Chapter 15: Silver

'I've got the strongest feeling…' Mordant's Need – A Man Rides Through – Stephen Donaldson

Sonic opened his eyes. He was weary at first, and nervous. He felt like he hadn't moved at all. Had the emerald conjured its magic? Or was he still standing near a tent, and not too far from bloodied corpses?

He was in a different place, that was certain. He was standing on a rocky ridge, its tight crevices devoid of ice. It wasn't raining and the thick cloying air foretold of snow.

"Chaos control!" The light voice threw him back to his senses. He looked over his little secluded rocks and saw Silver aiding… himself. There was another Sonic in the throe of the enemy, and as he watched, he saw Silver descend from the air like an angel and confront the blue hero. Their voices were too distant and quiet. He couldn't hear them, but he already knew what was being said.

It worked…

The revelation made him feel faint. But at least Silver had found the green emerald. This time, if everything was working right so far, Silver would have found the emerald in an old tent perhaps some 200 years old. Maybe.

"Okay, so what do I do?" He could not get seen by the other Sonic. If he did… he didn't want to think about the consequences.

After a time, the other Sonic and Silver started to argue. Then they broke apart and the past Sonic started to head towards Knuckles. But how was he going to stop Silver from being shot, without being seen?

He scrunched his eyes shut and tried to think up a plan. He had a chaos emerald. That was a start. He discerned Silver head towards Shadow, to obviously tell him that he would die. The whole sense of déjà vu was almost too much for poor Sonic, but he was faintly smiling. He had a chance to set things right.

While things were set into motion, Sonic started to plan. This was his last and only chance. He would not be granted the same opportunity again.

"I need to get Sonic out of the way first." His smile stretched a little further, ignoring the sting from his chapped lips, "I'll have to tranquilize him."

He had to be very careful around Silver and Shadow. They had a greater sense of awareness, and they probably would be able to sense him nearby.

He loaded three syringes. One was colored blue. It had a light dose of tranquilizer. The other two could knock a hedgehog out for a few good hours. Maybe more.

He replaced them back in the pack, loaded the flare gun and hid that and the emerald in his bag. He rose to his feet. In the east, a dark silhouette crested the hill in the afternoon light.

It was Shadow, with his reinforcements.

Sonic watched the Ultimate Life Form jab into the opposition. Then he decided to follow his past self.

It had begun to snow. The thick splendor of white crisp flakes followed the bend of the breeze. One landed on his nose and Sonic stifled a sneeze. He wished his fur were thicker. The cold stabbed right into him, and he felt it more now that he was stationary, when he wasn't fighting.

He watched the battle beneath his small ridge. The hordes of badniks looked gigantic. Their armor shimmered in the afternoon sun, causing a rich glare in Sonic's eyes.

"Okay, right now I would be helping Knuckles out." He swallowed and saw the rings Knuckles was making with the dead robots. They were roaming too far away and Sonic had to break out of his cover to get closer. He did not wish to engage with any enemy especially. He was too tired and too weak from his fight with Shadow, plus the distraction might allow someone from the past to see him.

Carefully, he walked along the ridge, disturbing loose stones as he went. The small rocks bounced down the slight cliff edge, and came to rest in a pile of dust at the bottom. Luckily, everyone was too busy fighting to notice this.

The worn hedgehog paused at times, shivering in the snow, and holding his pounding head. His ears started to ring, and then it faded after a few moments.

Despite the obligations he had to attend, he badly wanted to lie down and sleep. The sky was grey and the snow hurtled down wind like a white hurricane.

Sonic leapt off the end of the ridge and dove into a dot of gorse bushes. He went down to a belly crawl. Still, he hadn't been seen.

"Note to self," he mumbled languidly, "I hate time travel."

He was close now. Silver had joined with his past self and Knuckles. He couldn't pop out a syringe and tranquilize his other now. Not in front of so many.

"Shadow's too far in the center of battle," the young Silver was saying, he was squealing like a girl, "you've got to help me!"

"Help you with what?" His past self answered coldly.

Sonic pressed himself harder to the ground.

I've got to distract Silver… He thought.

Silver continued despite their lack of fervor to aid him. "He'll die! Don't you remember? You need to help me get him to safety!"

Knuckles' voice was low and sly. "Let's not be hasty."

Sonic's ears started ringing again. He hissed in annoyance. How hard had Shadow hit him? Obviously hard enough.

Carefully, while Knuckles and Silver started shouting at each other, Sonic dipped his hand into his bag and took out the flare gun. "I hope this works." He whispered.

There was a squeal of pain when Knuckles hit the psychic in the stomach.

Sonic stroked the trigger and waited. He couldn't see them very well through the tangle of bushes, but that meant they wouldn't be able to see him. They were twenty yards away. Silver was starting to draw away from them. His past self asked for the green emerald. Silver handed it to him without much thought.

Then, "Silver, come back here!"

"Don't!" Snapped the psychic, "I know what I'm doing!"

Sonic lay patiently like a snake lying in wait for its prey. He steadied the flare gun. He aimed.

