"Time…"
In an infinite void of darkness, a twinkling light of blue appears. That twinkle slowly resolves into the shape of a long, pointed blue gemstone. The Temporal Sapphire ticks in a steady rhythm around itself, one-twelfth of a rotation each second.
"...Space…"
Compared to the calm of the Sapphire, the Phantom Ruby practically explodes into the scene, trembling with untamed power as it and the Sapphire begin a slow and distant orbit around one another.
"...and Chaos."
In the center of the circle flashes the most familiar gem of all—the green Chaos Emerald, glowing with the constant warmth of a conflict controlled.
"These are the three basic elements of existence as we understand it. But it was not always so. In a time before time, in a place beyond placement, what we see as three was neither three nor two, but only one and other."
As the Chaos Emerald shrinks away, the Temporal Sapphire and the Phantom Ruby each explode into countless motes of glittering dust, red and blue clouds each taking up opposing sides with a wide berth of black left between them.
"Time and Space… One force with reach infinitely long, the other, infinitely wide… A force of change to that which shall be, and a force static to all that is. The original opposites. The original Yin and Yang. The original Balance. These two forces existed apart, a perfectly balanced scale of one and other. Two forces never meant to meet. Until it so happened that they did."
The clouds draw closer and closer together, until finally, they touch. In an instant, all that exists is consumed in one tremendous explosion. From the heart of this big bang spreads ever-widening clouds and nebulae of stardust, soon condensing together into planets, stars, and galaxies.
"And a chaotic universe was born. Yet for neither Space nor Time was this sufficient. Space spread its reach wide, and infinite universes diverged. Time clawed its way forward, and an unending string of events threaded through each. Now, each relied on one another—for each divergence in Time created a new Space, and each new Space demanded a new thread of Time. It was a harmony of sorts, so vastly different from what came before. Yet it was a harmony born of conflict. And so, Chaos took root."
In the glittering void of space, the Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald return, each now joined by the rest of its set—seven Chaos Emeralds, twelve Temporal Sapphires, and three Spatial Rubies, each forming its own circle, rotating at different angles and speeds.
"The story of Chaos, perhaps, should be saved for another time."
The Chaos Emeralds scatter out into the void, again leaving only Time and Space.
"Yet even long before the creation of the Chaos Emeralds, the forces they embody were at work. For the conflict between Time and Space, the original source of Chaos, was a war like none other. For as each relied upon the other, so too did each seek to control the other."
The Temporal Sapphires begin to tick faster and faster, until a blinding blue light consumes the universe. When the light fades, all that was seen before is gone. In its place is nothing but a tall blue staff, with a ticking clock at its head.
"I am known as Chronos. When the universe was born, so too were the Lords of Chaos, and I among them. And when I answered the call of Time, I became something more. I sought to end the war that so besieged all of existence. To keep Time itself away from the grasp of Space, I created the Temporal Sapphires, and hid them along an axis which Space could not reach. As I did for Time, so too was done for Space."
In the blackness behind the staff, a faint violet glow emerges, shaping into hazy lines with an ever more distinct form. The lines make out a jagged maw, with a single judgmental eye floating above and off to one side. Without warning, the maw snaps open, and the illusory face lunges forward, crunching down over the staff. In an instant, all goes black.
"But this…is not my story. For the war was not—is not—over. This is the story of how the war resumes. And even I don't know how it ends."
Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project
Season 4, Episode 1
Silver Age
Written by ChaosProjectAuthor
"This is a story that begins not, 'Once upon a time,' but rather, 'Once upon a timeline.'"
A sprawling city that must have once been filled with life. Lines of futuristic cars still float in the air. People fill the streets. But all is still and white. Looks of terror are frozen on the faces of many.
"Once, there was a timeline from which hailed a great hero. He was known to all the world as Silver the Hedgehog. Yet for all his power, and all his heroism, and even his knowledge of time beyond that of most mortals, he could not save his timeline from destruction."
A single patch of color remains in one of the upper levels of the city. In the center of that small circle of color is a powerful blue glow. And in the air above that, Silver, taking in the scene with horror. He ignores his fatigue and pushes himself downwards with all his power to move as fast as he can towards the glow.
"Silver—this timeline's variant of Silver, that is—is a special individual. For this Silver, among all the Silvers in all the permutations of time, is the one who went beyond. This is the Silver who met the Lord of Time. This is the Silver who saved my life. This is the Silver who had so much more done and yet to be done."
Racing against him, just barely outpacing him, the Time Eater flies at the same target, trailing smoke behind it. But Silver pushes himself even harder. The psychic aura around him begins to stutter. Silver screams in determination as he fights past his limit, pulling ahead of Time Eater. He swoops in and grabs the source of the glow, a long-cut blue gemstone. A hole in the very fabric of space opens in front of him, and he tumbles in, just as the corruptive whitespace replaces the last of the color in the world.
"And so, when calamity came for his world, I broke my own most sacred rule. I intervened. For this was a Silver I could not allow to be lost to time. This calamity would not have stopped at his timeline, and I had need of his aid once again. So I pushed him, not just through time, but betwixt it, to the one timeline and the one individual who could help him prevent the Chronophage's return to power."
In the distant past of another timeline, on the outskirts of the animoid village, Zero the Hedgehog sits down next to a familiar flowing brook. He pulls out the Temporal Sapphire, and stares at it for several moments, contemplating his own reflection in the facets of the crystal. Suddenly showing concern for whatever he last heard, Zero stands up quickly. A space-time rift opens above him. An unconscious Silver falls out from it, splashing down into the brook.
"And so they did. Silver and Zero, those partners in time, did all I asked of them and more. And that which was under threat was saved. But that which was lost…that could not be restored. And for all Silver's work, all his heroism, his only reward was an empty promise of a future that is not his own."
In a void beyond the End of the World, Super Silver and Super Zero, joined by Burning Blaze, face off against the angelic, eldritch final form of the Time Eater, two gods merged once more, and empowered by the Temporal Sapphires. Silver and Zero put all their strength together into a single god-killing Chaos attack, a hyper-dense orb of black energy that rips the entity into millions of pieces, and each of those pieces into a million more.
"Times change. The future isn't what it used to be. Yet this new future was calling to Silver. With no more home to call his own, he ventured forth to see with his own eyes how Silver the Hedgehog might live in a world where time makes no demands of him. Or, as it were, to see how Silver the Hedgehog might die."
In the present day, in the Eggshelter of the Rebellion, there's a loud crash and a blinding flash of light. Blustering winds tear through the room, knocking down chairs and forcing everyone to shield their faces as small pieces of metallic rubble fall. Everyone looks up to see that the ceiling has been torn away, exposing a sky filled with blended shades of red, blue, and green in a twisting aurora. The moment of relative calm is broken by a second ear-splitting crack and another blinding flash. A renewed gale of wind is followed by the sound of something hitting the floor. Sonic the Hedgehog pushes his way through the crowd to see none other than Silver, sprawled lifelessly on the floor.
"Ah, but time is getting away from me. Sometimes I forget that you mortals need your stories told linearly. Let us rewind. A few hours earlier, in the distant future. A future very different from the one our Silver knew before. A future ruled by the Eggman Empire. That is where our story can finally begin."
—–—
Oveanna City — Sub-City Zone
A boot splashes heavily into a puddle darkened by stormy overcast. Lightning crackles and thunder booms as a steady rain falls over a hedgehog in a silvery cloak, running at an equally steady pace down a heavily shadowed alleyway. He keeps running and running, the grimy landscape never seeming to change, every drop of rain rolling down and off of his cloak, until, for a moment, the storm finally seems to let up. There he stops, resting his hands on his knees and taking a series of long, panting breaths.
Finally, Silver looks up from under his hood. What appeared to be a break in the rain was no more than a bridge, many stories above him, connecting the skyscraper on his left to the one on his right, forming a thin roof over his head. In front of him and behind him, the rain still falls.
