When GUN Agents Are Hunting You Down, Who Do You Call?, a sonic the hedgehog fanfic

WHEN G.U.N AGENTS ARE HUNTING YOU DOWN, WHO DO YOU CALL?

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog belongs to Sega

Genre(s): Family/Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Chaos Emerald.

Or, his friends. Maybe his friends.

Warning(s): Typo is my most loyal fan, spelling mistakes because English is not my mother language, Possibly OOC. Not Beta.

(A/N): This story is inspired by this fanfic: (archiveofourown dot org/ works/ 52761928). Go check that out first. The idea was so neat, that I wanna try writing it myself! After all, I did say I would write Silver angst fanfiction one of these days. Well, this is more Hurt/Comfort, but at least it's still about Silver haha.

Honestly tho'. Why is it so hard to find stories about Silver? I've read all I could on fanfiction and now I'm craving more! Can someone suggest some Silver-centric fancomic for me? I only managed to find one on Tumblr; titled TETHERED FUTURE. But I really love this boi (after Knuckles) and want to read more stories about him TwT.

Since the start of his world-saving business, Silver was hunted by an organization called the Guardian Unit of Nations. Or G.U.N. for short.

How did that happen? It seemed his multiple excursions to the past had been noticed by the higher-ups. They marked it as an activity with no rhyme or reason. Kept going back and forth between a particular era and the future, never telling them the reason why. Because of that, Silver had been cited as a reckless teenager who abused his time-traveling power. They were afraid that he would leave an impact that could ruin the world one day. A disaster that couldn't be easily fixed. That's why they tried to arrest him. To capture and question him.

Well. Emphasized on tried.

Silver the Hedgehog didn't like to toot his own horn here—unlike a certain blue hedgehog—but he had to admit to himself that he was a strong hedgehog.

From the day he was born, he was gifted by the power of psychokinesis. With just his mind, he could lift a car with ease. On a good day, he could lift a bus. In a crisis that was filled with determination, he could stop a whole building from crumbling. All of that, he'd done so with just a thought, hands splayed to the fore and a bright cyan energy surrounding the thing. He could even use his power to himself, allowing him to fly around with ease and sometimes, bringing people alongside him.

So Silver was able to evade the pursuit of the determined agents the past few...months? Years? Even if they brought a whole army, or hired a professional hunter, they couldn't even touch a single hair out of his quills. After all, he could just move his hand in a single swipe and the bullets will stop in mid-air. How could they ever subdue him if their weapon never ever reached him in the first place? Silver is strong. And he took advantage of that to live a somewhat peaceful life.

However, even a strong person had a bad day. And today? Today Silver is having a bad day.

It was around two days ago? Didn't know for sure what caused it. Maybe rain, maybe just general tiredness. Silver was somehow inflicted with a fever. Something that was a bit baffling to him because his immune system was some of the strongest one among any of his comrades. He had to when you lived in a world ruined by apocalypse. Not to mention, traveling between eras that have their own brand of bacteria. He was sick before, sure. But mostly sniffles or coughs that only lasted till sunset. The longest it stayed was tomorrow morning. Not a full-blown illness that made his legs weak and his thoughts turned to muss. Never a sickness that could ruin his perfect control of his psychokinesis power.

Unfortunately, he contracted that exact kind of malady. His mind which was usually cut-clear in clarity became hazy. The annoying sneezes had long turned into painful coughs, making his power go haywire. He was still able to fly if he concentrated enough, but if he had to control the surroundings and turn them into projectiles or shields for him to use at the same time? The only result he'll get is a pathetic float from the said objects and his ability to fly turned useless. It's either one or not at all. And of course, his bad luck didn't end at just that because G.U.N. decided to continue their hunting mission this week.

Silver flinched when a shot went too close to his left ear, tearing the wind and deafening him for a split second. He immediately ascended high to the sky then rotated his entire body one hundred and eighty so he would be face to face with his pursuer. He turned off his flight, he quickly went down. Psychokinesis power uprooted two humongous trees from the forest down below, he threw them toward the G.U.N agents. One out of two tanks that were controlled by a minimum of three agents went down in a flame, and Silver activated his flight once again, mere inches from the ground below.

It has been...two days? If his inner clock wasn't wrong, since he started running. Frantically too. Honestly, it was a bit humiliating for him, but what could he do? He was sick, exhausted, annoyed and pissed. Silver wanted to rest, yet the agents were adamant about pursuing him this time around. They must've realized he was not in tip-top shapes—the frequencies of his counterattack could be counted in two hands, after all—and decided that today would be the last day he'd see the sky. So the only thing Silver could do was push them away with this reckless strategy. Fly, stop flying, attack, continue flying. Previous agents went unconscious courtesy of his strike, new agents came to switch places—using a suitable vehicle according to the environment. When they chased him across the town, they used cars or motorcycles. When they chased him across the ocean, they used a boat. And now that they chased him across the vast forest, they used a tank—then the cycle of hiding and seeking would continue on.

