An Encounter of Two Worlds
"What kind of place is this?" Silver asked while looking around.
Everything happened too quickly, one moment he was in the future, fighting for his life against one of those lava creatures that roamed the city and then he found himself in a pleasant and peaceful savannah. The naive hedgehog couldn't deny that being there gave him a sense of security, a feeling that he rarely felt in the city he resided in. There were no lava creatures that were always causing havoc or even abandoned buildings that were close to collapsing, for him, it was like something that came from a dream.
While Silver couldn't deny that it was nice to see a change of scenery after months living in that chaotic place, he still needed to know where he was. After picking up the Chaos Emerald he was using during his battle against the lava creature, the psychic hedgehog looked around before starting to explore the place. Even with his experience traveling to the past, he still felt uncomfortable in a different location. Each time he found himself in a place that wasn't Crisis City, his home, Silver would feel nervous. While he didn't saw the type of dangers that were in the chaotic place, the naive hedgehog did not let his guard down.
As the hedgehog from the future continued with his exploration, he was surprised to discover the variety of creatures that lived there. He saw elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos and many more animals that didn't try to run toward him or attack him. Because Silver didn't attack them or presented himself as a menace, most of the animals didn't pay him attention. At most some of the small ones went closer to him to see him, but apart from that, there wasn't any issue with the wild creatures.
After hours wandering around the savannah, the naive hedgehog decided to take a break and stopped under a tree. Thanks to his time in the chaotic city, not only was Silver used to the heat, but he was also used to being hours and even days without food and water. It wasn't that he was without energy, he wanted to continue with his exploration, but he also wanted to have a moment to think about how he ended up there. "Let's see, I was fighting against that lava lizard and I used Chaos Control in an attempt to make it stop…it still doesn't make sense. I used it on other creatures and this never happened before," the psychic hedgehog said while looking at his Chaos Emerald. He knew that could only have happened with two of the powerful gems, but he only had one. As Silver continued trying to find and answer, he also tried to work on his other issue.
Just the idea of being in that unknown setting was too much for him and while the savannah might look like a calm place that was different from the future, it wasn't the place he grew up in. Even with those dangers, he still considered the chaotic city his home and always did his best to change it for the better, dreaming about the possibility of seeing people living there without experiencing the same kinds of dangers.
Before he could continue exploring the savannah, his time thinking about his situation was cut short after he felt someone holding him. At first, Silver thought that he found a treat that would hurt him, thinking about the times where he was caught by surprise by those lava creatures in the future or even the robots of Eggman Nega, his nemesis. But instead of him being hurt by a dangerous creature or him seeing his word turning dark, what he received was a tight hug,
"Hi there!" The white-haired gal said cheerfully. In a way, Silver was glad to see that the cheerful gal just wanted to hug him instead of hurt, with the only thing he didn't enjoy being held that tightly. Of course, while it wasn't like the dangers he imagined, the psychic hedgehog still had a few doubts related to the intentions of the white-haired gal. If it was what he thought it was, then it wouldn't be the first time the naive hedgehog met someone who presented themselves as someone nice only to reveal much later that all was an act. "I don't think I've ever seen someone like you around here. You look like a confused puppy."
Even though he considered it a strange idea, as he got a closer look at the white-haired gal who hugged him, Silver felt that she was being honest with him. It was one thing to see someone present themselves with a fake nice attitude, but by the way the short-haired gal talked and acted, the naïve hedgehog knew that she wasn't acting any different from how she normally was. After she looked at him for a moment, the cheerful gal petted his head before sitting down while also putting Silver back where he was.
"My name's Elena, nice to meet you! What is your name?" She said while smiling. Silver still had a few doubts related to her, but as he remembered the things he discussed with some of his friends, like how he needed to be more open with others and try to talk more, the naive hedgehog decided to go for a middle point, not letting his guard down just in case something would happen while also not being that stiff and trying to present himself as the nice and naive guy who he was.
Seeing that he had an opportunity of not only presenting himself, but also having the possibility of getting some answers, including where he was, the psychic hedgehog looked up and told Elena his name. "…Silver…" he said quietly, unsure if that was a good reaction or not. Seeing that the white-haired gal started to giggle, he took that as a good signal and while it looked like she wasn't going to hurt him, he still needed to ask an important question. "I apologize in advance if this sounds a bit weird…but, can you tell me where are we? I've been walking around for hours and I still don't have a clue about where I am or how I got here.