This doesn't seem to surprise him. He simply closes his eyes, taking another series of calming breaths. A breath seems to catch in his throat, and he coughs and groans in discomfort. From the pocket of his cloak, he removes a small translucent dome-shaped device, attached to what might be a small canister of gas. He presses the mask against his muzzle. There's an audible hiss as it seals against his face, and he breathes in one long puff of it, then another. His breathing finally seems to have returned to normal as he returns the mask to its pocket.
A strange sound in the distance grows steadily louder. With a gasp, Silver looks back over his shoulder a moment before they appear. Three large drone robots make a sharp banking turn out from a distant intersection behind him, all darting straight towards him. Though the polished white machines each bear the shape of an egg, they share little other resemblance with any of Eggman's previous badniks or robots. A hole carved out of the center of each carries a glowing gyroscopic device that appears to keep them aloft.
With a growl, Silver takes off at a run away from the pursuing drones. They gain on him rapidly, their strange sirens only growing louder as they draw closer. Up ahead, the alleyway appears to open on a noisy, crowded road filled with people walking in both directions. But between Silver and the opening sits a towering pile of discarded metal scraps and rubble. Silver crouches a moment before making an inhuman leap over the precarious pile. In the air, he turns back for just a moment, letting his arm emerge from the cloak to make a quick swipe backwards. At his psychic push, the scrap pile shudders, then begins to topple.
Silver lands nimbly on the ground and runs the rest of the way into the crowd. Behind him, the scrap pile crashes like a tidal wave over the trio of drones, crushing two of them instantly. The third manages to escape relatively unscathed. As it flies out over the heads of the crowd, it emits a thin plane of red light, rapidly scanning the top of one head after the next as it follows the line of people moving left. The people, mostly animoid, some wearing masks like the one Silver used, and nearly all wearing cloaks like his, hardly react at all, as if this were an everyday occurrence.
From the line on the opposite side of the road, moving in the opposite direction, Silver takes one last glance back at the drone moving away from him, before pulling his hood lower over his face and disappearing into the crowd.
—–—
The rain has stopped. A bright neon screen built into the wall of a skyscraper provides most of the light in an open plaza of the bleak city. The same screen is duplicated many times up the towering building, and on others around the plaza. The screens all show the same aerial view of a strange-looking circular skyscraper, covered in even stranger machines painted green, towering even above the rest in the city. A familiar feminine voice narrates. "And with the completion of the Tower of Purification, inner city residents will soon be able to safely live mask-free, breathing in safe, purified air. Over the coming year, the Eggman Empire will be opening similar towers in every major city across the globe. This marvelous new technology is just one of the many ways the Empire works to improve your lives every day. Long live the Empire." The image on the screen is replaced by a simple face in front of a plain background, framed by the text, 'The Empire is Always Watching.' The face itself is a familiar one. Though aged to apparent adulthood, with long white hair growing past her shoulders, Sage looks out from the screen with her typical unemotional expression, her gaze moving slowly from one side to the other and back again, as if she were really watching from inside the screen. The way that her movement doesn't quite seem to sync up from one screen to the next almost makes it look as though she can.
Every few stories up the countless skyscrapers of the city, another nearly identical walkway is attached, with occasional bridges stretching between them, allowing for ordinary foot traffic on every such level. Flying cars following straight paths between the levels appear to be far more common in the upper levels, packed dense with traffic high above, but a few occasionally fly by in these lower zones. As one such low vehicle passes by, Silver lets go of the bumper he was hanging from, dropping onto a bridge just a few levels up from the ground.
As he walks down the arched bridge towards the nearest building, he pulls something out from the pocket of his cloak. It appears to be a simple piece of paper, old and worn, with what might be a three-dimensional map drawn on its face. After stopping to stare at the map for some time, he looks up at the wall of the building in front of him, which appears to be a window display into some manner of electronics store. Several screens inside show Sage's face looking out at him. That doesn't seem to bother him. Instead, his attention focuses on his reflection in the grimy glass. "Am I really about to do this…?" With a sigh, he folds up the paper, and looks down at it for another while. "It's been so long…since any of us have had hope for anything. What other choice do I have?"
He pockets the paper, replacing it with his mask to take another puff of air as he walks on down the path. But his reflection doesn't follow him. Inside the store, another Silver looks out through the window, watching his duplicate once again vanish into the crowd.
—–—
Silver takes one more puff on his mask as he steps slowly through a crumbling stone archway. This area of the city sits in stark contrast to the towering neon skyscrapers still visible on the skyline in three directions. Here, the architecture is mostly stone, old and cracked and rarely more than two stories tall. The few arched bridges still intact stretch over channels of a liquid far too dark to be water, flowing out to deposit murky clouds into the nearby ocean. Though apparently abandoned, the layout of streets and buildings is just barely recognizable as the castle town of Soleanna.
Entering the circular building near the heart of the Old City, Silver looks around cautiously. The ceiling has caved in, leaving rubble strewn all about the walls and floor, and exposing the place to the few rays of sunlight that slip through cracks in the murky clouds above. Something moves in the shadows. He doesn't seem to notice.
"I've never seen this part of the city before…" He pulls the map out of his pocket to take another look. "But this has to be the place." Folding the paper back up, he cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, "Hey! I'm here! Whoever you are, I found the map you left me! Why did you lead me here!? Who are you!?"
The only response is his own voice echoing off the walls. After a growl of frustration he resumes, "I saw you! You put this in my path without touching it, you have powers like mine!"
This time, there's a clatter of shifting stone and falling sand. Silver looks up in surprise, seeing the last of the disturbed dust slide off from the lip of the destroyed roof above him. But no one appears to be there. "This place is falling apart," he mutters.
Up on the lip of the ceiling, hiding behind a piece of rubble, the second Silver, cloakless, clutches at his heart and releases his breath in apparent relief at not being noticed.
On the ground, the cloaked Silver's eyes continue to wander upwards, eventually settling on the silhouette of a wide-winged bird circling high above, occasionally casting a dense shadow through the scattered beams of sunlight. He watches the bird circle a few times before looking back down with a frustrated shake of his head. Seemingly left with no better ideas, he resumes his shouting. "The Empire doesn't let people with powers roam free anymore! You're in hiding like me, aren't you!? We can help each other! I know you're here, just come out and show yourself!"
The uncloaked Silver above whispers, "But it wasn't me…"
The cloaked Silver gives up with a sigh. "What was I thinking? This is probably just someone's trash…" He turns around and flings the scrap of paper over his shoulder, letting it flutter to the ground. But after taking just a few steps, he stops. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees as the map hits the ground in an odd, stuttering motion, as if stopping and starting again every second before it lands. "What the…?" His eyes move from the paper to the pile of rubble it landed next to. Suddenly filled with curiosity, he holds out his hand, enveloping the top chunk of rubble in a psychic grasp and lifting it aside. A brilliant blue glow is revealed underneath it. "That's…one of the Miracle Gems… It can't be…" He steps cautiously closer to the long blue Temporal Sapphire now sitting at the peak of the pile.
Up above, the second Silver watches with interest from behind his cover. But slowly, his face furrows into a scowl. Again, he whispers, "Something isn't right here… Don't let your guard down…" His suspicion seems to draw his eyes upwards. The bird from before is no longer circling. Instead, it dives straight down with wings folded in, hurtling towards them at high speed. And as it draws closer, its size and shape no longer seems quite so bird-like. Silver looks back down at his cloaked duplicate, but his attention is completely occupied by the Sapphire he's now picked up. "Look up… You have to look up. Something—someone—is coming for you, you have to…" He shakes his head with a growl. "I wasn't going to interfere, but…I have to do something." Holding out a hand, he picks up a small rock at the opposite end of the roof lip with his power, pulling it over so that it tumbles down the wall with a loud clatter.
The cloaked Silver looks up for only a moment to see the rock land before returning his focus to the gem in his hand.
