Silver & Zero: Partners in Time

Part 1

The Best of Time, The Worst of Time

Written by Yuni Oha

Neo Soleanna, the Brightest City – The Distant Future

"My name is Silver the Hedgehog." Silver walks down the elevated street of a futuristic metropolis. Flying cars soar above, weaving between the mega-skyscrapers that stretch as high as the eye can see. "This world was saved before I was born. A bright, hopeful place, where we embrace the light. Life is peaceful, and the people look up to me." All around Silver are the mostly human citizens of Neo Soleanna. As Silver walks by them, they all show various signs of joy and excitement at seeing Silver. Children point at him. Adults smile at him. Others even greet him with familiarity.

One man shouts, "Silver! Great to see you!"

Silver replies happily, "You too, Alex!"

A woman asks, "Silver, are you feeling better from that last battle?"

Silver nods. "You bet, Caroline. I'm back in full form!"

A teenager asks, "Hey Silver, anything new with Princess Elise the Tenth?"

Silver laughs, "If you're asking what I think you're asking, no, there have been no more kidnapping attempts." They both laugh at the princess' expense.

As Silver walks by an older lady running a fruit stand, she asks, "Silver, how's my favorite customer?"

Silver smiles at her. "I'm great, Granny."

She tosses him a light purple piece of fruit with red dots that features several purple leaves on its stem. "You hungry?"

Silver catches it with his telekinesis. "Thanks, but I don't have any rings on me right now."

Granny shakes her head. "Nonsense. You know your money's no good here anyways. You can take anything you want, anytime. After all the times you saved my little stand here, it's the least I can do."

Silver wants to argue, but past experience teaches him not to. Instead, he just bites into the strange-looking apple and gives Granny a thumbs up before moving on.

The monologue continues, "How did this happen? I am the Controller. The hero of this world. Once I doubted this title, but after meeting others like me, I embraced my role." Silver waves back at a few onlookers. "I have everything I should want…" Silver sighs, almost looking tired as the smile momentarily fades from his face. "And yet there is something missing." He looks down to the piece of fruit in his hand, with the bite he took out of it exposing the white interior. The purple and white fruit almost looks like a face. "No matter how great my life is, there will always be a hole in it." Silver takes a deep breath and forces the smiles to return to his face. "What could fill that hole? That's the worst part. I don't know." No longer hungry, Silver psychically nudges the fruit into a nearby trash can. He walks on, preparing himself for the next wave of people he sees ahead. "The only time I've ever truly felt happy was when I was on a grand adventure with my only two true friends. More than anything, I wish I could see them again…" He recalls the faces of Sonic and a green hedgehog.

Despite Silver's mental preparations, the next wave of greetings never comes. Instead, Silver hears cries for help behind him. He quickly swivels around to see a monstrous entity swooping down from the sky. It is a behemoth composed entirely of a black and purple miasma, shaped vaguely like the upper torso of a humanoid. Its face is made of recesses that create a sinister mouth and eyes, which glow an ominous blue. Wherever the creature flies, it seems to sap the very color out of the surroundings, leaving them as nothing but white and gray. Unmistakably, it is the Time Eater, though lacking any mechanical parts.

Silver gasps. "What is that thing!?" He hears a scream and looks down.

Granny is looking up at the monster and screaming in terror as it descends towards her.

"Granny!" Silver becomes cloaked in an aqua glow as he lifts off the ground and dashes forward. As he speeds forward, he uses his telekinesis to throw Granny aside, out from the path of Time Eater. He may save her, but Caroline, who was also nearby, ends up stuck in Time Eater's wake. Her color is drained as she becomes absolutely still, stuck in a stance displaying the pure terror she felt. "No!" Silver clenches his fist in rage. "Take this!" He lifts up the entire fruit stand and hurls it at Time Eater. "Granny, I hope you weren't lying about me taking anything I want earlier."

The monster seems not to notice the projectile. As soon as it gets close, the stand freezes in time as it too loses its color.

