new challenger approaches

"Step, out, step, out, swipe, swipe cross."

Silver followed through the motions, guided by Shadow's voice. Marked hands extended with each pace, pausing to extend his arm with as much of a form as his young body allowed.

"Step, out, step, out, left, right, turn."

Golden eyes concentrated, swinging his arms in the air as best as his young body allowed. It had been a few days since they had found the Emerald, and Shadow seemed less hesitant on teaching him. The first time they had gone through the motions, Silver had been very confused as to how the heck stepping and pushing his hands out was going to help him. Regardless, Shadow insisted it was important for him to cement these motions into memory.

"Step, right, step, left, up, down, stop."

Silver slumped down, his tiny lungs pushing in and out as he tried to regain his air.

"Were you holding your breath again?" Shadow asked, crouching down to the hoglet's height.

"Y yeah…" Silver guiltily admitted.

"It is important to make sure you are breathing." Shadow lectured. "If there is no air in your mind, you will not think fast, and if you are not thinking fast…"

Leather clad hands reached out and turned the small head to look at him. Golden eyes met red as Silver stared into the other's face.

"You will die."

Shivers ran down the hoglet's spine. Shadow was one hundred percent serious. The ranger was always quick on his feet, and he had articulated the concept of thinking fast since the first second they started training.

"Again."

Silver took a deep breath this time. He extended his small blue stained paws outwards and took his straightest stance. Remember to breathe…

"Step, out, step, out, thrust, thrust, down." Shadow began again. Silver followed through, stepping and pushing his hands out as he went, wondering why he'd even need these movements. They were not like any other kind of fighting he had. Every time Branch got in a fight, he always had his hands up by his face. Shadow himself had his hands close by his body. But Silver? He was waving his arms around in calculated, yet seemingly useless ways.

"Step, back, step, back, up, up, side."

Silver finished his set with a T-pose. He checked his breathing. Yep - still air.

"Back, step, front, step, cross, side, up."

"Side, out, opposite, out, front, left, u-"

Silver hit the ground with a yelp as his feet tangled under him. He laid there for a second, among the dead grass and twigs, and just tried to wrap his head around what happened. The looming form of Shadow appeared over him, investigating the tiny hedgehog for any sign of injury.

"Perhaps that is enough for today." The adult sighed, gingerly picking the hoglet up and brushing off the dirt with a careful hand. "What matters is that you try."

"Im too young…" Silver moaned, wiping dirt off his sensitive muzzle. "I'm too young to be able to do this stuff…im too small…"

"You are not." Shadow replied sternly. "I rescued Signal from an assassins organization at five years old where he had been trained since birth."

Silver looked at the yellowed grass below, a bit embarrassed for putting himself down. Gloved hands reached out, catching the young one's chin and lifting it back to the elder. The once strict eyes had turned gentile, a long sadness lingering in his expression as he looked the hoglet over.

"I burned that place to the ground for the atrocities they committed…" Shadow continued, looking away. "Signal couldn't live a normal life…so I raised him to use his abilities for good."

"You are never too young to be trained…"

The air grew silent as Shadow's hand fell away from the hoglet. Large golden eyes looked up at the elder. Was Shadow ok…?

A roar sounded in the distance, causing both ebony and ivory ears to flick towards the source. Silver shrunk back, fear taking him as the thought of being torn to shreds crossed his mind. The ranger noticed the hoglet's reaction and flipped around so Silver could climb aboard his back. His once relaxed stance had grown rigid and stiff, muscles poised and ready for action. Tiny paws grasped the sturdy cloak in fear. Shadow on edge…which was quite unusual….

A black mist seeped through the dead trees, approaching the duo with a sickening air. Silver coughed as the soul sucking bleakness cast the world in desaturated hues. Shadow grew pale. Before Silver could say "what", Shadow had whipped him off his back and placed his bare paws on the ground.

"I want you to run, as fast as you can." Shadow commanded, grabbing Silver by his small shoulders in earnesty. "Do not look back."

"But-" Silver started, but was quickly cut off by the adult.

"Hide immediately - use your size to get into a small space."

"Do not look back."

"And do not answer to anyone."

Shadow grabbed the hoglet's face, forcing the golden iris to meet red once again.

"Especially me."

Shock covered Silver's face.

"Even y-"

"Run Silver!" Shadow shouted, pushing the child on.

"Come find me at the Twisted Canyon at sundown."

"But if you're not there…"

A loud roar shook the trees, echoed by a malicious laugh. Shadow's quills tensed into a defensive manner, startling Silver by the sudden movement. Red eyes pierced through the mist as various monsters snarled at the two. Shadow cast his dark cloak off, hands crackling to life with energy as more and more beasts appeared in the deep dark mist.

