for the U.S. government? Regardless, it's better not to argue.

"Lance Corporal Shadow" I mumbled, slightly dazed from time travel.

"Lower your weapons" the same officer yelled. The other soldiers averted the barrels of their various weapons away from me. Then, via a radio strapped to his shoulder, he called in medical transport, presumably for me.

"Private, what's the date?" I inquired, standing up and brushing off the tattered remains of my uniform.

"Today is the twenty-fifth of March, sir" I left on the twenty-third. Mephiles was right. I suddenly felt uncomfortably hot. Guilt, maybe?

"Oh, god" I whispered. I must have caused a great deal of grief if I really had been gone for two days. I stood up shakily and started to walk off.

"Where do you think you're going?" another soldier demanded.

"I'm going to tell my friends that I'm all right" I replied coldly.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I can't let you go without medical treatment," he said, blocking my path. I grabbed the front of his uniform and yanked him roughly down to eye level.

"Private, I out-rank you, and you think you can tell me what to do?" I hissed. "You will get out of my way before I rip your head off" and I shoved him for good measure. The now terrified soldier just nodded as he got up and scurried out of my way. The others didn't want to interfere for fear that such a thing would incur my wrath. I ran off with a rather wobbly start. My eyelids felt like lead; my feet weren't much better. Well, my skates were actually made of metal. I hadn't realized quite how tired I was before now. I haven't been this tired since I fell off the ARK. Then, something caught my eye. The inhibitor ring was missing from my one wrist. Damn, I must have lost it in the scuffle with Mephiles. Not only that, but I was soaking in blood, my own, I assumed. I felt my energy spilling out of me like water down a shower drain. I always carry a spare inhibitor ring with me, but there are so many damn pockets in this uniform, I can't very well be sure where the hell it is. I could barely see Silver's house in the distance. The edges of my field of vision were starting to fade. As fast as my body would allow, I felt my way around the multitude of pockets. The right side of my body was starting to go numb. I stumbled and fell, a mere five yards from the door. Damn. How long will it be before they notice me? Then my vision went black, cutting me off from the world.

A/N: Oh, no! Shadow's injured! Silver and the others currently are away. How long will it be before they find him? If you have any ideas on what should happen next, they would be greatly appreciated.