"Worry about your own self! I don't need anyone!" The young hedgehog started to leave them. As he did, the robot responsible for shooting him in the future, lowered its guns. Silver wasn't even looking at it. He wasn't aware of the danger.

Fucking stupid hedgehog. Sonic moaned in his head.

He fired.

As did the robot.

The flare was a bright glowing purple. At such short range, it hit the android heavily on its neck. This force caused its aim to slip, and when it fired, the bullet streamed over Silver's head, missing him entirely.

Now aware of the danger he was in, the psychic attacked the enemies that were approaching with his own defenses. Sonic slid the gun into the bag and started to crawl away. "Now, the future changes."

The terrible ringing in his ears dimmed, until it faded. The snow stung his back and his bruised spines. I've saved you Silver. Thank the heavens.

Once the field had been cleared, he saw Silver standing there, looking about him suspiciously. Sonic gulped and tried to dip into deeper cover. Fortunately for him, Silver was distracted by his past self, and Knuckles.

"What the hell happened?" He heard himself ask, his voice shrill.

Silver shrugged. "I wasn't looking."

"Be more careful!" Knuckles hollered like a mad boar, "or next time you'll be killed!" He hit Silver again. The poor hedgehog started to cry. Sonic chuckled despite himself.

Serves you right.

"Now, who to see to next?" He asked aloud.

He looked to the bleak horizon as the snow continued to ravage the landscape, turning it hard and frozen. The sun was setting. The unraveling darkness reminded him how sleepy and tired he was. Sonic was so tempted to take a nap. He was safe. Nobody could see him hiding here.

"I just want to close m-my eyes…"

Utterly exhausted, Sonic snapped his eyes shut and fell asleep the instant his head hit the ruddy, cold earth. The snow blew like tendrils into his fur. The dense evening threw up stars into the heavens. If only Sonic had known how dangerous it was to sleep out in the open, exposed to the winter storm.

When Sonic next woke up, he felt strangely warmer…

His body still wracked with feverish tremors, but the cold winter storm no longer caressed his frame.

"Sonic?" The light voice made him jump to his feet. The sudden action made the blue hero stumble and fall. He was in a small cave. The earth was soft and grainy. The wind hummed enormously outside.

A light was glowing to his near left. It was a stump of wood, fastened to the side of the cave. The tip was alight with flame. The warmth around it soothed his tremors.

When he did not respond to the voice, it came again, louder this time. "Sonic?"

Stop yelling at me! But he thought, what if I've been seen? What now?

He turned and came face to face with Silver the hedgehog.

The time-traveler looked surprised, but he was the same Silver he had always been. Openhearted, vulnerable, dear. His crown of fur on his head curled in all directions. His bright gaze and his face were like birdsong in the spring.

"Sonic? Are you all right?"

He nodded, and felt his muscles ache. I think I'm getting sick. "What happened?"

"I brought you here. I think you passed out. You look awful, what happened?" He was loading him with questions. Questions he could not answer.

"Where are the others?" Sonic croaked, "what about me…" He stopped short, "where is Knuckles and Shadow?"

"They're either sleeping, or still fighting." He shook his head in bafflement. "Shadow won't listen to me."

Sonic sat up and cradled his head in his hand. His backpack was by his side, and Silver was sitting near him. Out of habit, Sonic searched with his eyes for any wounds on the young hedgehog. He saw nothing.

A bit morosely, Silver drew closer. "I found you in some bushes. I thought I saw something odd today."

At once Sonic babbled, "you didn't tell anyone, did you?"

"No. I know what you did."

Sonic miserably hung his head. "You know?"

Silver nodded. His eyes didn't waver. "I knew because there were two of you. I hid it from the freedom fighters and when it was dark enough, I took you here. It was Knuckles who found this cave for me to sleep in. He patronizes me." He added, sounding more upset.

"Please don't tell anyone," he declared sorely, "nobody can know!"

He nodded again. "I understand. But you mustn't tell me anything either. I know something must have gone horribly wrong though, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"For someone so young, you're quite wise." Sonic said.

This statement seemed to put some pride back into Silver's wellbeing. "Thanks." With one hand, he tried to flatten his long quills. They sprang back up again as soon as he let his hand drop. "You have to stay here and rest. I think you have a fever."

The blue hedgehog shrugged. "I'll be fine." Though he wouldn't be able to do much in the dark anyway. "How long have I slept?"

"An hour, give or take." Suddenly, his pale cheeks flashed red and he added shyly, "I looked in your bag. I couldn't help myself. I saw the flare gun. You used it earlier, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"And the syringes? Why do you have them?"

"I can't tell you."

"Oh." The yellow light of the flaming torch reflected in his gold iris', making them glow. He sat still, and they both listened to the wintry storm outside. The mouth of the cave flashed every now and again from the splay of gunfire from the battle. Sonic wondered if they were truly safe here, but if Knuckles had picked the spot, they should be fine. He trusted him.

"You should rest." Silver reminded him, "you don't look well."

Sonic glumly nodded and used his bag as a pillow. Silver lay closely beside him, as if he were insecure about being alone.

Soon, they both drifted off to sleep, while the war waged on.