No one in Shinobi Tower slept that night. They knew that the castle was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common room, waiting to hear whether Elias had been caught. Professor Echo came back at dawn, to tell them that he had again escaped. Throughout the day, everywhere they went they saw signs of tighter security. Professor Charles could be seen teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Elias Acorn, Rykor was suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to micky holes. Arthur had been fired. His portrait had been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor, and Earthia was back. She had been expertly restored, but was still extremely nervous, and had agreed to return to her job only on condition that she was given extra protection. A bunch of surly security Krakens had been hired to guard her. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their claws. Silver couldn't help noticing that the statue of the one-eyed walrus on the third floor remained unguarded and unblocked. It seemed that Mighty and Ray had been right in thinking that they, Silver, Razor and Coral were the only ones who knew about the hidden passageway within it. Razor however reassured him "He can't be using that passage. We'd know if Josef's was broken into", Silver didn't want to argue, he wouldn't be able to go back to Spiral Hill. Razor had become in instant celebrity, for the first time he was getting the same if not more attention that Silver.
He was still shaken but very much enjoyed reciting the incident to anyone who would listen "I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draft... I woke up and one side of the hangings on my bed had been pulled down... I rolled over... and I saw him standing over me... like a skeleton, with loads of filthy fur... holding this great long knife, must've been twelve inches... and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled, and he scampered". After he finished describing his chilling tale to a pair of third year girls he whispered to Silver "Why, though? Why did he run?". Silver had been wondering the same thing. Why didn't Elias just silence Razor and then move onto Silver. He'd already shown he doesn't care about hurting innocent people and this time he was dealing with five unarmed boys, four of whom were asleep "Probably thought it was too risky. After you screamed the whole Common Room woke up and after getting past them he might have ran into Echo". Antione meanwhile was in disgrace. Echo was so furious with him she had banned him from all future Spiral Hill visits, given him a detention, and forbidden anyone to give him the password into the tower. Poor Antione was forced to wait. outside the common room every night for somebody to let him in, while the security Kraken leered unpleasantly at him. None of these punishments, however, came close to matching the one his grandmother had in store for him. Two days after Elias' break-in, she sent Antione the very worst thing a Soleanna student could receive over breakfast, a Howler "Run, Ant!" Razor advised still scarred over the time he received a Howler. Antione didn't need to be told, he ran out of the entrance hall as many people laughed. Then they heard it explode and then the magnified voice of Vandersnout saying how Antione brought shame to the whole family. Silver was feeling so bad for Antione that he didn't notice he also received a letter "Ow!" Lily bit his finger to get his attention "Oh, thanks, Lily". He opened the letter and he could tell immediately from the writing that it was from Big.
Dear Silver and Razor, How about having tea with me this afternoon 'round six? I'll come collect you from the castle. WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL; YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN. Cheers, Big.
So at six O'clock they went down to the entrance hall where Big was waiting. Razor smiled "Hey, Big, you're probably wanting to know about what happened with Elias Acorn" "I've already heard all abou' it" "Oh" Razor sounded disappointment. They went down to Big's cabin and found Volt resting in a pile of dead animals. Silver looked away from the sight and spotted a large blue tie hanging from a mirror "What's that for, Big?" "Volt's case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures. This Friday. Him an' me'll be goin' down ter Knothole together. I've booked two beds on the Mirage Express". Silver felt a twinge of guilt, he had completely forgotten that Volt's trial was so near, and judging by the uneasy look on Razor's face, he had too. They had also forgotten their promise about helping him prepare Volt's defence; the arrival of the Psychic Wave had driven it clean out of their minds. Big sat down and looked at the two of them uncharacteristically serious "I got somethin' ter discuss with you two. Coral's in a righ' state, that's what. She's bin comin' down ter visit me a lot since Chris'mas. Bin feelin' lonely. Firs' yeh weren' talking to her because o' the that board, now yer not talkin' to her because her Chao-" "Ate mine!" Razor said. Big rolled his eyes "Aqua Chao don' eat land Chao. Thas jus' a rumour" "You haven't seen it chasing Wacky all year. It had it out for him. And how'd you explain the blood?" "I don' know but I'm tellin ya it doesn happen. Coral's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter help me with Volt's case, mind... She's found some really good stuff fer me... reckon he'll stand a good chance now…". Silver felt awkward "Big, we should have helped as well. We're sorry" "I'm not blamin' yeh! Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be gettin' on with. I've seen yeh practicin' Sky Chase ev'ry hour o' the day an' night. But I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n boards or Chao. Tha's all".