Silver knew he couldn't keep it up. His condition hadn't been the best already. Added that to two days without sleeping, and he was on the brink of fainting. What if he did the said reckless tactic but his illness reared its ugly head at an inconvenient time? What if it was when his flight power was turned off? Not only he would not be able to turn it back on, he would just go splat on the ground. Becoming a paste hedgehog with no life. He knew even if he turned himself in to the G.U.N just so he could beg for a day of rest, they won't easily let him go later. Silver is a time traveler who saved the ruined future, but there is no evidence for that. No proof to convince them that he didn't abuse his privilege. Only the fact that he went through the time stream to go back to the previous era, doing who-knows-what.

Not for the first time since the day before that he thought maybe, just maybe, he should've accepted Tails' offer when he asked Silver whether he wanted his achievement to be recorded or not. But not for the first time since the day before either that he tossed that thought aside. No, he couldn't do that. A simple act of writing his name on a book might cause a paradox. He didn't want to be hailed as a hero if he had to sacrifice his home for it. He couldn't be that selfish. Never.

He just has to run. Find a place to hide, and let this sickness be healed by itself. Maybe he could buy some medicine sometime soon.

Silver suddenly yelped when a gunshot echoed before a sharp prick followed suit.

His face lost all of its already faded color.

No.

NO.

Stupid. Stupid! Silver dived into the forest, trying to hide between the trees even though he knew it'll be a futile effort, with a tank that could destroy anything in sight. That was stupid of him! He was careless! How could he not know that agents were already right behind his tail? That they were close enough to finally nail a shot on him?

He didn't feel any liquid seeping out, though. They did shoot him at the twin tail quills on his head, the hardest part of his body. But it should at least bleed, right? He knew the thing still stuck on him. It was on a weird angle as well that Silver couldn't pluck it out of his system.

He tried to probe on it. Judging from the shape his fingers managed to barely feel, it seemed that they had shot a dart. No wonder he only felt the pain but no wound coming through. Was it a sleeping dart or a poison dart? Silver hoped it was the former because if it was the latter, he was royally screwed.

Then again, being forcefully put to sleep by an enemy was not a good scenario as well. Sure, he should've been relieved that they didn't want to kill him, just capture. But Silver knew better, from Sonic's brief stint in Forces War, that being captured can be a whole lot worse than dead on sight.

The thing is, he didn't seem to have that much of a choice. The dart slowly worked its magic. His power sputtered on and off, his path of flight started going wobbly. He wanted to panic, yet his brain was too tired to even do that. The sickness didn't help the matter either.

He's going to fall. And he's going to die. Or he's going to sleep and the G.U.N will arrest him, one way or the other. Both are just as terrible.

Ah, I want to attend Sonic's birthday party.

Silver didn't know why he suddenly thought of that. He didn't even remember if the birthday party was still far away or already ended, just that a year must've already passed. Maybe. Not sure himself. He just thought of Sonic and his friends because the last time he saw them was after the end of the Metal Virus outbreak. He wasn't able to say goodbye to them that day, too eager to check out the future and make sure that his home would not be covered by metallic substance.

So maybe he kind of missed them. The support and encouragement. The good smile and laugh. It wasn't often he could visit their era unless he was obligated to do so to save the world. Or when his adventuring teammates were able to con him into staying for a while (oftentimes, he really was blindsided. But sometimes, he let himself be fooled). He wanted to see them again. He wanted to be wrapped in elation and good-natured conversation.

He wanted to be away from the muzzle of a sniper rifle of agents that hell-bent on making his life miserable!

As his power turned off and he fell from a dangerous height, he vaguely saw something shiny on his path of descent. Silver squinted his already half-lidded eyes.

Is that...Chaos Emerald?

What is it doing here?

Unconsciously, he reached out for it. And before his sight went completely dark, the blue emerald that was now clutched within his palm let out a bright light. A portal then appeared right under.

And Silver knew no more.

The party was fantastic, Sonic mussed with a content smile plastered upon the cream muzzle. It might be a bit too chaotic if other people saw it. Especially with all the colorful triangle flags running up across the trees, table and chair, even falling on the ground itself. The decorations around the party consisted of the usual normal round balloons, chilidogs balloons, Flicky balloons, a life-sized Sonic cardboard (he suspiciously wondered if it belonged to Amy or not), and a bunch of lava lamps, for some reason. There was an inflatable pool on the corner of the yard as well, something he won't ever use. He didn't know why they needed to include it in the party design. Yet this kind of all-over-the-places knick-knacks is what Sonic loves the most anyway.

They were having a party in the back of Vanilla's home, just like how they did a year ago but minus the Time Eater God crashing the festivities. Tails was having a somewhat complicated discussion with the guardian of the Emerald, Knuckles, regarding his ability to tell how the weather changes by the smell alone. Amy flittered around the place, helping Vanilla and Cream in making sure that the baked goods were enough for everyone present. The team Chaotix, Vector, and Charmy were crowding the dining table, the main reason why the food seemed to be disappearing at a rapid rate, with Espio trying to reign them down. Blaze purposely took a day off of her duty to come and was now chatting amicably with Rouge (did he just hear them talking about a possible heist?). While Omega was seen standing still on the farthest side of the commotion, the Flickies decided to use his metal frames as a perch and the robot didn't want to disturb them from slumber.

And Sonic himself? Sonic was drowned in party hats, a pink feather coat that was long enough, it dragged on the ground. Yellow gaudy Flicky necklace that was made of metal and striped yellow eyeglasses were worn. He looked like a flamboyant rich guy and Sonic was eating it up. Victor may gifted him as a jest, but hey. If it makes the other laugh merrily, he was fine with being the butt of the joke sometimes. They needed the humor after the end of the Metal Virus fiasco anyway.