"No use…" He looks back up at the diving assailant. It's grown close enough to see that it appears to be a figure in a black cloak not too different from the one the Silver on the ground wears. The wings folded up down the figure's back and trailing far behind its feet appear to be made of strange, dark tendrils with glowing red tips. "Some sort of creature…I can't just let it take him out now. I have to do this!"
The cloaked Silver's attention is finally torn upwards when he hears his own voice shouting above him.
"Look out!"
He sees the winged figure for only a moment before a massive chunk of rubble is thrown into it from the side.
Before it can be crushed against the far wall of the room, the winged figure shatters the chunk of rubble with a single movement of his arms. With one flap of his demonic wings, he darts through the air in the direction of his attacker—the Silver on the roof. Silver can hardly throw up his hands to protect himself before the figure crashes into him, tackling him off of his perch and slamming him into the stone ground a story below. In the tussle, the hood of his black cloak comes down, revealing his face.
Silver coughs through hands tightening around his throat, "Sh-Shadow!?"
Shadow's Doom Wings dissolve into smoke as he tightens his grip, pushing Silver harder into the ground. "You don't belong here. Who are you?"
The cloaked Silver watches the scene unfold through the arched entryway he entered from. "That's…me? Who…? How…?"
"Your guardian angels have gotten themselves into a little disagreement."
Silver turns around in surprise. "Another—?"
A new figure, this one in a dull brown cloak, steps out from the shadows by the wall, holding up a white gloved hand from inside the folds of the cloak in an apparent show of peace. His voice carries a strange echo that makes it hard to identify. His hood completely covers his face. "I've been waiting a long time to see the legendary Silver the Hedgehog. Long time."
Silver's stance relaxes just slightly. "You know me?"
The brown cloaked figure shrugs. "Sort of. Thing is…" He lowers his voice as he steps closer, forcing Silver to lean in closer to hear him. "…you're not the one I want. You're just the pawn." In a single unbelievably fast motion, the figure draws a red blur from his cloak, and stabs forward with it.
Shadow and the second Silver both hear the sound of a sharp gasp as a blade penetrates its target.
"Nooo!" Silver throws Shadow off with a burst of psychic energy, then pushes himself off the ground with just as much force, darting to the aid of his duplicate as fast as his powers can carry him.
The cloaked Silver's eyes roll back. The Sapphire tumbles out of his hand. A psychic grip stops it from hitting the ground.
The second Silver yanks the Sapphire into his hand. Its blue energy courses through his closed fist as he readies a psychic-propelled punch. His fist collides with the chest of the brown cloaked figure.
Before he can be knocked back more than an inch by the blow, the figure and Silver both suddenly slow to a standstill. A pulse of red light radiates from the spot on the figure's chest where Silver's frozen fist still touches. A strange wind blows between them, ruffling the figure's cloak even as his body ceases to move. Silver's face, apparently unaffected by the strange lock of motion, fills with concern and confusion. A glint of light reflects off of a set of smirking white teeth under the shadows of the figure's hood. "See you shortly."
The wind picks up to a howling crescendo. Then there's a sudden crack as loud as thunder, and a blinding white flash of light.
When the chaos finally subsides, Silver is left on his hands and knees. The brown cloaked figure and the Temporal Sapphire both appear to have vanished. The only sign of the cloaked Silver is the cloak itself, left crumpled on the ground with a hole torn through its back. Silver reaches for the cloak, wrapping his trembling fingers around its hem. "What have I done…?"
"Pretty sure I'm the one who should be asking you that." Shadow steps up slowly behind him, drawing the hood of his black cloak back over his head. "Where did they go?"
Silver's eyes remain locked on the hole in the back of the cloak left behind. "I-I-I don't know. B-but he could be okay, right? I-if he was taken somewhere for medical treatment, he—…"
"That wasn't a survivable wound. He was dead before you even reached him."
"I had the Sapphire… If I could've just… I–… I–…" Between each syllable, his breathing rapidly devolves into a panicked choke. Each struggle to take in a breath only seems to make it worse as he claws at his throat and lungs. "I can't—…breathe—…"
Shadow walks silently around him, over the discarded silver cloak. "I suppose you'll be needing this more than he does." He reaches down into the pocket of the cloak to pull out the old Silver's mask, and somewhat forcefully presses it against the face of the only Silver left. "Breathe."
Silver obeys, and a hiss of air in the mask allows him to finally take a full, deep breath. He takes three more before he finally manages to calm down. Shadow removes his hand, and Silver takes off the mask himself. "Is that…normal?"
"You really aren't from around here, are you?" Shadow picks up the silver cloak, and spreads it around Silver's shoulders.
Silver looks up in confusion at the surprisingly friendly gesture.
Shadow's face doesn't seem to show the same care that his actions do. "You have a lot to answer for, Silver. But not here." He directs his hand out towards a distant spot on the ground. With a flick of his hand, a stone tile flips over, revealing a concealed tunnel underneath.
Silver gasps. "So it was you! You're the one who left him the map! I…didn't know you had powers like that. And the demon wings?"
Shadow ignores the question and proceeds to the tunnel. "Follow me."
"Uh, r-right." Silver climbs to his feet and runs the few steps to catch up, entering the tunnel right behind Shadow.
As soon as they enter the underground chamber, Shadow again makes a flick of his hand to close the entrance back up. Instantly, the tunnel is plunged into pitch blackness. The shadows are partially dispelled when Silver raises up a glowing palm, lighting the space just enough to see Shadow pulling a torch from the wall. He holds the tip of the torch up close to his opposite hand, and snaps his fingers. Sparks fly from the snap, lighting up the torch into a fire bright enough to illuminate the way ahead.
"Wow. You're really full of surprises today, Shadow."
Shadow suddenly turns, shoving Silver against the wall and pinning him there with one hand. "Let me make your position here absolutely clear."
"Not sure why that made you mad, you kinda just proved my point…"
"Do you think this is a joke? That boy who just died because of you—"
"I have several objections to that."
"Yes, I know that he was the same age as you, you're a boy too. And yes, you are responsible, because I would have been there to protect him if you hadn't attacked me. Now shut up and listen."
"But I—"
Shadow presses down hard enough to knock the air out of Silver's chest. "Shut up and listen."
Silver gulps with a frantic nod.
"That boy was the last hope of this planet. I have been waiting literal generations for the Controller I knew would come eventually. The one strong enough to wield a Temporal Sapphire. And he was finally born. And I watched over him his entire life to make sure he lived long enough to find one. And now, today, it finally happened. And because of you, he's dead, and the Sapphire is missing. Do you understand what you've done? You've doomed us all."
"W-well, I can fix it! Whatever you wanted him for, I can do it too! I can replace him!"
"Can? I wasn't planning on giving you a choice. You are going to replace him." With that, Shadow withdraws his hand, turns, and starts walking down the tunnel carrying the light away with him. "Now, you can ask questions."
"Wait!" Silver again runs to catch up. "You're…just going to take my word for this? You don't want to ask what reason you have to trust me, or who I am, or how I know you, or why I look exactly like the guy you've been waiting for?"
"I don't have to. You're Silver the Hedgehog from another timeline. You met me centuries ago. You caused all this out of ignorance, not malice."
"How do you know all that?"
"I could have theorized most of it. But I read your mind just to be sure."
"Wait, you can read minds now? What is up with all these powers?"
"Doom Powers. I wouldn't have had much control of them last time you met me. Which was…" Shadow stops for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows. "I don't remember that meeting. And…you don't remember it either? Your brain is a mess."
"Oh! Right, yeah, that. The first time we met—and the last time, chronologically—was in a timeline that doesn't exist anymore. It wasn't too far from here, actually. The abandoned train depot outside Soleanna. I…still get a headache every time I think about it. Anyways, that timeline was erased, but my memories of it were restored later."