"Silver run!"

Silver didn't even have to think. Adrenaline took his body, forcing him to run faster than he ever had before. Grass and twigs broke under his feet as he bolted out of the sickly mist. The thumping of claws against dirt echoed after him, only to be stopped by great flashes of light.

Don't look back…don't look back…

Tears of fear ran down the sprinting child's face, heart pounding through his chest as the forest grew thinner and thinner. He had to hide. He had to. His life depended on it. But where? Uncovered feet began to bleed as the bandages came off, exposing scabs and tearing skin. Silver bit back his screaming cry of pain. He had to be quiet. He had to be hidden.

Roars in the distance caught in his ears. They were onto him. They were going to find him. They were going to kill him.

Bolting faster, he jumped over a fallen tree, clipping his ankle as he cleared it. A soft whimper escaped his mouth as he landed on his belly. The world twisted around him but he had to move on. They were going to catch him if he wasted more time…

Silver limped on, slowly picking speed back up as his body ignored the burning pain. Leaves and twigs caught in his paws, but the child paid no mind. He needed to run. He needed to hide.

A wall of stone came into view, revealing a crack just small enough for a small hoglet to fit through. Without hesitation, Silver squeezed through - forcing himself between a rock and a hard place. His young body wriggled and pushed, forcing through the tight squeeze to a cramped, yet breathable space to curl. Silver covered his muzzle, masking his heaving breaths through tight fingers.

Silence followed. The deafening lack of anything echoed through his racing mind. Ears strained for any sound at all, only to be met with …nothing. He should be able to hear….shouldn't he?

A loud bang echoed through the woods, sounding like an explosion through the rock and wood. Silver squeaked at the sudden noise, knocking his head against stone in his flinch. The urge to whine flooded through his system, but Silver refused, keeping his paws tightly clamped around his quivering muzzle.

Cracks and thuds filled the air, sometimes followed by laughter as the hoglet sobbed silently. He shivered and shook, trembling in every bone in his body as he held his mouth shut. He had to be silent, he had to. The echoes of splintering wood and smashing stones echoed through the tiny hole he had locked himself in. It was so loud…so deafeningly loud… What was even going on out there? Was Shadow ok? He would definitely win this fight…wouldn't he?

"Where is he?" An enraged voice floated through the air, shouted from a long ways away. Silver's big eyes grew small as he realized they were looking for him. He had to be silent… Ears strained for a response, but Shadow's voice was nowhere to be heard….

More and more crashes and thumps resounded through the air. Silver covered his ears, biting his tongue to keep from screaming out for help. His shiny black nose dripped onto the fur below as his sobs grew harder to contain. The vibrations from the earth itself reverberated through his bones. It was all so loud….

Before it wasn't.

The air grew deafeningly silent once again as the fight came to a halt. Silver bit his lip once again. He didn't know who won or lost…

It seemed like forever the silence continued. Silver didn't know how long he sat there. Sobbing and shaking from absolute anxiety and fear as he waited for something…anything to happen. There had to be something…right?

"Silver?" A familiar voice called through the air. Ivory ears perked up. Shadow?

"Silver, where are you?"

"Silver?" The ranger called.

Silver opened his mouth to respond, before Shadow's warning echoed through his head. Do not answer to anyone. Especially me. The voice grew closer.

"Silver, its safe now." Shadow called. "You can come out now."

Silver bit his lip. He had two options. He could listen to Shadow…or he could listen to Shadow…

"Silver…" Shadow's voice grew more distorted. "Where are you…"

The singsong voice grew more and more unsettling as it morphed into a voice that was so…so familiar and so so…wrong.

"Come out…"

"It's me."

Silver grew whiter than he already was as the demonic voice pounded through his head. It was so wrong. Baby fur stood on end as the voice continued on, taunting with a voice that was Shadow's but an echo so unlike Shadow. Horror climbed in through Silver's mind as the voice wormed its way through the stone.

"Silver.. I know you're in there…" It laughed, dripping with malice and illness.

"Come out."

Silver didnt even dare to move. One false choice and he would be done. Dead.

"..."

The air was deafeningly silent once again. Heavy footsteps shook the ground, rattling the hoglet's sore body once again. Silver bit back a squeak as heavy breaths brushed past the wall. The low growl that rumbled through the air sent Silver's blood running icey cold. Earth quaking strides traveled away as Silver released the breath he had held in for so long. The hoglet did the only thing he could think of. Go limp. He cried and sobbed aloud as the mist drained from the area he was held in. He cried and cried until his eyes could drain no more.