All of his friends were present. Well, mostly. Shadow was unfortunately not here, citing that he was too busy with the paperwork a certain someone neglected to do (Rouge innocently whistled). Sonic also knew Shadow was still not used to crowds, so he didn't pester the black hedgehog too much for his absence. The other one that wasn't able to come to his birthday was another hedgehog as well, but this time with a color of fur that matched his own name.

Silver was a naive, skittish hog but became laser-focused when it concerned his self-appointed job. He resembled Knuckles in that way, no-nonsense and rigid in what they believed in. Silver would come to fix the problem, offer them help in restoration if that day's adventure caused a lot more collateral damages than usual, and then zip back to the future. All, without letting himself rest for a second. Silver is the definition of the unsung hero. That meant he wouldn't go to the past just to celebrate someone's birthday. Not without the said birthday becoming a single point of a reason that would cause the destruction of his home like last year.

Which, is a shame. Shadow, he could do without because Sonic could just visit him anytime and anywhere. But Silver? He had to hope for a world-damning destruction to happen just so he could see those silver quills of his. And Sonic was not petty enough to wish for that. Not to the point of endangering the good folks living on earth.

So imagined his surprise when Sonic's furs bunched up in anticipation, a wave of concentrated chaos energy washed up on his skin. This sensation! Sonic turned to the open field with the biggest grin of the day, embracing the familiar tickling feeling. Blaze, who was in the middle of drinking a grape juice, snapped her attention to that particular spot too. Double reaffirming his guess of what was about to happen. If Blaze who was an expert in dimension hopping travel recognized the energy, that means—

A cyan portal blipped and expanded. There was a brief moment where the air seemingly sucked into itself before a figure of a teenager appeared and hurled itself right into the center of the inflatable pool.

Everyone yelped in shock, while Sonic laughed out loud.

"That was one hell of an entrance!" he guffawed, wiping out a stray tear from the corner of his eyes. Sonic approached after the water had stopped splashing everywhere, eyes crinkled up in happiness, "Yo, Silver. I didn't know you would come. Is the peaceful future started to bore you out or some...thing..."

Then his teasing petered off till it stopped completely. His previously giddy expression stuttered and his heart stopped for a brief moment.

Because, yes, Silver was here. But it was clear from his appearance that he was not in condition to greet the others with his meek yet cheerful waves as usual. His neat, maintained quills were in disarray, dirt and mud clung to them like a lifeline. His face flushed, ragged breathing. He looked sick and feverish and the water that drenched his entire body didn't help his condition at all. Sonic's stomach dropped at the sight of blood seeping through his nose, dripping out of his open maw.

What?

What happened to him?

Blaze was the first to move, pulling Silver out of the pool and cradling his head near her chest, trying to share her warmth with the shivering hedgehog. That action woke Silver up from his brief unconsciousness, blinking the reverie out of his blurry gaze.

"B-Blaze?" his voice was raspy. As if he hadn't had a drink since forever.

The cat shushed him and she put her forehead on Silver's own, "You have a fever," the cat concluded, exactly what Sonic had surmised, "It was pretty high too. I was surprised you were still able to use your power to go back to this era in this condition."

"Why would you do that though?" Charmy quipped. He had his eyebrows scrunched together and hands rested at each of his waist, "Sure, today's Sonic's birthday but we don't want you to come at the risk of your own health."

Charmy was right. And wasn't that something, when a child knew better and a teenager didn't? Sonic was second away from scolding Silver right there and then for this reckless stunt. Definitely not pot calling the kettle black here.

"That is because," Espio walked closer and pulled something out of Silver's two-tailed quills. It was a dart. A sleeping dart engineered to specifically subdue a Mobian. There were several gasps of muted horror, "He was forced to."

Right after the chameleon said that another portal molded out of an existence.

Every single one of them assumed a fighting position, even Vanilla with a pan she somehow had (belatedly, Sonic mourned over the loss of good camaraderie. This is Time Eater God disaster all over again). Three people wearing a soldier uniform with a black vest wrapping around it, a black helmet and night vision goggles strapped on their faces, bringing a sniper rifle in each of their hands, arrived with a muted thump. They looked around a bit, seemingly assessing the situation, and landed their sight right toward the Mobians. Or, to be exact, toward the silver hedgehog, who started struggling to stand up so he could fight back alongside them. Blaze didn't like that action and instead, embraced Silver closer to her so he would stop squirming.

"Target sighted." The soldier spoke.

"G.U.N," and Tails growled, enough venom could be heard from that single sentence alone.

That was a sound that didn't suit their beloved younger brother. The hostility in it, the sourness that permeated was jarring, unbelievable to comprehend. But Sonic understood the animosity. G.U.N was a government military unit that was supposed to keep the citizens safe. They would hunt down the anomaly and contain the disaster before it escalated. More often than not, however, they'll achieve the completion of their mission by smacking all that could hinder them to the side, uncaring over the wounds they would inflict, be it to the bad guy or to the guiltless civilians. They won't hesitate to open fire, conducting inhumane experiments towards those who are undeserving.