Silver shakes his head. "It's no use! Physical attacks are worthless!" He flings his arms forward. "Let's try this!" He hurls two psychic daggers at his opponent. This attack isn't stopped, but they do seem to pass right through the incorporeal body of Time Eater, doing absolutely nothing.

Maybe not nothing. For the first time, Time Eater seems to notice Silver. The creature roars, as if in a combination of anger and hatred. It flies straight at Silver.

Silver's eyes widen. "Well, at least I got its attention." He dashes away as fast as his levitation can carry him. "I've got to get that thing away from the people!" He turns around as he now floats backwards and shouts, "Hey big and ugly! Bet you can't catch me!" Silver's taunting doesn't seem to matter to Time Eater, but it pursues him with all its attention. Silver continues to fly upwards, passing level after level of Neo Soleanna's tiered city. As he flies up, Silver grabs ahold of any bulky object he notices, and throws it back at Time Eater in a bid to slow it down, even slightly. Crates, dumpsters, cars, even massive billboards, all are thrown in a constant barrage, only to freeze moments before hitting their mark.

What Silver doesn't notice is that the White Space created by Time Eater is slowly spreading, even without Time Eater's influence. Where two sections of White Space cross, it only grows faster. Any person even partially inside White Space becomes entirely frozen. Run as she might, Granny becomes surrounded on all sides by White Space. She realizes she has no way out, and looks up to the bright blue-green light in the sky above her. "Get him, Silver!" Then she's frozen in her cheering pose.

Up above, Silver seems to momentarily pause, as if sensing what just happened. Not having time to linger, he shakes it off and looks around. He's now above the skyscrapers. "This should be high enough to keep everyone out of danger." He returns his attention to Time Eater. "Now, how about you freeze this time!" He holds out both hands and channels as much psychic energy as he can muster. A blue-green aura encapsulates Time Eater, holding it in place.

But only for a second. Time Eater quickly overpowers Silver and breaks free from his telekinetic hold. This throws Silver tumbling back, as if he were physically struck. This seems to have taken a toll on him.

Silver recovers and shakes his head in disbelief. "Nothing can stop this guy! If only I had the Chaos Emeralds!" He quickly rolls to the side to avoid an arm that Time Eater stretches at him. When Time Eater thrusts its other arm at him, he vanishes in a flash of aqua light, only to quickly reappear behind Time Eater in a Teleport Dash. He shouts a guttural cry as he hurls an unrelenting barrage of psychic daggers at Time Eater. Alone, each dagger seems to have no effect, but the aggregate looks to actually be harming it, at least slightly.

Taking advantage of its incorporeal body, Time Eater's form rearranges so that it is facing Silver without having to physically turn. It roars in anger and summons a yellow drill-like object, throwing it at Silver.

Silver shouts, "It's a homing shot!" He weaves away to avoid it, but the projectile only turns to follow. Silver jukes, weaves, and rolls in all directions, but he can't shake the attack. Time Eater then creates three more, for a total of four now chasing Silver unrelentingly. He sees Time Eater and gets an idea. He flies straight at Time Eater, the homing shots following. Right before he would enter Time Eater's White Space field, he teleports again, appearing above it. The homing shots have no time to track Silver's movement and collide into Time Eater instead, actually harming the monster. Silver cheers, "Yeah! That looks like it did it!" Despite his celebration, Silver looks extremely worn out. He has been pushed to his limit in this fight.

Silver's celebration is cut short when Time Eater roars, signaling it can still continue to fight.

Being above Time Eater, looking down, Silver notices something for the first time. The entire city has been completely engulfed by White Space. Silver's arms drop to his side as he struggles with a wave nausea. "My home…" But then he notices something else. A single patch of color in one of the upper levels. In the center of that small circle of color is a powerful blue glow. "It can't be…"

Time Eater seems to notice the glow as well. Despite its earlier single-minded pursuit of Silver, it now seems to ignore Silver altogether in favor of whatever's causing the glow.

Silver shouts, "No way!" He ignores his fatigue and pushes himself even harder than before to move as fast as he can towards the glow. Time Eater is outpacing him, but he pushes himself even harder. The psychic aura around him begins to stutter. Silver grunts to himself, "Don't pass out now! Don't pass out now! Don't pass out now!" He screams in determination as he fights past his limit, pulling ahead of Time Eater. He swoops in and grabs the source of the glow, a long-cut blue gemstone.