"That was far from the last time we met. But…it looks like you didn't experience those timelines. Interesting. Now, didn't I say this was your chance for questions?"
"Questions, yes. Uhh…I guess my first question is how…" Silver spreads his arms wide. "…all this, happened?"
"You still come from this time period, just an alternate version of it. Did your history have no record of a war with Eggman? That can only mean that your timeline diverged before the war even started. I would ask how you could have ended up here in that case, but…ah, there it is. Reading your thoughts is much faster."
"Stop doing that, I'm trying to think! In my future…there was a record of a war, but that war only lasted six months. Eggman hired some guy named Infinite, right?"
"That was the First Great Eggman War. This is the Third. But it's interesting that you bring that up. Did you get a look at the weapon that assassin used?"
"It was a…curvy red sword, I think."
"That was the signature weapon of Infinite."
"So you think this Infinite guy is the one who…killed the other me?"
"Unlikely. Infinite was powerful, but he was mortal. There's no way he lived this long."
"Unlikely…but not impossible?"
"I don't know. He disappeared after the first year of the war, we all assumed he was dead. But I suppose it's possible that he was transported here, to the future, somehow."
"Couldn't you tell by reading his thoughts?"
"It's fairly trivial for most people to shield their thoughts, especially in this day and age. It's just you who's an open book."
"Gee, thanks… But you didn't really answer my question. Yeah, there was a war, but…how did it turn out like this?"
"Short version? Eggman used something he called 'The Chaos Project' to launch an all-out offensive on the entire world, forcing me and my team into hiding. You're right to think it wasn't this bad at first, but…if you're looking for one moment where things became hopeless, I don't know what to tell you. The Empire's grip grew tighter and tighter. We lost more and more ground, more and more allies, until…the only option left was to wait. First we thought we were waiting for Eggman to die on his own, but…we still don't know if that ever happened. Over time, he made his daughter into the face of the Empire, then he slowly removed himself from the public eye. There are all sorts of rumors about how he might have managed to survive and keep pulling strings from the shadows, but no concrete facts."
"So you wanted the Sapphire to stop the war from—"
"No. Absolutely not."
"Oh…but I thought that—"
"We tried that. Going back in time to stop the war. It didn't work. It made things worse. In fact, Sonic…" Shadow trails off into silence.
"What, what about Sonic?"
"It's nothing. It's just…been a long time since I've said that name."
"What happened to him?"
A grimace crawls across Shadow's face. "Unspeakable things."
Silver doesn't appear satisfied by that answer, but he seems to decide against pressing further.
"Regardless… It doesn't even matter that we failed. Along the way, we found out that even if we somehow miraculously succeeded, it wouldn't have mattered. If you went back in time to stop the war now, it wouldn't fix this timeline, it would only create a new one."
"I…guess I should have known that. Then…what's the Sapphire for?"
"It was to change the present. Before you lost it."
"Change the present how?"
"You must see that Time Control opens a large number of strategic options. Take it to the EggNet computer core and rewind the system until it's incompatible with current technology, then the Empire loses its entire system of control. That's just one of about a hundred different plans we've come up with."
"But…I can't do Time Control. That's Zero's technique. I mean, I've seen him do it at least a dozen times, but that doesn't mean I can…"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, our priority is finding that Sapphire and retrieving it, wherever it went."
"That, I can definitely help with. I'm actually kind of an expert on chronodynamics now. A Sapphire puts out all sorts of microtemporal distortions that can easily be tracked with the right equipment, even—"
"No equipment."
"Huh?"
"I said, no equipment. No tech. We'll have to find it another way."
"That doesn't make any sense. You're living in the future of a technological empire, there has to be something that can—"
"What exactly did you think the flame-lit torch was for? Ambience?"
"Uhh… Well…"
"The Empire can track just about anything that runs on an electrical current. We've had to shut it all down. All of it." As Shadow speaks, the light of his torch reveals a door at the end of the tunnel. Hung above the door is a very particular piece of shut-down technology. The broken head module of Omega stares down at them.
Though he doesn't appear to understand its meaning, Silver nonetheless answers, "Oh… I see…"
As Shadow approaches the tall metal door, he takes a glance back at Silver. "Don't forget. From here on out, you are taking the place of this timeline's Silver. In every way, you are him. You lived your life on the run from the Empire, you know almost nothing about time travel, and you're here because you followed my map."
"So, this is your base, where the rest of your team is? And…you want me to lie to them? Why?"
"Hope is a powerful thing. If they learn that their savior is dead, they'll lose it. We don't want that. Other questions?"
"I…guess not…"
Shadow proceeds to knock his fist against the door in an elaborate pattern. After a few moments' delay, a single knock responds on the other side. Shadow answers back with a single knock of his own. In response to Silver's unspoken question, he reiterates, "Low-tech only."
"Right. I knew that."
There's a loud clunk behind the door as some sort of mechanical lock is turned. "No you didn't. I read your mind." The door begins to rumble as it's pulled open from the inside.
Silver grumbles something unintelligible.
"That would be impractical," Shadow answers as if he heard with perfect clarity. He walks inside as the door opens wide enough to accommodate him. Silver follows with another grumble.
The underground room on the other side is a familiar one. The walls are lined with crumbling brick, the floor is made of cracked concrete, and the farthest wall is covered by a large and intricate computer system left dark and inactive, connected with various snaking cables to a circular panel in the center of the floor. Hanging on the wall to the side is a single impressively sized oil painting. Though most of the paint is chipped and faded away, the figure depicted is just barely recognizable as Princess Elise.
"Everyone," Shadow announces in a flat tone as he places his torch up on a nearby mount. "This is Silver. He'll be joining us from here on out."
From the shadows around the room, figures start to step closer into the light. All three of them wear dirty, tattered cloaks. All three of them appear to be human sized. One by one, they remove their hoods. They all have clear masks securely fixed over their mouths. Their faces look just as worn as their clothes. But after a moment, Silver gasps in recognition. Immediately, he thinks back to the last time he saw those faces.
Silver walked down the elevated street of Neo Soleanna, the futuristic metropolis he once came from. Children pointed at him. Adults smiled at him. Others even greeted him with familiarity.
One man shouted, "Silver! Great to see you!"
Silver replied happily, "You too, Alex!"
A woman asked, "Silver, are you feeling better from that last battle?"
Silver nodded. "You bet, Caroline. I'm back in full form!"
As Silver walked by an older lady running a fruit stand, she asked, "Silver, how's my favorite customer?"
Silver smiled at her. "I'm great, Granny."
She tossed him a piece of fruit.
Minutes later, their faces were still as stone and white as slate, frozen in perpetual terror.
Those same three faces—Alex, Caroline, and Granny—now look to him again with friendly smiles and a hint of wonder, contrasting against the dirt and grime on their faces.
Silver blurts out, "I know you! You're—"
Shadow shoots him a venomous glare.
"Uhh… You're…the…Rebellion… Right?"
Granny nods. "We've been waiting a long time to have you here with us, Silver."
"Yeah… Likewise, I guess…" Silver takes another look around at them. "So this is 'everyone'? This must be one of the smaller rebel cells, huh?"
Shadow answers simply, "There are no other cells. Not anymore."
Alex picks up, "We're the only one left. But I think Shadow just meant everyone who's here."
Caroline agrees, "Speaking of which, Shadow, you picking up any thoughts from—?"
Shadow cuts him off. "Blaze just got here."
Silver takes a step back in shock. "Blaze!?"
Through the open door into the dark tunnel, a figure in a fancy white cloak trimmed with violet, lit by a flickering flame just above the hand, makes the last few steps towards the room. Then the figure's definitively masculine voice greets, "Did someone say my name?" He extinguishes the flame in his hand and pulls down the hood of his cloak, revealing a face that both is and isn't Blaze the Cat. His fur is closer to a shade of scarlet than lavender, and the fur on the back of his head, without any hair tie, hangs low and somewhat unkempt. But in nearly every other way, his face is quite identical to the vision of Blaze that appears in Silver's memory.