Elena did a light chuckle, happy to have the opportunity of telling her new friend about the place she lived in. Wasting no time, the white-haired gal revealed about the place they were in. "We are in Kenya, is a country that is on the continent of Africa," while the cheerful gal spoke with her usually jolly tone, Silver's expression changed into a worried one. His fears became reality, not only he wasn't in the future anymore, but he also wasn't on Mobius. At that moment, he stopped listening to Elena and started wondering what he could do to go back home. His Chaos Emerald was still in his power and he could make another attempt, but fearing that he might be sent to a worse place, the naive hedgehog tried to think about what to do. Naturally, as she finished talking about her home and some of the things that were there, the cheerful fighter noticed the concerned expression of her new friend. "Are you okay?"
"Is nothing…don't worry…" Silver said while looking up, obviously lying to Elena. He still felt that she was honest with him, but as there were certain things in his mind, he still didn't trust that much to reveal the truth to her. It was once again him being caught in the past, thinking about the times he met others that used the things he revealed to them against him. The perspective he had of Elena was different, still thinking that she was nice, but he was unsure if it would be a good idea to reveal that information. Trying to think about a way to quickly change topics, he decided to ask the cheerful gal another question, knowing that she was going to reply to him without skipping a bit. "What are you doing here by the way?"
"Oh, I was training, preparing myself for a trip that I'll soon take," the white-haired gal said while smiling, quickly adding that she was a fighter and that she came back from training with some well-known fighters from around the world. Silver was surprised, hearing that the nice and cheerful gal was a fighter yet also one part of him expected that. Elena was so eager to talk about what she was doing that she even showed him the invitation for the tournament. "Here it says that I have to travel to Japan to participate in the event, but that's still in six weeks. With all the time in my hands, I decided to travel back to my homeland to train and also see my family. "
As she finished talking, Silver took a closer look at the letter, taking his time reading the details and information related to it. To his surprise, he noticed that there was a photo of Elena on the invitation, one that was taken at the last tournament. After giving the white-haired gal her letter, she smiled before petting his head. Even after she showed him the invitation, Elena continued talking about the tournament, mentioning how happy she was to be invited again and eager to see some of her friends. After the white-haired gal finished talking about the day the last tournament ended, she stopped herself from saying more as she remembered something important.
"I would tell you more, but it's getting late and I promised my family I would come back before nighttime," Elena said while getting up. Even before she found him, Silver was considering spending the night on the top of the tree, considering it the safest place to be. Just before the white-haired gal walked away, she looked at the savannah one last time before looking at her new friend again. "Hey, would you like to come with me?"
Once again, the naive hedgehog was surprised by the words of the short-haired gal. Silver might have had his doubts about her and her intentions, but Elena never had an ill thought related to him. For her, she saw the opportunity of meeting a new friend and showing him about her culture and her abilities. The psychic hedgehog felt bad for the way he reacted, the cheerful fighter just wanted to talk and be nice and instead of being the same, he doubted her intentions.
"I really enjoyed our conversation and as you told me you didn't know where we were, I was thinking of inviting you to a safer place. I know an outsider might have some issues being in a different place, especially with the fact that you don't know anyone around except for me. Come on, everything will be fine. Having a visitor will make my family and I very happy," Elena said before doing a light chuckle. Seeing it as both an opportunity to make up for the bad ideas he had about her and also spending the night with people that might help him, the naive hedgehog used his powers to get up from the ground, surprising the white-haired gal once again. "Nice ability! I hope you can tell me more about it later."
Silver smiled, glad to see that Elena wanted to help him. There were still a few ideas in his head, but after that moment where he got to know the white-haired gal, the naive hedgehog decided to be a bit more open with her. As the two started to walk away, the hedgehog from the future looked at his Chaos Emerald one last time, still thinking about how he arrived there and how to go back to Crisis City. He still couldn't deny that he was in a bit of an issue, but after talking with a cheerful fighter, Silver was sure about one thing.
He wasn't going to be alone as he had someone nice that was going to help him.