Time Eater roars in rage.

With the last of his strength, Silver boosts his own powers with the power of the gem, the blue energy of it replacing his own aqua aura, and rips open a hole in the very fabric of space in front of him. As he tumbles into the space-time rift he mutters, "Chronos… Janice… Take me to him…" He passes out as the rift closes around him.

—–—

Animoid Village, Fallout Zone – Tens of Thousands of Years B.E. (Before the Eggman Empire)

Everything is black. A gruff, yet vaguely familiar voice declares, "Subject 000, it is time for your next test."

A faltering voice responds meagerly, "I… I can't. I'm not ready for another test… None of us are."

"Now, now, my friend, how am I to help you if you won't help me? Didn't you tell me that you want to learn more of your own potential?"

"I… I won't. Not another test…"

Beginning to sound angry, "That's quite enough fooling around. You are coming with me right now, even if I have to force you!" A pause. "Good, now follow me." Another pause filled by the sound of footsteps. Then they stop. "What did I just tell you, rat!? Get over here and follow me to the testing chamber!" A faint red glow appears in the blackness.

A slight pause, then firmly, "No."

"What did you just say!? I have had enough of your insolence, you insignificant worm! You have been this obstinate since the very beginning, that's why I've been working so hard to get rid of you!" The red glow grows stronger. "Now you've finally given me the reason I need! I promise you that your next test will be the most painful, terrifying event that you have ever experienced in your insignificant life, and it will be the end of it! Now, return to your cage. Subject 009, I will be testing you today instead." Now the red consumes all.

"No! No more tests! No more experiments! You will not hurt me, or anyone else, ever again!" The red is more intense than ever as it begins to wave, flow, and fluctuate.

With some panic, "Now, 000, let's not be hasty about this. Uh, maybe we can–"

"That isn't my name! I am Zero! And I am not doing anything with you!" The red now swirls around in a violent storm.

Everything goes absolutely silent for the briefest of moments, before the red contracts to a single point, then it explodes violently with bang, illuminating the scene in a violent crimson glow.

A green hedgehog with sharp angled spines, Zero, is now visible. He's cloaked in a red aura of rage, the source of the red light. Floating in the black void around him he sees countless lifeless bodies. One is that of the human Gregor Robotnik, the others of various animoids. Zero snaps out from his fugue and looks around in horror. "No…" He shakes his head as begins to break down. "No, no, no, no…" He's hyperventilating. He claws at his forehead. "…no, no, no, no, no…"

His attention is captured by one body in particular. A hedgehog with magenta fur, dressed in a plain white hospital gown. Her body lies strewn across the floor of the void, her head, an arm, and both legs at unnatural angles.

This sight only adds to Zero's hysteria. "N-n-n-nine…? Nine!" He begins to rock back and forth. "What have I done? What have I done!?" Tears pour from his eyes.

Nine suddenly sits up, broken bones and all, and says in a tormenting voice, "You've killed me, Zero. You've killed all of us. You couldn't control your power, and now we're all dead! It's your fault, Zero! Your fault!"

"Nine! Nina!"

While he shouts this, a menacing laugh that sounds like it could be his own is heard as well. Then a malevolent form of his voice taunts, "You are weak. You are limited. You are nothing."

"Nina!" Zero pops upright in bed screaming the name. He takes several deep breaths as he clutches his heart.

Nine rushes in from the other side of the room, quick to stop at his side. She's now wearing rough hewn cloth garb. "Zero, what's wrong?"

Zero takes another moment to gather himself, looking clearly disturbed by his dream. "Nina… you're okay…"

Nine, or rather Nina, sits next to Zero in his bed. "Of course I'm okay. Did you have another one of those dreams?"

Zero wordlessly nods.

She grabs ahold of Zero by the face and forces him to look in her eyes. "Zero, listen to me. I forgive you. I was afraid of you, but I'm not anymore. You don't have to feel guilty about scaring me."