The rest of the visit was very uncomfortable, both Silver and Razor couldn't get over the fact that they completely forgot to help Big. It didn't help that Razor was still refusing to talk to Coral after all the talk Big gave them. When they finally returned to the Common Room the notice board had something interesting "Spiral Hill visit next weekend. What'd you reckon?" Razor asked Silver when they moved away from any listening crowds. Silver nodded "Rykor still doesn't know about the passage I took" "Silver?". Coral was standing behind him "Silver, if you go into Spiral Hill again... I'll tell Professor Echo about that map" "Can you hear someone, Silver?" Razor said not looking at Coral. She looked shocked "Razor, how can you let him go with you? After what Elias Acorn nearly did to you! I mean it, I'll tell" "So now you're trying to get Silver expelled? Haven't you done enough damage this year?". Coral opened her mouth to argue but then Aquarius landed on her shoulder and affectionally nuzzled her cheek. Coral took one scared look at Razor before running to the girl's dormitory. Razor got right back to planning "So how about it?" "Okay, but I'm gonna stay invisible the whole time. Security's probably gotten bigger at Spiral Hill as well".
On Saturday morning, Silver packed his Chaos Emerald in his bag, slipped the Chaotix Map into his pocket, and went down to breakfast with everyone else. Coral kept shooting suspicious looks down the table at him, but he avoided her eye and was careful to let her see him walking back up the marble staircase in the entrance hall as everybody else proceeded to the front doors "'Bye!" Silver called to Razor. "See you when you get back!" Razor grinned and winked. Silver hurried up to the third floor, slipping the Chaotix Map out of his pocket as he went. Crouching behind the one-eyed walrus, he smoothed it out. A tiny dot was moving in his direction. Silver squinted at it. The minuscule writing next to it read Antione D'Coolette. Silver quickly touched the statue "Dissendium!" and shoved his bag into the newly made opening behind it. But before he could climb in himself, Antione came around the corner "Silver, I forget you weren't going to Spiral Hill either". The as if Silver's luck couldn't get any worse Infinite then appeared and approached them "And what are you two doing here? An odd place to meet up" "We're not meeting here. We just met here" "Indeed. You have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, Hedgehog, and you are very rarely there for no good reason... I suggest the pair of you return to Shinobi Tower, where you belong". Silver's held his breath when he saw Infinite's eyes flicker to the statue. He had no choice but to leave with Antione. They made it all the way back to the door to the Common Room when Silver was able to shake him off. He gave Antione the new password and then said he left something in the library. He set off and checked the map again. The corridor seemed deserted and Infinite was back in his office.
Silver, now invisible, emerged out of Josef's sweetshop where Razor was waiting. He prodded his side "It's me" "What kept you?" "Infinite". They walked through the village, every now and then Razor would ask things like "Where are you?" "Are you still here?" "This is feels weird". They checked out the post office which was having a discount which allowed Razor to send a letter to his brother Ash. They then checked out Wes Wesley's Joke Shop which was so packed with students Silver had to exercise great care not to tread on anyone and cause a panic. There were jokes and tricks to fulfil even Mighty and Ray's wildest dreams; Silver and Razor whispered orders and passed him some gold from under the cloak. They left Wes Wesley's with their money bags considerably lighter than they had been on entering, but their pockets bulging with products.
The two then approached Terror Hall, the most haunted dwelling in Mercia. It stood a little way above the rest of the village, and even in daylight was slightly creepy, with its boarded windows and dank overgrown garden "Even the Soleanna ghosts don't go near it. I asked Barney, he says a rough crowd live in there. Whole thing's sealed up, even Mighty and Ray couldn't get into it. Silver was tempted to get closer but he heard footsteps. It was Rutan followed closely my Rought and Tumble "Leave it to me" Silver said before backing away. He heard Rutan saying "Should have a Flicky from Father any time now. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about my arm. About how I couldn't use it for three months. I really wish I could hear that great fat moron trying to defend himself. 'There's no 'arm in 'im, 'onest' that Hawk's as good as dead". He then spotted Razor seemingly alone "What're you doing here, Razor" "What do you think I'm doing?". Rutan glanced at the house "House hunting? Suppose you'd love to stay there. Must seem like a place compared to your house". Razor smirked, he knew what was coming and his excitement made him invulnerable to anything Rutan could say "We were just talking about your friend Big. Do you think he'll cry when they cut that thing's head off?". Then with a loud splat a handful of mad hit the back of Rutan's head. He turned around "Who was that!?" "Very haunted place, isn't it?" Razor said as if describing the weather. Another handful of mud hit Rutan in the chest "What the?". A small stone then dropped in front of Tumble. He leaned down to pick it up and then something kicked him in the rear "Ah!" he fell face first into the mud. Razor had to hold onto the fence desperately trying to stay standing because he was laughing so much. Rutan and Rough frantically looked around wondering what was going on. Then something grabbed Rough's tail and began spinning him around and he fell on top of Tumble. Then Rutan fell over and was being dragged by the legs towards Terror Hall. Rutan screamed and kicked which eventually landed. Silver got kicked in the knee and fell over dropping the Chaos Emerald. He dashed and quickly picked it up. Rutan was staring at him, Silver looked down his body was still invisable but his head wasn't.