Blaze walked up behind Silver as he sat on the Soleanna pier, morosely staring out at the ocean. "So this is where you are." She smiled warmly at him. "I've been looking for you."
The male Blaze snaps Silver out of his reverie with a surprisingly similar smile on his face. "Well well, look who's finally joined us. We've been waiting for you, Silver."
Silver scratches at the back of his awkwardly as his eyes can't seem to decide between avoiding Blaze's gaze and staring directly at him. "So I keep hearing…"
Shadow's voice echoes in Silver's head. "What is your problem this time?"
Silver glances over at Shadow just in time to catch him rolling his eyes. "Wait, I can read your thoughts now?"
"I can put my thoughts in your head when I need to. Again, what's your problem? He's not even the same person you were just thinking about, unlike those other three."
"I don't even know! There was a Blaze in the original future with me, but she was…sort of erased, so she didn't show up in other timelines. But…I guess she had to have ancestors and parents… I guess in this timeline, if her parents just had a son instead of a daughter…"
"Makes sense enough to me. Your guess is as good as mine."
Silver is once again startled out of his thoughts as Blaze walks up to him and pats him on the shoulder with his firm hand. "It's okay. You can stare if you really want to, I don't mind."
"Sorry… You just…look like someone I used to know…"
Blaze laughs before answering with an almost condescending tone in his voice, "Sure. That must be it."
Shadow interrupts, "What do you have to report, Blaze?"
"Oh, I think you're all gonna want to see this." Blaze folds back his cloak, revealing an old mechanical camera and satchel strapped around his shoulder. From the satchel, he removes a small stack of photographs to show as everyone crowds around to see.
The top photo in the stack shows a towering skyscraper with an intense but distant blue glow high at its peak.
"I've seen that," Silver comments. "That's the…the 'Tower of Purification,' isn't it?"
Caroline laughs. "More like the Tower of Nightmares. It's a base of operations for a fleet of millions of nanodrones. They can scrub the air, just at a rate too pitiful for any meaningful change. Meanwhile, millions of cameras and microphones too small to see will be flooding the city. The air we breathe will be spying on us once this program goes live."
Shadow picks up, "We were already planning a strike mission to take down that tower, but it looks like our timetable just moved up."
Granny questions, "So it is what it looks like? Another Sapphire?"
Shadow shakes his head. "Same one, taken to a new location. We were confronted by an unknown enemy—"
Blaze gasps, "And you let him take it!?"
Shadow glares back unflinchingly. "I didn't. Silver did."
"Oh." A look of guilt crosses Blaze's face as he glances back at Silver. "Well, I'm…sure it wasn't your fault. You're just a bit green is all. Or, should I say, blue?"
Silver appears confused for a moment, but eventually just shakes his head. "Right… Thanks, Blaze…"
"Everyone get ready to move," Shadow concludes. "We leave as soon as possible. This is your one and only chance to redeem yourself, Silver."
Alex interrupts, "Hey, hold on, we still don't know how we're going to deal with all that security. There aren't enough of us, even with Silver here. And now there's this mysterious stranger who took the Sapphire to worry about…"
Silver holds up a fist resolutely. "I can handle more than a few robots. In fact, leave them all to me, I promise you guys can count on me in a fight. In such a short time, it's probably the best way to fit me into whatever plan you have going anyways."
As Blaze walks over to a corner of the room to begin strapping on supplies, he responds, "I know you can, tough guy. I can too. If it were only drones we were talking about, this wouldn't be a big deal. But the place is watched and controlled by Sage. She can block every door, electrify the floors, you name it."
From the pocket of her cloak, Granny reveals what might be some sort of futuristic data drive. "I haven't just been sitting around while you kids were out scouting and planning. Get me to any Sage-linked computer, and I can upload this virus that should cut the power and blind her to the tower. Your job should be quite easy after that."
Caroline shakes her head. "But we have no way of knowing what computers Sage is connected to at any given time. Except the high-security places, where you'll be taken down before you ever get close."
Shadow orders, "We'll take the chance if we have it. This will be the most important mission we've ever undertaken. There's no room for hesitation. No room for doubt."
Suddenly, the hum of the base's machinery catches everyone's ears. Screens flicker on, lights flash erratically, and the hum turns into a whirr as every piece of technology in the room springs to life. Shadow's eyes narrow.
"What's happening?" Silver asks, stepping closer to Shadow. "I thought you said none of this technology was working."
"It was working fine, we just had it turned off." Shadow's voice is sharp. "Sage found us. Everything's been remotely activated. We need to leave. Now."
Granny frowns, her eyes narrowing at the sudden surge of power. "Wait," she called out, her voice steady despite the urgency. "This is our chance. If Sage is turning our computer on, I can upload the virus here and now. Then the mission—"
Shadow interrupts, his tone leaving no room for argument. "If we don't leave, we'll be pinned down here. And then there won't be a mission."
The team hesitates, all looking between Shadow and Granny.
Shadow glances at Granny, his expression unreadable. "We don't have time for this," Shadow emphasizes. "They're on their way."
The argument is cut short by the low hum emanating from the circular panel at the center of the room. The pad begins to glow ominously. The air shimmers, and a figure begins to materialize on the pad.
With even greater urgency, Shadow shouts, "That's a teleporter, someone's coming! Everyone, go!" He commands, shoving Silver and Blaze toward the exit. "Get out of here!"
The team starts to move, but Granny stays behind, her fingers flying over the keyboard.
Silver pauses at the door, torn. "Granny, we have to go!"
She doesn't look up. "Just a little longer, kiddo. This virus will give you the opening you need."
The teleporter's hum grows louder, and the outline of the intruder becomes clearer. Shadow's gaze locks onto Silver, and with a grim determination, he makes a decision. He slams his hand on a button by the exit, and the heavy doors begin to close as an alarm sounds. Silver's eyes widen as the reality of what's happening sinks in. Shadow rushes out through the closing doors, pushing Silver the rest of the way out with him.
"Shadow, no!" Silver yells, trying to rush back, but the doors slam shut with a resounding thud, sealing Granny inside with the intruder.
Shadow turns his back on the door. "That door won't hold him long, let's move."
"No!" Silver slams a hand against the door. "I have to go back in there, I have to—"
Shadow growls back, "You made a promise, Silver. And she made a sacrifice. Don't let it be in vain." Not waiting for any response, he runs off down the tunnel at a pace slow enough for Alex and Caroline to keep up.
Blaze takes Silver's hand from the door and gives his arm a gentle tug. "C'mon, need you."
Reluctantly, Silver lets him pull him along, away from the base.
Behind them, muffled through the heavy metal, Granny's voice sounds out, followed by a chilling scream. Silver shudders, all the terror and sorrow etched in his tear-filled eyes.
—–—
A manhole cover shudders, then slides slowly aside. Shadow's eyes peer up from inside the tunnel, up at the Tower of Purification looming over the rest of the city. Unlike the residential center of the city, every other building nearby appears drab and industrial, lacking any sign of non-robotic habitation. While all those other skyscrapers are lit up in the night, the tower itself is dark and quiet.
"The virus worked." Shadow glances back down at the team, his face stoic. "This is our chance," he says. "Let's make it count."
As they creep through the night in the shadow of the tower, Silver whispers, "The intruder… Were you able to get a read on who he was?"
"It was him," Shadow answers. "The stranger from before."
"And…did you learn anything from him? Who he is, what he wants…?"
"Not really. Just…an echo of a thought. 'You're only moving in circles.'"
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know. But I don't think I would've heard it unless he wanted me to."
"Well…if we're lucky, he got lost in the tunnels, and we won't even run into him on the way to the Sapphire."
"Lucky. Sure." They stop at the front door of the tower. Shadow presses his ear against the door, listening for movement. Hearing none, he pulls the door open with little effort, ushering the team in before following behind them.