Zero shakes his head. "That wasn't it this time. This was worse. Far worse."

"How could it be worse?"

"In this one I…I killed you. And everyone else. With my Chaos Blast."

Nina shakes her head. "Zero, you know that didn't happen."

Zero shakes his head as he sighs. "Maybe not, but it could have." He reaches up with his hand unconsciously, fiddling with the bright orange tag hanging from his ear. "Yes, I was terrified by how afraid you looked of me that day, but what's even worse is the thought that I could have killed you. I never would have been able to live with myself if that happened."

She asserts firmly, "Zero, I didn't die. No one did. Not even that…Gregor."

Zero just shakes his head. He gets up. "I need to go for a walk, clear my head."

Nina just nods, and steps aside so he can leave.

Zero walks outside. He's in a small settlement composed of rudimental huts built from wood, dirt, and some salvaged wreckage of actual buildings. "My name is Zero the Hedgehog. I was the first of my kind, created to harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds. The first Controller. There were others like me, but I let them down." Across the settlement are other animoids of various species, all working together to help build this village that's still a work-in-progress. "Then I let the entire world down when I could have prevented a war of apocalyptic proportions. I cowered in fear instead." In the far-off distance, the collapsed skyline of a ruined city is visible. "To make amends, I worked alongside my greatest enemy to help heal this planet. In the process, I was reunited with my people. What's next in my life? I don't know."

On the outskirts of the village, Zero sits down next to a flowing brook. The mental image of the dead Nina in his dream plays back to him over and over. Zero shakes his head, trying to force out the image.

He pulls out a long blue gemstone, identical to the one Silver found, and stares at it for several moments, contemplating his own reflection in the facets of the crystal.

A disembodied voice of a woman points out, "You're brooding again." She sounds annoyed.

Zero is surprised. "Janice? What are you doing here?"

"Duh, remember, I'm always near you while you hold that Temporal Sapphire. Sometimes I wonder why I called you the smart one."

Somewhat irritated, he responds, "You know that's not what I mean. You normally refrain from talking to me unless it relates to my use of the Sapphire. What gives?"

Janice groans. "Chronos says I should try to talk to you more. Says it might 'help with my empathy.' Pfff. Whatever that means."

Zero can't help but chuckle at her annoyance. "You know Janice, I agree with him. If you're going to take Chronos' job officially someday, and watch over all of time, you need some empathy. That's what stops an ascended entity like you from becoming completely detached from us mere mortals."

"Yeah, too late for that."

Zero knows she isn't joking, but he still laughs anyways. Zero reminds her, "Hey, don't forget, I could always take a step into the Time Stream and you and I could have a nice face-to-face chat about empathy. I could teach you a thing or two. You know, like last time." Despite his jocular tone, this almost sounds like a threat.

Janice drops her cold indifference and says with some panic, "No. No. That won't be necessary. Not necessary at all."

Zero chuckles at her fear of him. After a pause, Zero picks a stone up off the ground and skips it across the water. "Janice, you've done some pretty horrible things. Do you ever feel imprisoned by your guilt? Do you ever wish you could take back what you've done?"

Returning to her façade of annoyance and indifference, she answers, "Sure, I wish I could take it back. It would get the old man off my back." You can practically hear her rolling her eyes. "But no, I don't feel 'imprisoned' by my guilt. I did what I did. I had my reasons at the time. Regardless of my current state of affairs, they were valid at the time, or else I wouldn't have done it."

Zero shakes his head in disbelief. "You attempted to take control of all of time, kill your master, and nearly destroy the universe in the process, and you think it's justified?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"You certainly are a piece of work, Janice."

"One truly beyond your mortal comprehension."

Zero mutters, "Well, you're not wrong."

Then the disembodied voice of an aged and wizened man shouts with urgency, "Janice! Why is your attention away from the timestream!? We have an entire timeline falling apart!"

Zero stands up quickly. "Chronos, what's wrong? What's going on?"

"I don't know yet, but it's not good."

Janice adds after looking things over, "The ripple effects alone will be a nightmare to take care of! Ugh. Why did this have to happen on my watch?"

