A/N: I'm going to warn you right now; there's gonna be a fair amount of swearing in this chapter. Thank you, Crazy Muffin Assassin, for editing and proofreading.
Silver's POV
The morning went something like this: I woke up, and instead of finding Blaze there, I found my soon to be Father-in-law sitting on the corner of the bed. After getting over the initial shock, he informed me about a certain wedding tradition that says it's bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony. From there, we met up with the other guys and headed down to the beach, where we set up the alter, folding chairs for the guests, and electricity for the band.
While Blaze was off with her mother and her brides' maids, I was at Tails' place. The wedding is at three and you're supposed to be there by two-thirty; we were ready by twelve-forty five. We decided to wait at Tails' house, as it was not far from Seaside Hill. While the others were talking, I took the time to daydream; to picture my future and remember my past, and stuff like that.
It seems just like yesterday I met Blaze.
It was just one of those days when I would fly around Crisis city, looking for some way to successfully defeat Iblis. Even when I was young, maybe Tails' age, I fought Iblis. I was flying low, next to another ruined building when I heard a noise other than the usual burning and crumbling of the ruined city. It almost sounded like… crying.
A soft whimpering sound wafted through the rubble of a once tall skyscraper.
"Hello? Are you ok?" I called out, landing and searching for the person in question. The only response was more sobbing.
At this point in time, my psychic powers were relatively weak, so I had to rely on manual exertion. Frantically, I started digging through the rubble on the assumption that the person under it was hurt.
"Where are you?" I shouted again.
"L-leave me alone!" a voice said, in between sobs. "It's not my fault!"
"I only…want…to help," I grunted as I shoved heavy slabs of concrete aside. Crouched in a corner was a girl, a purple kitten, no older than me. Her dress was tattered. Her stockings were run. She was covered in scrapes, scratches and bruises, like she'd been beaten.
"It's not my fault!" she repeated, crying harder and shielding her face. "Please, don't hurt me!"
"I don't want to hurt you," I said quietly, holding my hands up. I took a slow step towards her. When she saw me move, she jumped up and ran away.
"No, wait!" but she had already run out. I started to run after her, only to find that she was faster than me. I could only watch as she darted around the corner of a building. When I heard her scream, I ran even faster. She needed my help.
Without thinking, I shot around the corner. There were four other aggressive looking mobians walking towards her, forcing her into a corner.
When she bolted to the side, the one on the far left grabbed her arm and yanked her back.
"You're not getting away that easily," the apparent leader said as the other two restrained her further.
"Let me go! I didn't do anything!" she pleaded.
"Didn't do anything? Didn't do anything?" he shouted. "It's your fault that monster is here, you damn fire cat! You brought it here!" He punched her and she started crying again.
"But on the other hand, if we kill you," he said, while pulling out a small knife. "The monster will go away too"
Her beautiful golden eyes widened with fear as the dirty metal blade worked its way under her chin. I have to help her; I can't let those jerks kill her.
"Leave her alone!" I yelled, running over to the others. When they didn't listen to me, I hurled a rock at the leader. The rock hit his mark, and his attention turned to me.
"That's it. You're dead," he pulled the knife away from the cat's throat and walked over to me.
"No!" the cat-girl screamed. "Don't hurt him! It's me you want!"
"He should have thought of that before he threw that rock," the tiger snarled. I put up my hands and prepared to get my ass kicked. He kicked out my legs and I fell on my back. He flipped the knife so he was holding it backhanded and brought it down on my gut.
At the last second, I stopped the knife with my psychic powers. The knife didn't puncture, so my attacker tried again, only to be stopped once more.
"W-what are you?" he stammered, dropping the knife and backing away.
"Your worst nightmare," I thrust out my hands and sent the tiger flying across the street. As soon as he got back to his feet, he took off, promptly followed by the other three. I walked over to the girl to see if she was hurt too badly.
"Are you all right?" I asked extending my hand to help her get up. She hesitantly took it. She winced when her left foot touched the ground. I took her arm and wrapped it around my neck to support her.
"I-I am now. T-thank you for saving me" she stuttered.
"I'm Silver. What's your name?"
"Blaze" she said quietly.
"Do you have anywhere to stay?"
They weren't exactly good times, but they were certainly memorable ones.
"Silver!" Sonic hollered. "Stop daydreaming; its time to get you married!" I wasn't sure quite how to respond to that, so I just nodded. The eight of us headed down to the beach.
The priest was standing at the alter, there was a few rows of folding chairs scattered about, and a stack of guitar amplifiers with a cherry red Fender Telecaster leaning up against it. The sky was clear blue and the water was clear. The sun was shining and the sand was soft and silky.
Blaze's parents, Marine and Cream were already here as well. The band was nowhere to be seen. Neither was the bridal party. Knowing Blaze and the others, they'll be here on time. Knowing Joseph and company, they'll get here by the skin of their teeth.
Worried and increasingly nervous, I glanced at my watch. Two forty-three. Only about left fifteen minutes until I'm married. Then there's the reception tonight, and Blaze and I'll be in Ireland by tomorrow.
Right behind me, someone said, "You seem tense. Need some advice?" I jumped and whipped around. It was Joseph.
"You jackass! You scared the crap outta me! Don't do that," I rambled.
"I'll take that as I yes," the black fox replied, casually cleaning his sunglasses with his tee shirt. "Relax."
I listened attentively for the rest of his advice. When it didn't come, I spoke up. "That's it?"
He put his sunglasses back on. "What, ya thought I had a speech prepared fer this or somethin'? Look, Blazes loves ya, so relax. If she didn't, she wouldn't be here,"
"She's here?" I asked, looking around for her.