Nowadays though, they did their job as they should've been. Often times collaborating with the Mobius Hero in an effort to save the world, even. There was a reason why Team Dark, which consisted of Shadow, Rouge, and Omega, became part of the military. They knew they meant well now, and they intended to help them achieve peace via a legal way, instead of being off-and-on vigilantes like Sonic and their friend did. They were there to make sure that G.U.N wouldn't go back to their old way as well. That they won't hurt others in the name of protection. That the ends never justified the means.

But they did. They hurt Silver today.

Two hundred years in the future and it seemed G.U.N had regressed.

One of the agents—Sonic would call them A, B, and C. He won't give a name to these kinds of people or else he'll care. And frankly. Sonic didn't want to—Agent A said. Or, more like demand, "Please step aside, citizen. We'd believe that the hedgehog you are protecting over there is a criminal."

Amy tightened her hold on her big hammer, "On what account?"

"He is under arrest for multiple accounts of illegal time-traveling to this era, for purposes unknown to the Guardian Unit of Nations," Agent A continued, "He's going back to the future with us, and will face a trial and due punishment."

Illegal time travel?

For purpose unknown?

What?

Silver had been saving the future these whole times yet G.U.N didn't even know?! How stupid can they be?!

...no, wait.

Sonic wanted to groan. Of course. Of course, Silver's unsung heroic deed would bite him in the ass. If Silver went back to the past to save the future, and when he did manage to achieve victory, of course, the future he would know would disappear. It would be better. It would never know the destruction that had befallen them. Gone was the fire and ash and instead, it'll become a metropolis of peaceful civilization. And with how adamant Silver was on not compromising the future, of course, there was no evidence to prove otherwise and G.U.N would've thought that Silver's incursion to the past was just him abusing his time-traveling power.

"We are so putting yourself in our history book, Silver," Sonic muttered toward the still-dazed hog. He took a deep breath, stepped away, and walked forward, his friends were parting to the side to let him go to the front. Right before the agents, Sonic folded his arms in front of his chest, "That's nice, agent. But you're not taking him in."

He vaguely saw Agent C suddenly choked on his own saliva. He poked Agent B's ribs, eyes widening in recognition.

Agent A's eyebrows furrowed, "Hiding a criminal within your midst could be inferred as you being his accomplice."

"Heh. It's been a while since I became G.U.N's enemy. Let's see if they can contain me for good this time or they're going to be just as inept per usual."

"You—"

"Sir," Agent B suddenly cut in. He leaned in to whisper, but the stutter in his voice caused the word to be heard by everyone present anyway, "That's the hero of the Mobius. Sonic the Hedgehog."

Oh? Finally, someone who recognized him. He knew his past adventures were recorded in the G.U.N database, but to think it was intact two hundred years from now on.

(And yet they still had the gall to hurt his companion?)

(Silver's appearance in this era was once in a blue moon and when he was finally here, he was hurt?)

(There was blood, trickling down his nose and mouth. A sleeping dart made with the sole purpose of capture and contain was buried within Silver's quills.)

(And Sonic felt like going dark)

Agent A's jaw dropped, confusion marred his complexion, "What?" he hissed toward his subordinate, "What do you mean that's Sonic? Why is he protecting a criminal?"

"Hey," the blue hedgehog's tone was sharp. All three of G.U.N agents jumped slightly at that, "The 'criminal' has a name," Sonic put the stripped glasses on top of his head, showing off his face for Agent A—or he should call him Agent dumbass, really. Just because he's wearing clothes today doesn't mean he's unrecognizable—to identify and let them see the glint that screamed danger flashing inside his emerald eyes, "He's Silver the Hedgehog. Remembered that."

They gulped, trepidation ran down their temple.

"You are wondering why I protected Silver?" he walked. Toward the frozen agents, "It's because he's a fellow hero. You may not know it, being an incompetent organization that you are, but he saved you from a calamity that could very well destroy the whole world," he walked, "Silver is kind, courageous, and emphatic. A soldier who stood on the front row and fought the fight. A defender that stood still and took the hit."

He walked. Until he stopped. Right in front of Agent A, "He is my friend," Sonic declared. Before he suddenly disappeared. Doing a spin dash maneuver that was so fast, it was almost invisible to the naked eye, he grabbed all of the sniper rifles from the gobsmacked G.U.N agents. Sonic went back to the previous standing place, throwing all the weapons to the ground while glaring dagger at the agents at the same time—

"I don't appreciate anyone who hurt my friend."

And KRAK

He stomped the rifles to pieces.

There was an intense silence that could very well choke the respiration.

Nobody was talking. Not even a peep.

The air thickened, the breeze seemed chillier. Another intense stare had commenced until Sonic's shoulders suddenly heaved and he turned away, determined sentences were poured out of his mouth.

"Tails, Rouge. Please make sure all of our history books and G.U.N database that spoke about our past adventures are updated with Silver's assistance in it."

"Wha—" the said hedgehog winced then coughed. It took worryingly one and a half minutes before the wheezing stopped, "But Sonic...the paradox—"

While Tails and Rouge immediately utilized their tech without nary a question—the former, with his tablet and the latter, with her sophisticated communicator—Knuckles put his palm on Silver's chest, stopping him from getting out of Blaze's support, "They're just going to describe your appearance, not your name. Don't worry about it," Knuckles answered instead. It seemed he understood Sonic's intention almost immediately.