Chronos barks, "Zero, you have incoming!"

"Incoming!? What does that mean!?"

To answer his question, a space-time rift opens above him. An unconscious Silver falls out from it, splashing down into the brook.

"Silver!?" Zero runs over to him and pulls him out of the water. "Chronos, what's going on!?"

"I still don't know, Zero. Give me time."

Zero notices the Temporal Sapphire in Silver's hand. "Silver, what happened to you?"

—–—

Silver suddenly wakes up. "Where'd it go!?" He looks around frantically, but only finds Zero and Nina. He's on Zero's bed. "Zero…?"

Zero nods. "It's me, friend."

Silver leaps out from bed and hugs Zero, only to find that aggravates his injuries, and quickly backs off. "Ow, ow, ow!" He looks back to Zero. "I never thought I would see you again."

"I could say the same. It looks like you were in one crazy brawl."

Silver nods, as he remembers his dire situation. "Everyone's… gone…"

Nina speaks up, "Who? Who's gone?"

Silver notices her for the first time. Honestly excited in a sudden mood swing, he gushes, "Oh, you must be Nine. Great to meet you. I've heard so much about you!"

Nina shakes his hand and points out, "I go by Nina now."

"Nina, got it."

Zero stresses, "Silver, who's gone?"

Silver is brought back to his crisis. "My entire city. Maybe my entire world. It's all gone, erased from time."

"How is that possible?"

Silver shakes his head. "I don't know. I fought some sort of monster. Wherever it went, it sapped away the very essence of time, as if it were eating it."

Zero ponders, "A Time Eater…?"

Silver nods. "Exactly. A Time Eater. It just appeared out of nowhere. Attacked Neo Soleanna, then went after me. It was…"

Zero asks, "It was what?"

"It was almost as if it was after me specifically. First it attacked everything, but then once it noticed me, it focused only on me. At least, until we noticed the Temporal Sapphire." He looks down to the gem still in his hand. "Why me…?"

Zero asks, half-jokingly, "You got any crazy time entities that you've upset recently?"

"Other than Janice?"

Janice objects, "Hey, I heard that!"

Silver ignores her and shakes his head. "No, not that I know of." He looks down to his Sapphire again. "Janice, do you have any clue what that thing was?"

Chronos instead answers, "I'm afraid that it was a Chronophage."

Silver and Zero ask together, "A Chronophage?"

"Yes, an entity that exists purely to devour timelines. One attacked your timeline before, but it was quelled by your friend Sonic."

Silver points out, "So it really is a Time Eater."

"If you must call it that, yes. A Time Eater. I am sorry to tell you this, Silver. But as such, it has consumed your entire timeline."

Silver objects, "Wait, that's not possible! I'm still here, in Zero's time! The timeline still exists."

Janice groans. "How dense are you? You're not in your timeline anymore."

This confuses both Silver and Zero. Zero asks, "How is that possible? The Temporal Sapphires don't transport you across timelines, not to mention Silver and I know each other, so we must be from the same timeline."

Chronos explains, "That's not quite how it works. You see, after you two and Sonic stopped my naïve apprentice from destroying all of time–"

"Still can hear that!"

"After you stopped her, you were deposited into new a reformed timeline, a timeline where your journey occurred, but without the involvement of space-time rifts and the Temporal Sapphires. However, the butterfly effects by Silver's time for this timeline were so great that he would have been in a world completely unfamiliar to him. So, as a favor, we put him back in a version of his original timeline, the one from before Janice blundered."

"I get it already! I screwed up!"

"Essentially, Zero and Sonic were put in one timeline, and Silver in another. When Silver came time traveling back to escape the Chronophage, we gave him an extra push to hop him over the timeline barrier, so he could meet a version of Zero that actually knows him, not to mention get him out of yet another imprudently imploded timeline."

"Jeez! You mess up a timeline one time…"

With this explanation, things start to get real for Silver. "So, it really is all gone then. Not just my home. Not just my city. Not just my world. My entire timeline is gone. Just like that…" He falls back into the bed as he struggles to comprehend this.

