Chapter 3: Occurrit in Medium

There was a loud crash that echoed through the forest, after a brilliant flash.

"Ow, sonofa-" a male voice said loudly.

"Silver, don't use such language!" A female voice said sternly. Two figures lifted themselves from the small crater they'd created. They were surrounded by a bluish light, that if anyone was passing by, they would think them otherworldly.

"Well, the landing was a little harsher than I thought it would be." The one called Silver replied. "Blaze, can you tell where we are?"

The female one pulled her hood down revealing her face, her golden eyes shining in the sunlight. She looked at her wrist, a small device was there. "It says right at the same spot we left in, but it looks so different with all the trees alive."

"Do you know which direction we have to go in to find them?" Silver asked.

"Well from what I can remember from the directions she gave me; we have to head west." Blaze said her brow scrunched in thought. She stopped him from moving when he started in that direction. "Remember she said not to let anyone know we're from the future, and not to change too much."

"Yeah, yeah I know," he waved his hand dismissively. He glanced at Blaze giving her a smirk. "You worry too much."

"I worry just enough," she quipped back. "You're so reckless I have no choice but to worry."

"Aw so cute," he chuckled.

"I still can't believe this is where we grew up," Blaze said as she ran her hand over the bark of a tall tree. "The air is so clean."

"There's also no fear." Silver said his voice hard. "The air is free of everything negative."

"I wish they could have come with," Blaze said solemnly.

They walked together admiring the scenery, now that they actually had something to look at.

"What exactly do we do when we find her?" Silver asked, glancing at Blaze. "I mean it's not like she has any reason to believe us."

"We'll just have to gain their trust," Blaze explained. "It's really all we can do."

"I don't know what I would do without you Blazie," Silver winked at her.

"You would fail," she said, rolling her eyes and turning away from him.

"I love that you have such faith in me," Silver chuckled and ran a hand through his spiked quills.

"Come on, we have to keep moving if we want to get anywhere by sundown," she said, her tone all business.

"Right," he sighed as she hurried in front of him. He hoped that in the end they could fix what happened and save everyone who was lost.

Aurelia sat on one of the swings in the small play area in the large park, she gently moved herself back and forth. 'Man, that was so stupid,' she thought snidely to herself. 'God I always do this to myself.'

She was so engrossed in her thoughts she never saw the figure coming up behind her until she nearly fell off the swing, after he touched her.

"Hey!" She screeched, her heart racing a mile a minute. She looked up into Shadow's amused face.

"You really should be more observant," he remarked. "You never know what is around."

"So, you nearly give me a heart attack?" She asked, trying to slow her breathing back to normal.

"What were you thinking about so hard?" he sat on the swing next to hers, but unlike her he stayed motionless.

"Girlie stuff you wouldn't like it." She replied offhandedly. His only reply was to shrug. "What exactly happened to Amy?"

"She was exposed to some pretty dark stuff," he said slowly. "So, because of that her life has been going downhill a lot lately. Her only bright spot is Estella."

"I noticed," Aurelia smiled thinking about the little lavender hedgehog. "She seems like a little copy of Amy."

"She's actually a creation of darkness, mixed with Amy's light." Shadow said, staring off into the distance. "Have you heard of the Dark Gaia incident?"

"I think I heard something on the news about that," Aurelia replied thoughtfully. "It said that Amy was in the middle of it all."

"She was," he nodded. "She was possessed by Dark Gaia," he sighed, "so much has gone on since then I'd be surprised if anyone manages to be happy in the end."

"Why?"

"Because the future looks bleak if Sonic can't remember, and her light is dimming," she couldn't help but notice how sad he sounded. "And I think if her light goes out the world is doomed." He then looked at her. "Why haven't you asked her about this?"

"Well, she's so sad right now about Sonic, that I don't want to bring up any bad memories." Aurelia replied, giving him a sad smile. "And I have to somehow tell her that grandpa has been looking for her, he's got something important to tell her."

"Like what?" He asked curiously.

"I don't know he wouldn't say," she shrugged.

Sonic sat on the bed; he'd finally convinced the little fox that he wouldn't run again. He couldn't help but feel cautious staying in this place, with those haunting eyes. He wanted so badly to remember, but he knew from his dreams that was a bad idea.

'You will become darkness itself,' a voice said, it echoed through his head. 'You will never have her.'

"But why?" He felt so desperate. "Why is she so important?"

"Sonic?" He glanced at the door and saw the fox again.

"Hi, Miles, wasn't it?" Sonic asked, noting the way the fox flinched at his name.

"You usually call me Tails," he said sadly.

"But I don't know you so informally," Sonic replied indifferently. He didn't know what to feel when he was around these people. "You said your name is Miles, so I'll call you that."

"Fair enough," Tails sighed.

"Can I ask you a question?" Sonic asked suddenly.

"Yeah."

"How is that girl connected to me? Why is it her eyes I see in every night-dream I have?"