Rutan stared at Silver's floating head for a split second and then "AAARGH!". He turned tail and ran away at breakneck speed with Rough and Tumble behind him. Razor wasn't laughing anymore "Silver, you gotta get back to the school, quick!" "Yeah, see you later". Silver ran back into the village and through Josef's. His mind raced, would Rutan believe what he saw, would anyone else. He didn't know about the emerald but Locke did. If he told Locke he'd know exactly what happened. He knew Rutan would make it back to the castle first. As Silver reached the slope he knew he had to leave the emerald inside, it was too much of a giveaway. He left it at the bottom of the slope and then climbed up. He got out of the statue and closed it. The moment he did he heard footsteps, it was Infinite who swiftly approached the young hedgehog "So?" he had a look of great triumph. Silver tried to look innocent all too aware of his sweaty face "Come with me, Hedgehog". Silver, not saying anything, followed Infinite down to his office. He still had bad memories of the last time he was here, Infinite seemed to have acquired even more slimy horrible things over the year. Infinite moved behind his desk but didn't sit down. His eyes were glinting form the fire light adding an ominous atmosphere "Sit". Silver did so but Infinite remained standing "Mr Rutan has just been to see me with a strange story, Hedgehog. He tells me that he was up by the Terror Hall when he ran into Mr Razor, apparently alone. Mr Rutan states that he was standing talking to Razor, when a large amount of mud hit him in the back of the head. How do you think that could have happened?". Silver tried to look mildly surprised "I don't know, Professor". Silver was reminded of when he was approaching Volt for the first time. Like then he tried not to blink as Infinite's eyes bored into him "Mr Rutan then saw an extraordinary apparition. Can you imagine what it might have been?".
Silver tried to sound innocently curious "No, sir" "It was your head. Your head floating in midair". There was a long silence and then "Maybe he should go to Madam Vanilla if he's seeing things" "What would your head have been doing in Spiral Hill, Hedgehog. Your head is not allowed in Spiral Hill. No part of your body has permission to be in Spiral Hill" "I know that. It sounds like Mr Rutan is having hallucinat-". Infinite put his hands on the arms of Silver's chair so their faces were inches apart "Mr Rutan is not hallucinating. If your head was in Spiral Hill, so was the rest of you" "I've been in Shinobi Tower" "Can anyone confirm that?". Silver's silence made Infinite's mouth curl into a horrible smile. He straightened up and paced around Silver's chair "So, everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Silver the Hedgehog safe from Elias Acorn. But famous Silver the Hedgehog is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Silver the Hedgehog goes where he wants to, with no thought for the consequences". Silver stayed silent, he knew Infinite was trying to provoke him into telling the truth but he wasn't going to give him the satisfaction, he had no proof… yet. Infinite continued "How extraordinarily like your father you are, Hedgehog. He too was exceedingly arrogant. A small amount of talent on the Sky Chase field made him think he was a cut above the rest of us too. Strutting around the castle like he owned the place... The resemblance between you is uncanny" "My Dad didn't strut… And neither do I". Infinite took advantage of Silver breaking his silence "Your father didn't set much store by rules either. Rules were for lesser mortals, not Sky Chase Cup-winners. His head was so swollen-" "SHUT UP!". Silver was suddenly on his feet, his fear was gone. The piercing rigid look Infinite gave him had no affect now "What did you just say to me, Hedgehog?" "I told you shut up about my Dad! I know the truth, all right? He saved your life! Locke told me! You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for my dad!". Infinite went quite pale and then he said in a terrible whisper "And did the Headmaster tell you the circumstances in which your father saved my life? Or did he consider the details too unpleasant for precious Silver's delicate ears?".