—–—
What appears to be an emergency stairwell, cramped and dark, is lit only by a flame in the palm of Blaze's hand as the group marches steadily upwards.
Alex wipes the beading sweat from his brow, squeezing on his mask to add clean air to his panting breaths. Silver and Blaze follow, both taking a mask from their cloaks for a breath. "How many more floors?" Alex asks as his breathing steadies.
Shadow answers curtly, "Two hundred forty-three."
Alex groans. "What I wouldn't give for a working elevator…"
"Or an Emerald for Chaos Control," Silver adds.
"Not a good idea," Shadow responds. "Eggman figured out how to track that too. Even if they know we're in this building, they don't know where, and that's one of the few advantages we have."
"Well, at this rate it'll be morning before we make it," Alex continues to complain. "Will the Sapphire still be there?"
"It's there now. I'm close enough to feel it. And…" He stops. His eyes go wide. Everyone else stops behind him. In the flickering firelight, Shadow looks over the heads of Alex, Silver, and Blaze. "Caroline is dead."
"What!?" Everyone gasps, looking around frantically and finding no sign of her.
"It's the stranger. He's here, and it looks like he's toying with us. Planning to pick us off one by one, most likely."
Silver's voice wavers with fresh horror. "What're we gonna do…?"
"Make it harder for him, and carry out the mission. We'll split up. Alex sticks with me, we'll move straight for the Sapphire. Silver, stay with Blaze, make sure the rest of the explosives are planted so we can take down the tower."
Blaze shakes his head. "You think splitting up will make it harder for him?"
"Harder for him to catch us off guard, if each of us can put all our attention into looking out for just one partner. Easier to lure him into a direct confrontation. Head-to-head, I think I can match him. The two of you together might be able to do the same."
Alex grumbles something unintelligible as he pulls a satchel off of his shoulders and hands it to Blaze. "Careful with those flames, yeah? Don't want these going off early."
Blaze nods as he takes the bag of explosives with his free hand and straps it over his shoulder.
Shadow, in turn, nods to Silver as he turns around and resumes the trek up the stairs. "This floor's a good spot. Meet us at the top when you're finished." Alex hurries to follow him, leaving Silver and Blaze alone.
Silver buries his face in his hands. "This can't be happening… I thought I could stop all this…"
Blaze gently wraps his arm around Silver's shoulders. "Chin up, blue. None of this is your fault, you know that."
"But what if it is? This guy didn't show up until I did, and now three people are dead… Half your team…"
"Our team, which still happens to need you, come on. This plan doesn't work if I'm doing all the watching out for both of us."
With reluctance, Silver looks up as he allows himself to be pushed onwards down a hallway. "You…keep calling me that… 'Blue'?"
"Yeah? Do you not like that?"
"I mean, it's fine, but…why? Is it what you call all new recruits instead of green?"
Blaze looks over Silver for a moment, his eyes scanning up and down. "Well…there's a story behind it. If you want to hear it."
"Won't that distract you?"
"Not as much as worrying about you losing your nerve will. Anything to settle that down."
"Then…sure."
Blaze nods as he thinks back for a moment. "It was a few years back. Shadow had us all on the same mission, searching for some lost kid. Of course, I was a kid back then too, hotheaded enough to think that there would be some sort of glory in it if I was the one who found him. Anyways, I put everything I had into finding that kid. I researched everything we knew about him, tried to get inside his head, figure out where he might have gone. And I did." He pauses for a moment, continuing to scan their surroundings for any sign of danger. "When I found him, he was…sad. Alone. Shadow's orders were to make no contact and report back to him, but…I guess I just couldn't help myself. After spending all that time getting to know him, I just had to meet him for real. So I walked up to him, and I said, 'Why so blue, hedgehog?' Not before taking a picture, of course." Blaze pulls a photograph from his satchel and turns it for Silver to see.
Silver gasps at the sight of a slightly younger, cloak-wearing version of himself, sitting at the edge of a building and staring out at the neon lights of the city, oblivious to the camera behind him.
"Of course…" Blaze puts the photo away just as quickly. "…if you were him, you would've known most of that already."
Silver stops. "Uhh… I…"
"It's fine. We should still keep moving." Blaze continues to walk, and Silver quickly catches up with him. "So you're the other one, then?"
"Other one?"
Blaze reaches back into his satchel for something new. He pulls out a small metallic pendant on a broken string. Though tarnished and dirty, the aqua-colored symbol of a ring with a line through the bottom can still just barely be made out. "This yours?"
"M-my locket?" Silver hesitantly takes it and waves his hand over the symbol. The locket pops open, revealing an old and faded picture that was once of three hedgehogs huddled together. The faces of Sonic and Zero are no longer visible, but Silver's is still fairly clear. "How did you…?"
"That first time I met Silver the Hedgehog…was far from the last. I saw him as often as I could. Shadow knew, of course, but he let it slide as long as I didn't say anything about the Rebellion. That had to wait until Shadow decided the time was right. Honestly, the whole thing seemed a little weird to me. I thought I might get some answers by digging through Shadow's belongings. That's where I found that locket." As Blaze talks, he takes the locket back and closes it up. "I noticed that the symbol matched the pattern on your…err…on Blue's gloves. So I nabbed it and brought it to him. He was able to open it. But that picture meant as little to him as it did to me. He certainly had no memory of taking it. So it had to be…some other Silver. Is it you?"
"Umm…well…Shadow made me promise not to talk about it…"
"Pretty sure that counts as talking about it. It'd be a lot smarter if you just denied all this. You could've told me Shadow wiped your memory or something."
"Yeah… Well… I guess…maybe I trust you a little more than I trust him."
"You shouldn't. You don't know me."
"In a way, I do. Just like how you seem to trust me because I'm like your…Blue. I knew a Blaze, too. In another timeline."
"Timelines, huh? Guess I shouldn't be surprised, Shadow seemed convinced you'd be able to use this 'Temporal Sapphire.' But, anyways, this…other Blaze…you and him were like me and Blue?"
"Her, actually."
Blaze raises an eyebrow. "Her?" He lets out a brief chuckle. "Interesting. But you still think she was like me?"
"Honestly? Kind of the opposite. The Blaze I knew was always…reserved…mindful, and…elegant, I guess."
"Well, I'll try not to take offense to that."
"At the same time, though… Being around you does remind me of what it was like, being around her. Like you have the same…spirit? It's just…comfortable."
"Can I ask what happened to her?"
"It's…a pretty long story."
"I shared mine, didn't I?"
"I guess it's only fair. She…was my best friend. In a world with no hope, we fought together to make our own. It really wasn't much different from what you guys are doing here. In the end, Blaze, she…umm…she made a sacrifice. Sort of for me, but mostly for the world. She sealed herself in another dimension, and…eventually I did find her there. But…it's not really her anymore. I could've stayed there with her, tried to…get back to the way things were. But that just…didn't feel right. She's not the same Blaze, and…I'm not really the same me, either. I've lived two completely different lives. To be honest, I'm not sure who I am anymore. I guess I thought that if I came here, to the current future, I might be able to figure out what kind of life I should be living. Instead it just feels like I'm trying to add on a third."
"Figuring out your identity. That's a pretty big deal. Blue struggled plenty with that himself. Wish I could help. I mean, maybe I can, if you stick around. But I guess that'd be pretty weird for both of us. Maybe I just… Sorry, talking to myself."
"No, it's fine. What were you going to say?"
"I guess I just…have one other question. Earlier, you said that three people have died. Caroline, Granny, and…?"
Silver winces before answering. "I'm…so sorry…"
Blaze hangs his head low. "I figured it was him."
"I tried to save him, but…I wasn't fast enough."
"Maybe I just don't want to give him up. That's what I was going to say. He's gone, but…you're here. Maybe there's a reason for that."
"That's what I wanted to believe. That I could just…step up in his place. Make up for failing him. I really thought I could do it. Now…I don't know."