Zero looks to Nina. "Would you mind if he and I have some time alone?"

Nina nods. "Of course." She respectfully leaves the room.

"Silver… for whatever it's worth, you're not the only one here who has watched as his world was destroyed."

Silver doesn't answer.

Zero gets an idea. "Hey, how about you come out with me and take a look around the village. I can show you firsthand how new life can come from what you once thought was nothing but destruction."

Silver still doesn't answer, but he also doesn't resist when Zero helps him stand up and walks him out the door.

—–—

Together they stroll through the village. Silver asks, "So you've built all this by yourself?"

Zero grins. "Not by ourselves, together."

Silver nods, understanding his meaning. He also notices many of the animoids are giving him stares. It makes him feel rather uncomfortable.

Zero picks up on this. "Sorry, you're…not the first stranger I've brought here recently."

On that cue is when a dark purple and gold hedgehog with shorter quills approaches them, a tag attached to his ear just like Zero's. "So, the rumors are true! You've found another one of our family!" He looks to Silver and asks, "What was your designation number? Have you picked a name yet?"

Silver is uncertain how to respond. "Um…"

Zero grins at the new hedgehog. "Uni, you feeling better from that injury already?"

Uni grins as he stretches his body. "Yup, all back to normal. Ready to go back to the construction efforts in full force."

Zero nods. "That's great. Anyways, the rumors aren't quite true. Silver here, while he is one of us, isn't in the way you're thinking."

This intrigues Uni. "Oh? Is he from a different lab? He sures looks like the Gregorian breed to me."

Zero groans as he runs a hand over his face. "Can we please refrain from using that term?"

Uni shrugs. "Sorry, not sure what else to call it."

Zero shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. Anyways, let's just leave it at the fact that Silver is from far away. Whatever you think about him is almost certainly wrong."

Uni throws his arms up in a bigger shrug. "Whatever you say, Zero. You sure can be weird sometimes." He walks away to go back to whatever task he was performing before.

Zero explains to Silver, "That was Uni, formerly known as One. He was the first animoid awakened after me. When two people share a moment of being the only of their kind in existence, a unique bond is bound to be forged."

Silver hesitates, then asks, "Zero, if it's not too personal, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Everyone else here has taken name beyond their number. Nine became Nina, One became Uni. Why are you still going by Zero?"

Zero sighs.

Silver realizes this was a mistake. "I'm sorry, too private. I shouldn't have asked."

Zero shakes his head. "No, it's alright. The truth is, I'm not sure that I want to take a step like that. I'm still held back by my past. Zero is who I've always been. Zero is still who I am. Perhaps even literally…"

"Hey, don't say that."

"Sorry, but…when I think back to what happened in the lab that one day, I still feel very much like zero. Someday, maybe, I'll pick a real name for myself. But not today. Not until I'm ready to become something different than I am now."

Silver nods. "I understand. I know you'll figure it out." Looking to change the topic, Silver looks around as he says, "What you all have overcome and built here is so amazing. I'm not sure I could do the same. If I found myself in a destroyed world, I don't know how I'd react." He pauses. "Though, I guess I just found out. I run." He looks down to the ground.

"Hey, don't say that. You didn't run. You survived. It was your only choice. If you stayed, you would have been frozen like everyone else."

"Doesn't feel so different to me. Just makes me feel even more alone."

"Except you're not alone. You've got me now. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want. Everyone will welcome you with open arms." He turns to face Silver and puts his hands on his shoulder as he emphasizes, "Silver, you admire what we did here? We did it because we never gave up. We fought for the future we wanted. We haven't reached it yet. But we will get there eventually. You're proof enough of that. And if you don't give up, you can have what you want, too."

A slight grin comes to Silver's face. "You're pretty good at inspirational speeches. You've convinced me. Let's go take down the Time Eater and save my timeline."

Zero freezes up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not what I meant."

Silver steps forward as he looks at the sky. "Regardless of what you meant, it's what I need to do. I can't just sit around here while that menace to time is out there destroying timelines. Think about how many others like me are losing their place in time. And Zero, with your help, I know we can defeat it." Silver smiles profusely as he realizes something. "It will be just like old times! You and me against time! Silver and Zero, the dynamic duo! A grand adventure of epic scales! Doesn't that sound exciting?"