It's no wonder. Silver wasn't the only one who time-traveled before. If Super Sonic could appeared and been recorded in Knuckles' ancient mural and their world didn't unravel even now, who to say they couldn't do the same to Silver? Making sure his heroism was remembered for years to come and never let his help ever be forgotten. This way, G.U.N bastards (if they were smart enough to piece the clues) would believe that his friend did indeed save their future, he wasn't misusing his ability to time jump, and they wouldn't have any reason to arrest him without proper evidence any longer.

It still rattled him that Silver had to experience this in the first place, however. Sonic wasn't inherently a cruel person at heart, but if someone hurt what he hold dear?

Well, he can be very, very 'petty'.

"You," Sonic still had his back on the agents. But he gave them a sidelong glare. One that almost promised murder if Sonic was any other lesser man. In the sight of the agents, the eyes of everyone present flashed eerily, "Get out of here. This is your last warning."

They didn't need to be told twice.

The Mobians didn't relax their stance until all of the agents scrambled into their man-made portal, scurrying back to the time where they belonged. And when they were sure no ambush would appear to surprise them for the second time, everyone let out a relieved sigh, "If I'm their superior, they're going to be re-educated so bad," Rouge grumbled.

"IF I AM THEIR SUPERIOR, THEY'LL BE GUNNED DOWN AND BURIED," Omega agreed but in a morbid way.

Sonic approached Silver once again. The hog must've sapped his entire energy just to stand up. Or the dart finally did its job. Now that his pursuers were gone, he slumped back into the purple cat's embrace, feeling drained. Sonic's nose wrinkled in worry at his pale complexion. His breathing was even raspier than his first arrival in this era. Looked like his fever got worse.

"Vector, would you be so kind as to bring Silver back to Ms. Vanilla's house?" Sonic asked. The crocodile unconsciously straightened at the hedgehog's word and Sonic instantly grimaced. Finally awake from his silent rage toward the corrupt organization agents, he'd realized that he had been speaking in a very polite way since the start of his tirade. Oops.

He sent Vector a quick silent apology. He did that because 'being polite' in Sonic's dictionary meant that he was pissed beyond reason and he didn't want them to unfairly felt his wrath. Not when it wasn't their fault he was irked to begin with. When the crocodile carelessly shrugged, seemingly unbothered by Sonic's intense demeanor, he changed his attention toward the older bunny, "If that's okay with you, Ms. Vanilla? Silver needed a rest."

"Of course. You didn't even need to ask," she nodded in grim determination.

"Leave it to us, Sonic," Vector followed with his own fervor.

Sonic's smile. And it was a whole lot more genuine than before. Making sure Vector and Vanilla—followed suit by Cream and Charmy—didn't need any more help to take care of the sick hog, he then turned once again. This time, toward the still wary occupants. Sonic gave them a good-natured thumbs up and a flash of smirk. His speech went back to the usual casual way, "You guys continue the party. I gotta call someone for a bit."

A glance was shared, silent conversation appeared to be happening. Espio was the first to nod after a moment passed and the party did indeed resume, albeit with lower energy than before.

Sonic walked toward the lonely corner of the field, fishing a blue phone out of his quills. He opened up a quick dial, choosing a particular phone number, and then waited. It didn't take long for the recipient to pick up, tone was annoyed and impatient.

"Hey Shadow," he cut in the rant before it could even form, "No, I'm not trying to pester you to come to my party. I just want you to clarify something for me," the breeze picked up and the foliage around the yard shadowed half of Sonic's face. There was a grin on his muzzle and it didn't look friendly, "You're immortal, aren't you?"

Two hundred years in the future, a peaceful morning with no clouds. The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming.

And the G.U.N headquarters was greeted by a devastated explosion.

The commander fell on his butt unceremoniously, coughing up a ton. Something had landed on the roof, particularly on top of his office, and pierced right through. Wrecking up the entire room and destroying every paper that was out of its cabinets Everything was in disarray. Table cracked, the metal wall punctured. The smoke that hindered the vision billowing in and out and the siren that signaled the existence of an attacker started going off like crazy. The commander snatched the communicator hanging around his breast pocket, mouth open and ready to give an order to everyone present to get your asses here already! You're trained soldiers. You shouldn't be running around like headless chickens just because their base was breached by an unknown enemy.

Then a gloved hand grabbed onto his wrist. Twisting it in a painful way, it made the commander unconsciously drop his communicator.

The smoke that came from the sudden explosion finally thinned out. And, peeking through the half-lidded eyes, the commander's pupils contracted when he saw who was exactly that brave—or stupid—enough to infiltrate an armed headquarters.

It was a familiar black and red hedgehog. Wearing a black jacket with a white fur hoodie, light grey turtle neck, and a bulky red belt circling his waist, a Sig Sauer M17 was strapped onto it. His expression was flat, but the commander felt the blood thirst emanating from those red glowing eyes nonetheless.

"Why are you hunting Silver?"

He flinched.

Shadow the Hedgehog. An Ultimate Lifeform scientifically engineered by a madman scientist. He'd been living for over a hundred years, fulfilling his first purpose as a being that would keep the peace. He wasn't exactly a G.U.N member anymore, opting to follow the hero of old where he traveled around the world and helped people solve their problems. The hedgehog was someone everyone admired, prickly attitude notwithstanding. The commander even knew a lot of G.U.N soldiers who hailed Shadow as their idol still. Wanting to follow his path by becoming a soldier first and hoping to become their version of hero in their own story later.