"So…what about this stranger? Is he a time traveler too?"
"I don't know. It could be just a coincidence that he showed up at the same time I did, but…somehow that seems unlikely."
"And that's why you feel like this is your fault? Because you think you might be the one he's after?"
"Yeah… I guess that's it."
"Well…maybe the only way to find out is to confront him." Blaze stops to kneel down, pulling out one of the explosive devices to plant. The device appears to be little more than an analog clock stuck to a lump of clay. "That should do it for this floor," He says as he sticks the ticking device to the wall.
"How much time do we have before those things go off? I mean, too long and they stand the risk of being discovered and disarmed, but too short and…"
"And we'll all have to jump out from the nearest window. Or from the roof, if everything goes to plan."
"Wait, that's part of the plan?"
"Shadow has ways of handling a long fall. So do you, so do I, it should all be manageable. Best we could come up with, anyways."
"And what if—"
"Silver!"
Silver looks up in surprise. "Shadow?"
Blaze joins in the frantic searching of their surroundings. "What is it, what's going on?"
"I don't know, something's wrong. Shadow was trying to contact me, but I don't hear him anymore."
"Come on." Blaze takes Silver's hand and starts running. "If we hurry, we might still catch up to them."
"There's no way… He can't have gotten Shadow, too…"
Blaze's only response is a grunt of shared concern.
Their full speed sprint soon takes them back to the stairwell. Blaze turns to start moving up the stairs, but Silver stops him. "This way's faster." He casts his psychic field around Blaze and lifts them both off of the ground, rising straight up through the gap between the countless flights of stairs. In that way, they pass up through one story after another at a rapid pace.
"Hold it!"
Silver stops their ascent as he sees the same thing that Blaze did. Attached to the wall of the stairwell on this floor is a tangled mass of dripping black tentacles, some tipped with red. The tentacles are all bound together to hold something there against the wall. A body. "Alex… No…"
Blaze grimaces at the sight. "Nothing we can do for him now. Let's keep moving."
Silver can't seem to take his eyes away. "That stuff… It looks like…"
"Like Shadow's Doom Powers. I noticed too."
"You don't think that…?"
"That Shadow turned against us, joined the stranger, and murdered Alex? I don't know. But I'd rather not stick around long enough to find out."
"Right. Let's—"
The shadow of a strange creature skitters through the darkness.
"Go!" Blaze shouts. "Go now!"
Silver tries to push them upwards, but a tentacle lashes out from the darkness to strike him in the shoulder. With a cry of pain, he's flung to the side, and his hold on Blaze is dropped. Blaze falls into the darkness.
Silver struggles back to his feet from his collision with the wall, sending power back through his gloves to return light to the pitch black stairwell. On the edge of the dim bubble of light, the face of the attacking creature slowly pushes its way forward until it's hardly an inch away from Silver's frozen expression of terror. The Doom Morph hisses aggressively, spraying Silver with dripping fluids.
Silver shakes himself out of his stupor, raising his arms for a fight as the creature rears back.
The room lights up almost blindingly as the Doom Morph is struck in the side with a fireball, screeching in pain.
On the floor below, Blaze pulls himself up over the railing onto solid ground, readying a second fireball in his hand. "Hey! Down here!" He throws it, striking the Doom Morph again against its still smoldering flesh.
Silver shouts with concern, "Blaze!"
Blaze shakes his head. "Keep going, Silver! Get the Sapphire, that might be our only chance now!" He takes another throw, but this one has no fire.
Silver catches the object out of the air. He looks only long enough to recognize the shape of the locket. "But—"
"Get out of here, go!" This time, he directs a continuous stream of flames at the Doom Morph just as it manages to set its sights on him.
Silver looks from the locket, to Blaze, to the open stairwell above them. A grim, determined smile appears on his face. "I'll make it. Count on it." His full psychic aura comes back to life, and he flies up and away.
Blaze nods as Silver disappears into the darkness above. "Keep smiling, Blue. No matter how tough things get. That's what I always liked about you."
One of the Doom Morph's tentacles lashes out from the stream of fire, striking the wall just barely off to Blaze's side. Blaze lets up on the fire, turning to run out of the stairwell and into the nearest hall. The Doom Morph uses its hold on the wall to pull itself down, lunging after him at a frightening speed.
Blaze pushes himself to top speed, fire trailing behind his feet as he races down the hall, putting more and more space between himself and the direction Silver went. The Doom Morph bounds after him, pulling itself along with a continuous lashing of countless tentacles, steadily gaining ground.
Blaze suddenly turns around, raising a blinding wall of fire between himself and the Morph. After momentarily flinching away from the flames, the creature snarls and leaps straight through, coming out screeching on the other side. It looks around with its spread of glowing red eyes, but Blaze is nowhere to be seen.
"Don't do this, Shadow," Blaze's voice echoes from somewhere nearby.
The Morph knocks down the nearest door with a single tentacle, and slithers its way inside.
Blaze stands on the far side of the room. He holds an explosive in one hand, and a crackling fireball in the other. "You once told me that we were putting all our hopes in Silver. Maybe you changed your mind, or maybe you can't hear a word I'm saying. But I still believe it. I always believed it. Even if you're the one trying to stop him."
The Doom Morph snarls as it crawls its way closer to him.
"I always knew he'd be the one. As for me…I think I was always destined for one last blaze of glory."
The Doom Morph lunges.
Blaze brings his two hands together.
—–—
Silver pushes open the rooftop exit, running up the last step and gasping for breath even as he puts his mask away. Quickly, he catches sight of the glint of blue at the very center of the rooftop.
At the very same moment, a distant rumble sounds below his feet. The first explosion is followed by another, and another, chaining all the way through every explosive that was set. Somehow, Silver seems to know. "Blaze…"
"Two minutes until this tower collapses under its own weight."
Silver turns sharply to the source of the voice. "You!" He points angrily at the brown-cloaked stranger. "Who are you!? What did you do to Shadow!?"
The stranger responds with a low chuckle. "Me? I only finished the circle that was drawn for us."
"What are you talking about?"
"If you must know, Shadow wasn't part of my plan. But I found something interesting in that ancient head of his. A Virtual Seed that forced him to see anything I wanted him to see. Foes as friends, friends as foes. Saved me some time. And isn't time precious to us all?"
"So he didn't even know what he was doing…" Silver's fists clench with rage. "How could you do something so cruel!?"
"You don't know, Silver. You don't know his crimes."
"What crimes would those be?"
"The same as yours. Showing up in a broken world, promising a hope that he couldn't provide to those lone few survivors. Leaving them to die. I've been here before, Silver. But then, so have you. We've had this conversation an infinite number of times before, and we will have it again infinitely many more. Circles within circles. Unless you break free." The building groans and rumbles beneath them. "One minute, now."
Silver glances between the stranger and the Sapphire. "So this was personal? It was about Shadow the whole time?"
"Not at all. This is about you, Avatar of Chronos."
"What did you just call me?"
"You'll know soon enough. Go on then. Take the gem, I see you thinking about it."
Silver remains still. "What are you playing at?"
"I could kill you now, of course. But it's too soon. It would mean nothing. We're here, now, at this place and time, because this is what it took to ensure that Chronos would choose you. Take the Sapphire. Call upon his help. That's how you'll get the power you need to break the circle. Do that, and none of this has to happen anymore. Shadow, Blaze, they'll all be fine."
"That's not how timelines work."
"So you would let it keep happening, let them keep dying over and over again, just because it happened already?"
"You're talking about a time loop. I haven't seen any evidence that's what's happening here."
"You don't understand. You don't know the Time Lord's tyranny. It's all happened before, every second from the beginning of time to the end. And it's always happening, and it will always be happening. It's him who keeps it that way. Break free, Silver. Break free, or else the next time we meet, I will break him through you. So what are you waiting for? Take the gem. Rewind time, bring them all back." Something pops loudly. The rooftop tilts several degrees, and Silver struggles to keep his balance. "Fifteen seconds left."