"She's…." Tails hesitated not knowing how to tell Sonic about his girlfriend. "Well, she's your girlfriend."

"That doesn't sound right," Sonic said, his brow scrunched.

"It won't since you don't-"

"No that's not what I-" He suddenly grabbed his head as an intense pain spread in his head. "She's not-"

"Hey don't push it," Tails said. "It will come back when it's supposed to."

"Maybe it just shouldn't," Sonic said harshly. "I think you should leave."

"Ok." Tails said softly, hiding the hurt as he left the room.

Sarah laid down, the first time in days since before Amy had woken up. She hadn't been sleeping well at all, when she could sleep, she was riddled with horrible nightmares of blood, fire and fear. The worst of them came just before she woke up, always the same person. She didn't tell anyone because she knew they would just push it off. She especially couldn't tell Alan not without him making her feel like she was just crazy. She hated that the one she loved made her feel this way.

She knew she might regret not telling anyone about her dreams when they ran her ragged.

It felt like she'd just closed her eyes. She could feel an intense heat on her face, and her lungs felt on fire, she couldn't breathe. She couldn't open her eyes and all she could hear was screaming, some voices she recognized, some she didn't.

"Please…" But the voice coming from her wasn't her own. "Please...don't do this…"

"I have no choice," a demented voice said. "I have to get rid of all the light."

"But…"

Suddenly the heat was gone, and a coldness enveloped her, and she was able to open her eyes finally. She was surrounded by darkness, and all she could see was two bright red eyes staring at her. She felt they were familiar but couldn't tell where she would have seen them.

"Sarah," a chilling voice said. "Come to me."

"I don't…" she backed up slowly as the eyes seemed to come closer. One skeletal hand reaching out to her.

"You've had a touch of my darkness," he whispered all around her. "You will come, you are mine now. You bear my mark."

"No, I-" She felt the hand run down the side of her face; she closed her eyes. "Please don't…"

"I'll be coming for you soon," the voice said in a seductive tone. She felt a chill run down her spine at his voice.

"I'll be waiting," she said, her voice sounding robotic to her own ears.

Suddenly she was back in her bedroom, sweat pouring down her face. She could feel her heart racing as she looked around the room, making sure the evil presence was not in the room with her.

"Sarah love?" The door opened revealing Alan; it made her heart feel heavy. "What's wrong, I heard you yell out."

"It was nothing dear," she said with a wry smile. "Just a small nightmare."

"Did you want to talk about it?" He asked, coming over and sitting on the bed. "This is the first time I've seen you resting in days. You have to remember you're no longer a spirit and you need to rest too."

"Yes darling," she smiled up at him. "I remember, but the nightmares are still present, or rather they might be visions."

"Don't think too much about it my love," he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "As I've said before nothing is set."

"I know," she replied, taking his hand in hers. "But I will never stop worrying as long as you or Harrison or even Amy are in danger. I am a mother above all else, and I will protect those I love."

"Always remember we will protect you as well," Alan said smiling as he ran a hand down her cheek. She gave an involuntary shiver at his touch, remembering her dream. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing." She smiled. He gave a shrug, but she knew he wasn't completely reassured. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Sleep darling," he said gently. "You need it."

Amy didn't really know how she was supposed to process everything she'd learned since waking up. It had only been hours and now she felt she was in a sensory overload. She ran a hand over her stomach as she thought about everything.

She couldn't help but wonder why Aurelia had suddenly reappeared in her life. It had been so many years since they'd last seen each other. She'd always felt less important when Aurelia was around, because the girl had the uncanny ability to steal everything from Amy even if it was unintentional.

"I don't know sweet one," she murmured. "How are we supposed to figure this all out?"

The breeze shifted slightly carrying with it a familiar scent that made her happy. It reminded her of Sonic. She looked down to the street below her watching people as they went about their business. She knew if anyone knew she was sitting here they would all throw a fit, especially in her condition.

That's when she spotted something she knew wasn't right. Off in the distance she could see a group of people and they looked like they were surrounding something. She felt a surge and she jumped landing nimbly about a hundred yards from the house.

"Hey!" She yelled out, her hammer appearing and elongating. One of the figures turned toward her, and its face made her stop in her tracks. She hadn't seen something that terrifying in her life, and she'd been through some pretty nasty stuff.

"Damn I didn't think these freaks would be here," a new voice said which startled Amy. These creatures were surrounding someone. She gathered all the courage she could and started towards the monsters only to have them move aside for her, not even attacking.

"Wha-?" She was so confused her hammer disappeared. "I don't understand."

"You need not understand," a coldness enveloped the area, it made her lightheaded. "They won't harm you because of your blood."

"M-My blood?" She asked, her mind cloudy. She wondered where the person talking to her was. "Who-?"

"In time you will know the answer," the voice said as the coldness dissipated, and the creatures took off.

"Are you ok, miss?" When she was finally able to focus all, she saw were golden eyes.

"Silv-don't!" And the eyes were gone.

"What happened?" She looked around groggily. "Did I just imagine everything?"