Zero sighs. "Silver, I'd love to go on another grand adventure with you, but this isn't the time. I'm needed here. Look." He beckons to the side where two animoids, a bear and a dog, are working. They're attempting to raise a roof onto a newly constructed hut, but are struggling with the weight. Zero wordlessly steps in and grabs their rope, lifting the rope using his immense strength without breaking a sweat.

The two both say, "Thanks, Zero!"

Zero nods back. "Not a problem! Tell me if you have any more heavy lifting to do."

"We will."

Zero turns back to Silver. "They need me here." He looks off in the distance towards the ruined city. "But that's not all. This temporal nonsense seems to follow me wherever I go, but I just want to live a normal life. Even if only for a little while. Don't I deserve that much?" He suddenly sounds worn out and tired.

Silver understands. "You do. You deserve that and so much more. But there are others out there that need you too." Silver clenches a fist and looks up towards the sky, striking a purposefully inspirational pose. "Across the multiverse, infinite timelines are ticking their clocks away." He adds awkwardly, "Except for the ones that aren't. Because they were eaten. So, there's no time to tick. And… um… we are the only ones who can – what's the metaphor I'm looking for…? Make their clocks right more than twice a day…? No, that sounds stupid. I've got it! We're the only ones who can ensure time heals all wounds. Of time." Zero is trying his best to suppress his laughter. "I won't allow something like this to happen on my watch. Not that I wear a watch, mind you, but I should! And if a stitch in time can save nine– Wait, no, that sounds insensitive. Sorry. Um… If time flies, then so should we. We should fly to wherever time doesn't fly and…give it a lift! Yeah, that's it! You know what I'm saying?"

Zero keels over in hysterics. "Not a clue! Was that supposed to be an inspirational speech?"

Silver resents the laughter. "Well… after you did such a good one…"

Zero continues to laugh. "How about you just leave those to me in the future."

Silver crosses his arms sullenly. "I thought it was pretty good."

"Pretty good!? I wish I had a recording of it so you could hear how awful it was!"

Silver looks away and pouts. "Well next time you need a pick-me-up, you'll be out of luck!"

Zero jabs in laughter, "One thing's for sure, that was a mood booster!"

Before Silver can object any further, there's a loud noise and bright blue flash. Silver and Zero both pull out their Temporal Sapphires, which are glowing intensely.

Chronos' voice shouts with urgency, "Zero, Silver, can you hear me!?"

Zero responds, "Chronos, we're here! What's wrong!?"

Janice shouts, "Everything, that's what's wrong!"

Chronos explains, "I am afraid our time is up."

Silver asks with worry, "What does that mean?"

"There's no time to explain everything. The Chronophage obtained a Sapphire and has entered our realm. The Timestream is under attack, and there's nothing we can do to stop it!"

Silver shouts, "We'll be right there! We'll fight alongside you!"

Janice says bluntly, "If we can't beat it, then what hope would you fools have?"

Chronos stresses, "The battle is already lost. The Chronophage already has a hold over us. Zero, Silver, it is up to you to save time! Collect the Temporal Sapphires…! Defeat the Chronophage…! Restore…the proper flow…of time…!" He sounds like he's weakening, struggling more and more to speak as he goes on.

Zero asks, "But how? We can't beat that thing! We can't restore time without you!"

"My final gift to you…the Core Sapphire… Find it… I have hidden it where the Chronophage will never…uncover it… I believe in you two…" He cries out in pain, and that is all.

Zero shouts, "Chronos! Janice!"

There's no response. Silver and Zero stare at their sapphires, waiting for anything, but it never comes.

To be continued…

Want to learn more about Zero and his ancient world of gods and gems, and how it all fits into Sonic's universe? Consider reading The Chaos Project, to which this is a companion story!

Like what you read here? Visit the author page of Yuni Oha for more stories by the same author, including Yu-Gi-Oh! Millennium and Pokémon Cosmic Quest!