That's why if Shadow, the peacekeeper of the world, attacked you out of nowhere, people knew.

That you are in the wrong here.

'I'm fucked'

How did he know? The commander tried to skid back. But his hand was still within Shadow's grasp, prohibiting him from twitching even a single digit. He made sure today's mission was a classified one, hiding the files behind firewall upon firewall. So how did he know? How did he know it was a mission assigned by the commander of the G.U.N. instead of any other people who resided within the base?

Seemingly hearing the commander's silent question from those widening eyes alone, Shadow spoke. Tone drawl and baritone ever deeper than the usual growl, "I've got an 'intel' about a questionable mission. I didn't know when and where it'll happen, but it will happen. So I've been spying on the update of G.U.N's mission constantly," he inched closer, baring his fangs and nose almost touching, "Tell me. Why did I find a log about Silver the Hedgehog capture mission, when the database clearly said he's not an enemy? Were you afraid of someone stronger than you?"

"Or were you trying to contain him and experiment on him just like how your predecessor did to me two hundred and fifty years ago?"

The commander clammed up.

That was the answer enough.

SNAP.

"GAH!" he screamed, tears sprung at the corner of his eyes as his hand felt like it was drowned in flame.

The hedgehog broke his wrist!

"Listen here, commander," Shadow threw the broken wrist with enough force, it bounced on the floor and sent another blazing pain that blinded the thought. Shadow kept on speaking, uncaring over the man who was now panting like a wounded dog, "You are not the first leader I've ever fought and you won't be the last. I have time to make your life miserable. Ideas to keep me going. The thing is—"

"What about you?"

Are you determined enough to follow through with your plan? Are you courageous enough to have the Ultimate Lifeform as your enemy? Are you strong enough to fight an undying being when you yourself will have your breath taken away at the age of under a hundred?

Are you crazy enough to survive in a living hell?

When the soldier finally arrived at the center of the commotion, Shadow was already gone.

In the depth of an endless darkness, Silver felt comforted.

He was restful and relaxed. The abyss cocooned him like a snug fuzzy sweater in the winter, wrapping him in the amiability of an old friend and letting the ever-present pain be washed away. It was so cozy. Pleasant. He almost never ever wanted to escape from it.

But why was he here? Silver questioned. Why did he feel pain in the first place? And—

Wasn't there something he had to solve first beforehand?

Silver groaned, opening up his tightly closed eyes. The moment he was fully awake, he was met with a cream ceiling and a hanging lamp.

Where—. He slowly got up, looking around the place to search for something to recognize. Did he fall asleep at a random place and some random nice Mobian decided to pick him up? Silver spotted a bedside table and a sleep lamp near his pillow. A brown wooden wardrobe on his right, standing right next to the doorway to the room. Over the corner was a couch and low table, with magazines stacked on top. A bookshelf full of books that were as thick as tomes, a life-sized mirror, a black hedgehog leaning on a wall with hands folded in front of his chest, a television hanging up on top, and beanbags scattered in front of the said technology for easy relaxation.

...wait.

"Shadow?" Silver rasped, blinking in confusion at the sight of him. His cracked lips were poised to open, most probably wanting to ask how he was here. Before memories of two days ago, and just a moment ago as well, rammed into him like an angry bull and Silver let out an understanding gasp instead.

Right. He went to the past to seek shelter. Somehow, managing to land right on the day of Sonic's birthday party.

Silver wondered if he was that lucky that today was really the day of the celebration where his companions were all here and making the protection easier to do or the Chaos Emerald heard his musing. How many days he had stave off of his age? Is he younger or older than anyone right now?

No matter. The important thing right now is his condition. Judging by the bedroom he was staying in, with a friendly face accompanying him to boot too, instead of being caged behind a bar...

Silver let his back rest on the bed headrest, letting out a tension he didn't know he'd been holding. They did it. They chased the G.U.N member away.

He could finally breathe a little easier.

After a moment of companionable silence where the occupants were seemingly content with each other presence, Silver moved his head to the left and stared at the still silent hedgehog, "What are you doing here, Shadow?" he asked, giving the other a small quirk of lips, "I vaguely remembered not seeing you in Sonic's party."

Shadow tsk'ed, "And thank Chaos for that. Or else I'm going to be the next clown."

Huh? Clown?

The door decided to creak open that very moment, bringing in a cacophony from the outside. There was a step, and someone cheerily chirped, "Oh, I'm glad to see you awake, Silver. How's your feeling?"

"Sonic!" the time traveler felt like smiling too. Just hearing his voice was like a balm to his tired self. Silver knew he could protect himself, but the presence of a Hero of the Mobious never stopped instilling bravery within him. He slowly turned his attention to the opposite side this time, "Thank you for your help. I was—"

Then he stopped short. Processing the sight he was seeing right now.

What.

"What kind of costume is that?" Silver questioned his friend's sanity.

The party hats, feather cloak, gaudy necklace, and stripped glasses. It was no wonder Shadow called him a 'clown', because frankly. Sonic resembled that of a nouveau riche who just found out he inherited a ton of money and didn't know what to do other than spend it carelessly.