She shook her head as she stood up and made her way back to the house, glancing back once to see the eyes staring at her.

"What were you thinking?" Silver flinched at the tone Blaze was using.

"Hey, she looked like she was in trouble?" He shrugged.

"Our mission is not to rescue random damsels," Blaze pinched the bridge of her nose.

"But she seemed…."

"I don't care," Blaze said, a finality to her tone which made him stop speaking. "We cannot interact with anyone from this time period unless you would rather not be born?"

"Not to sound rude," he said with a small glare in his eyes. "But I won't stand by when someone needs help."

"That is what will cause this mission to fail," she said, shaking her head. "Your sense of justice needs to tone down. If you go around saving everyone who needs help you could ruin the future."

"More than it already is?" He snapped. "Blaze, I doubt helping her would have made the future any worse than it already is."

"Silver could you, for once in your life just listen to me, please?" She begged when he turned away his arms folded over his chest. "I'm sorry you had to come back to do this, but I warned you it would be hard."

When she got no response, she threw her hands up in the air with a frustrated growl. "Fine act like a child, I'm going to go cool off."

She hadn't realized the double meaning to her statement as she stalked off, leaving a scorched trail behind her.

"Now who's acting childish?" He retorted.

"Excuse me, sir?" He froze up completely. He didn't dare turn and face the person the voice belonged to. "Hello? I have a question."

Silver glanced back and noticed a silver hedgehog with green eyes, he knew who it was but tried to play it cool.

"Um," was his intelligent answer. 'Crap if I help him, Blaze will kick my-'

"You don't look like you're natural, to this time," the older hedgehog said. "I've lived through many lifetimes." Silver only stared at him blankly. "I only mean that I am so much older than you."

"Look I'd like to help you but I ha-"

"Sometimes when you're told to play by the rules, you can't always do so but nor can you truly break them. I suggest to find what you seek, the rules can be bent."

"I don't-" Silver started only for the older hedgehog to wave him off.

"Just think of what has occurred, and you will come to your answer." The older hedgehog smiled warmly at Silver. "You remind me of someone I know."

Silver's eyes widened into saucers, he had to make an escape quickly. He suddenly heard a piercing scream that served as his saving grace.

"I have to help my friend," he smiled at the older gentleman, before taking off in the direction he heard Blaze's scream. "Blaze?" He looked around wondering where she could be.

"Is it gone?" He heard her meek whisper. He looked up to where he heard her, surprised to see her high up in the tree.

"Why are you up there?" He asked with a smirk playing on his lips. He levitated up to her slowly trying to make sure she didn't burn him. "Blaze?"

"I-I saw a-" She shot a glare at him when she noticed his smirk. "A spider."

"Dude, you have to get over that fear," he said, trying his hardest not to chuckle.

"You're really not helping," she ground out, her eyes ablaze.

"Sorry," he landed on the branch next to her. "I know they scare you more than anything, weird, but it's not something you can help."

"Silver," she sighed.

"No, I'm sorry about before," he nudged her shoulder playfully. "I really need to focus more on the mission, and saving random girls-"

"Silv-" He suddenly looked at her, his face split in a smile. "What?"

"I know where we have to go," he said excitedly. "Come on."

"B-But...the spider," she said, her cheeks pink.

"He don't worry," he winked at her. "It's gone, and even if it's not I'll make sure to keep you safe." He took hold of her waist and gently descended to the ground not noticing her warm blush. "See it's safe."

Blaze pushed him away gently, trying to force her blush back down. "Ok, if you know where to go, lead on."

"It's this wa-oof!" He ran smack into another person, both of them hit the ground with a thud.

"Knuckles!" "Silver!"

"I'm ok," Silver rubbed his head as he looked into the violet eyes of a red echidna. "What about you man?"

"I'm fine," he laughed. "Thick skull."

"You got that right," a white bat said, and she turned to Blaze. "I'm sorry about him, I'm Rouge." She held out a hand for the cat to shake, which she did albeit a little hesitantly, continuously glancing at Silver expecting him to disappear. "That's Knuckles, you two don't look like you're from around here."

The boys were off the ground and laughing.

"Silver-" He walked back to her side wrapping an arm around her waist nonchalantly. "What do you think you're doing?" The look she gave him made him think she might burn him.

"Are you two dating?" Rouge asked, suddenly causing them both to blush to the roots of their hair.

"No why would-"

"This dunce-"

"Hey, I resent that," Silver shifted suddenly which knocked Blaze off balance causing her to fall, her silver and purple skirt flying up showing off her underwear. She screamed and her turned face beet red.

"Do you have to stare?!" Rouge suddenly ground out to a now red-faced Knuckles.

Blaze pushed Silver away from her when he tried to help her stand spouting apologies. He fell back into Rouge, face first coming into contact with her generous bosom causing them both to turn red.

At that moment the only thing you could hear were two loud, resounding smacks that resonated through the forest and set a flock of birds into the sky.