Silver bit his lip, he didn't know which Infinite managed to guess. He now had a very bitter look "I would hate for you to run away with a false idea of your father, Hedgehog. Have you been imagining some act of glorious heroism? Then let me correct you. Your saintly father and his friends played a highly amusing joke on me that would have resulted in my death if your father hadn't got cold feet at the last moment. There was nothing brave about what he did. He was saving his own skin as much as mine. Had their joke succeeded, he would have been expelled from Soleanna!" he spat. After a few moment he then said "Put everything on your person on the desk". Cold with dread Silver placed the Chaotix Map and the Wes Wesley's products "Razor gave them to me on his last visit" he said the moment Infinite's eyes fell on them. Infinite picked one of them up ""Indeed? And you've been carrying them around ever since? How very touching... And what is this?" he held up the map. Silver remained calm "Spare bit of parchment" "Surely you don't need such a very old piece. Why don't I just get rid of it". He moved towards the fire "No!" Silver said before he could stop himself. Infinite stepped back "So, is this another treasured gift from Mr Razor? Or is it something else like a letter in invisible ink telling you how to get out of the castle?". Infinite placed the map on his desk, put on his mask and rested his whole palm against the parchment "Reveal your secrets". Nothing happened "Professor Infinite, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!". Silver's heart skipped a beat, ink was forming on the parchment. But then he realised new writing was on it under the original message "The Guardian presents his compliments to Professor Infinite, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business".
Infinite froze, Silver would have laughed if he was so stressed. The map didn't stop there however "Mr Terios agrees with Mr Guardian and would like to add that Professor Infinite is an ugly git". Silver wished it would stop, he knew it would only make it worse but again "Mr King would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor" and then finally "Mr Hood bids Professor Infinite good day, and advises him to have a shower, the slimeball". Infinite without saying anything moved over to the fireplace and threw in a flame shield "Knuckles, I want a word!". Within seconds Knuckles himself was walking out of the fire "You called, Infinite?" he said pleasantly. Infinite looked even more furious now "I certainly did. I found Silver in possession of this" he held up the map "Well?" he asked. Knuckles stared at the map looking like he was trying to think of something. Infinite watched him "Well? It's clearly filled with Dark Magic. This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Knuckles. Where do you imagine he got such a thing". Knuckles gave Silver a quick glance telling him not to interrupt and then chuckled "Dark Magic? Do you really think so, Infinite? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment that insults anybody who reads it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I imagine Silver got it from a joke shop". Infinite was still wearing his mask but his anger was still obvious "Do you think a joke shop would supply such a thing? Maybe he got it straight from the manufacturers" "You mean by Mr Hood or one of these other people. Silver, do you know any of these men?" "No". Knuckles shrugged "Well there you have it". Right on cue Razor came bursting in out of breath and clutching his chest "I… Gave… Silver… That… Stuff…". Knuckles clapped his hands together "Well, that clears that up. I'll take this back, shall I? It is after all my area of expertise".
He took the map "Silver, Razor, come with me. I need to talk to you about that Essay I gave you. Excuse us, Infinite". Silver didn't dare look back as he left the office. They didn't talk until they reached Knuckles' class "Sir, I-" "I don't want any excuses". He gave Silver a very stern look "I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr Rykor many years ago. Yes, I know it's a map. I don't want to know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle lying around. And I can't let you have it back". Silver expected that "What did Infinite mean by manufacturers?" "Because these mapmakers would have wanted to lure you out of school. They'd think it extremely entertaining". Silver was impressed "You know them?" "We've met. Now, don't expect me to cover up for you again, Silver. I cannot make you take Elias Acorn seriously. But I would have thought that what you have heard when the Prelates draw near you would have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive. A poor way to repay them, gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks. Now, I suggest you two go back to your Common Room and if you take any detours, I'll know" he tapped the amp with his finger. Silver now felt worse by far. He and Razor went up to marble staircase to Common Room "It's all my fault. I made you go" he shut up when the door to the Common Room opened. Walking past the security Krakens was Coral. She had a grave look as she approached them. Silver's mind raced, had she told Echo. Coral stopped in front of them, Razor crossed his arms "Come to gloat or have you already told on us". Coral's lip trembled and she held out a letter "I just thought you ought to know... Big lost his case. Volt is going to be executed".