Silver growls in frustration as he throws out his hand, pulling the Sapphire straight into his palm. "You'd better be right about this. Chronos, if you can hear me, I could really use your help right about now!" He holds the gem high above his head. "Time Control!"
They both stand there for a moment. Nothing happens. The stranger smirks, a white glint flashing under the shadow of his hood. "Not motivated enough, eh? I can help with that." In a blur of motion, the stranger draws his blade and lunges at Silver.
"Time Control! Time Control! Time—" Silver throws up his free hand, psychically catching the sword an inch before it can cut through him. But the stranger's momentum keeps going, and they crash, both flying off their feet. The roof collapses beneath them even before they tumble over the side. Metal and glass rubble falls along with them as they hurtle towards the ground hundreds of stories below.
"Do it!" The stranger grabs Silver by the shoulder, pushing the blade harder until it's pressed against his chest even despite Silver's attempts to push it back. From this close, under the cover of the hood, Silver catches a glimpse of a scarred gray eye. "Do it now!"
"Can't you see I'm trying!?" Silver holds the Sapphire up close to his face. "Come on, Chronos, I need you! Time Control!"
This time, a voice answers. "His power disrupts mine. I can't help you while he's this close."
Silver's eyes go wide. The stranger notices a moment too late. Silver kicks him away, using the moment of surprise to get a firmer psychic grip on him. He pushes with all his might, and the sword flies out of the stranger's hand.
"Good. Now make a Rift."
"But that won't—"
"A Rift, Silver!"
His objections dismissed, Silver flips around in the air, holding the Sapphire out to his side. The gem shines brightly, its light merging and mingling with the glow of his powers. He throws his other hand out, and tears open a hole in space itself, falling straight through hardly a second later. The Rift closes behind him just as quickly.
The stranger chuckles as he watches Silver disappear. "Looks like my job's done for now. And the circle begins anew." He spreads his arms wide and leans back as he falls the rest of the way to the ground.
—–—
? ? ?
Silver opens his eyes in the heart of the storm. All around in every direction, clouds of red, blue, and green twist and roil, crashing against one another in bright flashes and loud cracks. Silver frantically covers his ears against the chaotic noise.
"Silver…" The voice of Chronos cuts through the storm.
Silver looks up. "Chronos! What's happening, what is all this!?"
"This is the inside of the Rift. I have paused your time here so that I might speak to you one last time."
"Last time…? Oh, no, not again…"
"Fear not. I am in no danger at this time. At least, no more so than any mortal with an uncertain future. What you see here is not as it should be. What you see here is the circle broken."
"Circle? So you understand what that guy was talking about before? Does that mean he was right when he said that you…chose me? What did he mean? Can you really give me the power to fix everything that was happening?"
"No. I will not."
"But you have to! All those people who were counting on me, now I'm the only one left who—"
"That wasn't your time, Silver. Their Controller perished, a new one shall be born, and new hope shall be vested in them, as is the way of things. You, Silver, are needed elsewhere. You are needed to fight this storm."
"So…you didn't choose me?"
"You are a worthy protector of time, Silver. But I will not give him what he wants."
"You're afraid of that guy?"
"Not him. Something far more sinister. The most ancient of evils."
"Don't tell me that Mephiles is back already…"
"No. Older."
"Are you expecting me to guess here, or…?"
"Time grows short. I would tell you what's ahead if I only knew. Hear this, instead. The war has resumed, and you have survived the first battle. Keep surviving. Forge ahead through the uncharted path. And trust in your friends. Do that, and I suspect we will meet again in due time."
"What!? That can't be it! I still have no idea what you're talking about! Chronos!"
Another voice answers instead. Janice adds simply, "Best of luck to you, Silver. Lords know you'll need it."
—–—
December 30th, 2 A.E.
The Eggshelter — Rebel Camp Alpha
Charmy slowly pulls a blanket up to cover Silver's lifeless face. "Tissue scans show that he had some sort of lung disease. But it was definitely the stab wound that did it." He turns around from the medical bed to look at Sonic. "There were some weird patterns that might've been burn marks too, but I'd need Tails' help to identify those."
Sonic nods slowly, continuing to stare at the covered corpse. "Tails is busy trying to figure out what's happening in the sky. It probably doesn't matter much, anyways. He was probably in trouble, tried to come to us for help, and…didn't make it in time. Without being able to ask him, I doubt we have any way of finding out more than that." He steps up slowly to place his hand on the side of the bed. "I can't believe he's gone. Just like that."
"Well…technically, he's no less alive now than he was before he showed up here. He hasn't even been born yet. And whether we were going to see it happen or not, he was always going to die at some point after he was born. The body just happened to end up here."
"I hate time travel." Sonic closes his eyes and sighs. "It's strange… I've never seen time travel look like that before."
"Uhh…remind me how it normally looks?"
"Well…there's supposed to be a big, swirly…portal thing. Usually blue, spherical."
"You mean like that one over there?"
Sonic looks over in the direction Charmy is pointing. Indeed, a Time-Space Rift has opened on the other side of the room. It ripples once, and once again, before a figure drops out from inside, slamming face-first into the hard metal ground. "Ow!" Silver glares back up at the portal as it closes behind him. "A little warning next time would be great!"
"Silver!?" Sonic dashes over with a burst of speed, crouching down to grab him by the shoulders. "Silver, you're all right!"
Silver recoils back in fright before taking a moment to recognize the face in front of him. Then he breathes a sigh of relief. "Sorry… Uhh…rough day. It's really good to see you, Sonic. Just…give me a minute to breathe."
Sonic obediently takes a step back. He looks back and forth from the covered corpse to the very much living Silver. Silver seems to habitually pull the mask from the pocket of his cloak, but after a deep breath, he seems to realize that he doesn't need it, and puts it back. "Silver, how…? I don't understand…if you're…?"
Silver follows Sonic's gaze to the medical bed. "Oh. So that's where Blue ended up."
"Blue?"
"I…have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?"
"You don't know the half of it." Sonic leans in and points back at Charmy with his thumb as he whispers, "These guys are saying they all know you already, even though I only met you during the Chronos incident, what's the deal with that?"
"That…is an even longer story."
"Well, you can tell it once we have everyone together, come on. Some good news is just what we all need right now."
Charmy calls after them, "Wait! What am I supposed to do with the other one!?"
Meanwhile, in another dimension…
The Chaos Project presents…
The Soluna Chronicles — Prologue
In a sandy bazaar filled with shops and vendors, one particular stand seems to go ignored. The hooded shopkeeper waits in front of a crystal ball filled with a swirling blue cloud of energy. The scaly snout protruding from his hood, and his apparent lack of arms, identify him as a snake. One busy market goer after another passes by the snake fortune teller, hardly seeming to notice his existence.
"You, there…" He suddenly whispers.
A figure in a silver cloak stops only for a moment as he realizes that he's been addressed. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry."
"I can aid you, on your quesssst…"
This gets the figure to pay attention. He takes a step closer to the stand, looking cautiously around. "I just spent everything I have. I can't pay you."
"No charge for you, adventurer… You are sssseeking a legendary artifact… I should like to ssssee it found."
"It exists? You know where it is?"
"That, I do not know… But I do sssssee ssssomething elssssse, in your future… The persssson who will lead you to it…"
"Who? How do I find them?"
"Follow the risssse of the moon… Three daysss, three nightsss… There, you will find her…"
"Her, who? Who am I looking for?"
There's a scream somewhere nearby. People are pointing up at the skies and the sound of thunder. The silver cloaked figure looks up to see. The sky is filled with an aurora of reds, blues, and greens.
"What in the world…?" He looks back down. But the snake and his crystal ball are both gone. "Well then…three days, three nights. Guess that isn't too bad. I'll find this person…whoever she is…"
To be continued…