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked back. He even had the gall to sound affronted, "Don't I look fabulous?"

The hedgehog twirled twice—managing to keep whatever foods on the tray he brought in on balance—and threw his head back. He looked way too proud.

No. No, you look ridiculous. It wasn't about the color. It was about how tacky the overall looks were.

"You look ridiculous."

Thank you, Shadow.

"I'm not asking for your opinion, Shads! You think anything other than a jacket is ridiculous!"

"That's because I have taste."

"No, you're just boring."

Silver giggled at their banter. Always funny to watch as long as they didn't cross any line.

But then the good feeling was suddenly cut short by continuous coughs. So deep, it hurt his throat. Oh, that's not good, Silver had that stray thought as his hacking felt never-ending. This was worse than before. Tears seeped from his shut eyes, his ribs felt like it was rattling from all the force. His head ached and ears ringing. Every single cell of his being felt like it was in an inferno and Silver wished for this to stop right now! Oh, my Chaos—

When it finally did, a breath of relief spewed out harshly. It was so sudden that he felt like choking off his own saliva. Vaguely, he felt fingers cradling his shoulders. And as he cracked open his heavy eyelids, he found out that Shadow had stepped away from the wall he'd been leaning on and was the one who propped his body up.

His red eyes were glaring, staring right into Silver as if he wanted to bare his soul for the world to see. It would surely frighten whoever he deemed victim yet Silver detected hidden worry within it. An expression that didn't suit the black hedgehog at all. Why? Why did Shadow look at him like he was going to die or some—

Oh.

Silver took the gloved hand away from his mouth; didn't even realize he was covering it in the first place. The previous white cloth was now stained in red. There was blood on his palm.

Oooh.

"Uh, okay I know this looked bad, but I'm fine," Silver winced. He put a reassuring touch on Shadow's grip that became a bit too tight as seconds ticked by. Then threw a small smile toward Sonic, who stood frozen still on the walkway, "I'm just...overusing my power, is all. Traveling through time didn't help either. Don't worry, though. It'll...ugh...stop when I have enough rest."

He wasn't able to sleep over the past two days when he was being chased by G.U.N agents as well, so his brain was really worked to the bone.

Sonic's lips thinned, his hold on the tray trembled a little bit. His expression gloomed for a split second. But it was only for that split second. When Silver blinked, it was already long gone and was replaced by his trademark playful grin. Did he imagine that or did Sonic really look like he wanted to beat someone up just now? The blue blur stepped inside, offering up the content on the tray toward the sick hedgehog. There was a pumpkin soup, a single apple, and a bottle of water on it. Silver took the drink, "You're right. Sick hedgehog needs to rest. And you are a sick hedgehog."

Silver hummed in agreement, greedily consuming the fresh liquid. His parched throat was now comforted and he was pushed to lie back to the mattresses once again. Shadow, satisfied that he was tucked in and comfy, walked back to leaning coolly on the opposite wall.

"Hey," Sonic put the tray on the bedside table and sat on the stool near the end of the bed. There was something in his tone that demanded attention. Silver, groggy that he was, took a bit to focus on the speaker, "Why didn't you tell us that you were being hunted by the G.U.N?"

Right.

They must've been so shocked when Silver brought a problem to the middle of a supposedly happy birthday party. It wasn't much of a problem to the hero and his companion, but an annoying problem anyway. Silver wanted to express regret for the ruination of the celebration. Yet Sonic, sensing that he would try to change the subject by focusing on something unimportant, gave him this pointed look. A look he often plastered whenever his companions apologized for something that was out of their hand.

So Silver relented and opted to answer the question instead. He grumbled, messaging the bridge of his nose as he tried to stave off the headache, "It's been...I don't know, I don't really remember how long. Time traveling mess up my inner calendar," he shut his eyes, "They're slow, so I've been able to escape from them very easily. Promised. But...erm...I'm sick today."

Sonic let out an understanding hum, "You can't control your psychokinesis power because you have a killer migraine."

Silver nodded.

"Well," Sonic leaned back a little, "I might've found a way to keep G.U.N out of your hide..." his words drawled slightly, stealing a glance toward the black hedgehog.

Shadow scoffed, "I have excellent memory."

Sonic smirked and continued talking to the sick, who looked a bit confused at Shadow's non-sequitur answer, "So you don't have to worry about them anymore."

Silver grimaced slightly at that news, "But...' he started, "What if it will affect the future badly? You don't know how massive a butterfly effect is, Sonic. What if the mention of my help will ruin the established future and—"

"Silver,"

The hedgehog flinched, eyes snapped open when he felt a palm on his shoulder. Sonic looked at him with a serious expression, something he rarely did, that caused whatever Silver's protest to die down at the tip of his tongue, "You are a hero. You deserved to be remembered. Hell, the least they could do is not hunt you down like a deranged sport and give you the decency of a private space."

"You should've come to find me when the agents first started gunning you too," Shadow butted in, "Did you forget I am not a normal Mobian?"

Silver blinked several times, trying to parse what was that sentence supposed to mean. Shadow sighed.

"Ultimate Lifeform."

"...oh!"