Joseph rolled his eyes. "My bad. She ain't here, but she is over that next rise scared outta her wits,"
"She's…" I trailed off.
"Yea, we saw her on the way here, an' she's as nervous as you, so relax. Gotta go; I'll talk ta ya later, after yer hitched," He turned and walked over to the amplifier to help Angus reach the knobs at the top of it.
Finally it was time. I was standing at the alter, next to the priest with my hands behind my back. First, Sonic walked up the aisle in his tuxedo and stood next to me. Then, Sky walked down the aisle and stood on the other side of the alter.
The bridesmaids and groomsmen walked to the alter in pairs. Shadow and Amy walked down, followed by Knuckles in Rouge. Charmy came next, carrying a pillow with two rings resting on it. Last, but not least, was Cream, who dropped rose petals behind her.
Finally, Angus started playing the wedding march, adding the occasional pinch harmonic and bend to the end of the arpeggio.
Blaze, with her father holding her hand, walked down the aisle. Although she tried not to show it, and the veil certainly helped, she was clearly as nervous as I was.
Oh, God, she looks beautiful. She was wearing a plain white dress. The veil she was wearing obscured her facial features slightly. She was smiling that beautiful smile; the one that makes me go weak at the knees. She was carrying a bouquet of lilacs and purple roses. She arrived at the alter and stopped.
Angus finished playing the wedding march and the priest began to speak. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered her today to join these two lovers, Silver in Blaze, in the eternal light of holy matrimony. If anyone has any reason why these two should not be married, speak now, or forever hold your peace."
Nothing. Not so much as a cricket. The only things I could hear were the sounds of my heart and waves lapping on the beach.
"Well, now that that's-"
"These two aren't going to be married," an eerie, dark voice said. "Because they're going to die right now," Everyone, including Blaze and myself, looked around for the source of the voice, even though we had a pretty decent guess as to whom it was.
Shadow was the first to react. "Come out in the open, you bastard so we can kill you and get on with the wedding!"
"Simmer down, Shadow," Mephiles crooned. The sky became dark and thick clouds covered up the sun. An enervating mist rolled in off of the sea. Out of the mist, Mephiles' figure emerged, like Death out of Hell's Bells. He sauntered down the aisle as if he belonged. I stepped in front of Blaze and held out my arms in a defensive manner.
He almost made it to the end of the aisle before anyone challenged him. Blaze's father stood up and drew his sword, pointing it at Mephiles' throat. "You will not lay a hand on my daughter, nor will you touch my son-in-law,"
"Get out of my way, old man, or I'll kill you too. Believe me, I won't lose a wink of sleep over it,"
"I will not sacrifice my family for my own well-being. En gardé, demon." Mephiles swiped his claws at my soon to be father-in-law's face. As fast as lighting, Blaze's dad blocked the attack and took the offensive.
Strike, parry, strike, parry. That's how it went until, claws on rapier, Blaze's dad tripped over the quarter-inch cable connecting Angus' guitar to the amp. The cord caught his foot and he fell on his face, dropping his sword in the process. Mephiles lunged and stabbed the sandy ground where the old cat had been only a second ago. For an old guy, he can really move.
"Oi! Why don't ya pick on someone yer own size, ya fucker?" Angus shouted. He held his Telecaster by the neck and swung it like a six-stringed mace. The cherry red guitar struck Mephiles in the side and knocked him over. Angus swung again, but Mephiles grabbed it and yanked it away. With an evil look in his eyes, he picked Angus up by his collar.
"What were you saying about picking on someone your own size?"
Angus scowled at him and spat in his face. "Bite me."
"Why you-" But before Mephiles could do anything, a loud bang, a gunshot, interrupted him. Everyone looked around for the source of the gunshot. Shadow was standing with a smoking pistol in his hand.
Mephiles' grip on Angus relinquished as he clutched his injured bicep. A black, oil-like liquid seeped from the wound instead of blood.
"You have a gun? Who brings a gun to a wedding?" Blaze's mom fumed. Shadow refrained from speaking and kept his gun trained on Mephiles.
"So what now, Shadow? Are you going to shoot me? Again? Are you going to kill me?" Mephiles sneered.
"Shaddup." Shadow replied eloquently. Mephiles snapped his fingers and disappeared. Not the usual seeping-into-the-ground type disappearance, but disappearing like smoke in the wind.
Suddenly, there was a shout, a scream, a hard shove from behind, and I found myself face down in the sand.
After I got all the sand out of my eyes, I saw possibly the most nerve-wracking sight ever; Mephiles was holding Blaze hostage. He had an arm around her neck, claws at her throat, and a chaos emerald in hand. Blaze's struggling against Mephiles had little to no affect. My fist clenched. Can Mephiles possibly stoop any lower? It seems that every time he pops up he's reach a new level of .
"It's amazing how easy it is to distract you lot. I'm very tempted to say 'checkmate'."
"Let Blaze go!" I shouted.
"Gee, let me think about that…No." Shadow raised his pistol and carefully took aim.
"Shadow, stop!" Reluctantly, he lowered his gun. I mean, sure he's a crack shot, but I don't want my fiancée in the line of fire.
"Well, if you don't mind, I'll be leaving, and I'm taking the bride with me. Don't follow us." The red chaos emerald began to glow. Against my better judgment, I ran after them. My fingertips just barely grazed Blaze's outstretched hand before she disappeared into thin air.
"Damn it!" I yelled. I punched the ground. I got back to my feet, regained my composure, and started walking.
"Charmy, give me the rings." Charmy handed me the two rings, which I proceeded to place in my pocket.
"Silver, where are you going?" Sky called after me.
"To get my wife back."