Wow, okay. Silver is stupid. Shadow was a being bioengineered to become the best 'weapon' that could shield the world. Even in the ruined future where he was lost to the enemies, Shadow's body could not be destroyed. Not completely. Eggman and Infinite had to seal him inside a cryostatis to force him to stop fighting. And it even took a whole lot of zombots before he could even be infected by the Metal Virus. But now that the future is safe, Shadow's wellbeing must be well as well. Shadow is alive for the next two hundred years. That meant, rather than forcing his body to fly all over the city to escape from the agents' pursuit or go back to the past, he could just crash at Shadow's place. He didn't know where it was, but the Chaos Emerald was a powerful artifact of all-knowing. It'll bring him right in front of the black hedgehog's doorstep.

Yeah, Silver is stupid. He'll blame this on his illness. And the lack of sleep. Definitely those.

Shadow reinforced that notion by saying, "Trying to fight enemies with that condition. No wonder you almost get caught."

Sonic slapped his own face, a loud SMACK resounded like an echo.

"What Shadow meant to say is that you can ask for his help when you're sick. He'll take care of you," he sent a pointed look toward the broody hedgehog who, again, let out a scoff. Sonic's hand left his shoulder and rested upon Silver's forehead, tussling the already messed up quills, "You are our friend, Silver. We will never leave you in a proverbial pack of wolves by yourself."

Silver's head spun. He didn't know if it was because of his illness or the sudden declaration of companionship. He felt his chest tighten otherwise, heart warmed to the point of being full.

Since who-knows-how-long, Silver had resigned to himself that he would be alone in his excursion. It wasn't like he didn't believe in anyone, nor did he believe he could solve all the problems without any outside help. But he didn't want to doom his potential comrades with a life of uncertainty. Memories splintered and shattered by all the going back and forth between eras. Silver didn't want his potential comrades to forget their parents, their family. Their own birthday and their own age. Silver didn't remember if the future he lived in was one that was saved from the nothingness of Time Eater God, Eggman and Infinite reign of terror, the curse of Metal Virus, or a sea of fire. He didn't even know why his mind kept on remembering the big flames that ravaged the world. Or why he felt closer to Blaze the Cat over all the other Mobians from the past, knowing that they came from a different dimension and should've not had a chance to meet the others. Did he forget something even more than what he knows?

However, after today's accident, Silver realized. Even if he tried to distance himself from worldly desire, someone would be stubborn enough to stay by his side. Through nice or rough times.

His eyes slowly closed, exhaustion creeping through his entire body and his mind lulled by Sonic's soft petting. There was a light chuckle.

"Sleep well, Silver."

Yes.

Sleep.

He could sleep. Because his friends, those who accept all good and flaws, are all here to protect him.

To care for him.

Silver might have to face the possibility of forgetting even more, but still. He won't trade this feeling for anything else.

(A/N): Less action scenes and more intimidation. Oops. I hope this didn't bore you.

I don't know how to end this fanfic either. OOPS.

If Sonic sounded OOC here, my bad. Just treat it like...he'd grown up after the Metal virus disaster or something.

So. G.U.N from the future. When Silver was still not featured in the history books and their database, the reason for his arrest was really that; a concern over a teenager misusing his time travel power. Sonic told Shadow about this and asked him to look out for Silver in the future. They will try to include his heroic deed in the history books from now on. So they hope with their meddling, Silver didn't have to be forced to travel back in time just to ask for help today. Or if he decided to go back to the past to attend Sonic's birthday anyway, at least he wouldn't be wounded by G.U.N's weapon and his overuse of psychokinesis power. Might've been fated to still be ill, but at least not spewing up blood.

But as they treated Silver's sickness, the injuries on his body were still there. He was still covered in dirt and mud, still hacking out blood. If G.U.N respected history and treated Silver as one of the heroes from the old, they should not be gunning him and he wouldn't be forced to travel to the past. Silver will disappear right in front of their eyes too. Not dead, just back to the future. Because if he had not been hunted by the G.U.N, today's fiasco would have been erased from reality.

Yet here Silver was, stuck in the past.

That meant G.U.N was still trying to arrest him even though the history books and database clearly said that Silver often went back to save the world, never for juvenile reasons.

That was why Shadow thought either the G.U.N member was not smart enough to piece the clues and didn't know Silver was a hero or there was some other sinister reason...

Or I like to think this is how time travel worked, haha. Is this a paradox? I don't really know, I'm not time traveling expert. I hope you understand my explanation. I was a bit confused about how to explain it myself :')

And in regards to Chaos Emerald suddenly appearing in front of Silver like a plot armor? I'd like to think that they became fond of Silver after he often used it to travel to the past and save the world. Like how it was fond of Sonic that he was able to always use it to become Super. So, when it sensed Silver's mounting panic, one of them teleported right into his path and brought him to safety. Yeaaaah, it was a plot armor alright haha.

But why did I have to do this plot armor in the first place? Silver can just teleport to the past by his power alone, right? Actually, no. According to a quick Google search, Silver's time-traveled stint can only be achieved with the help of Chaos Control or a portal that is conveniently open for him. So...yeah. I have to bring the Chaos Emerald into the story if I want Silver to be able to visit his friends.

And that's that. The premise of G.U.N hunting Silver down because they didn't know he was a hero is a neat idea. I can't help but want to write my version of it. But do check the original, guys. I think it's awesome.

Thank you for reading. Have a nice day~