"Honestly, it really seems like forever since we've done something like this. Just the three of us relaxing and not rushing into danger for once."

"Don't jinx it, Sonic. Our luck has been terrible as of late."

The three hedgehogs were in the grassy meadow where Sonic's ancient tree grew. The blue hedgehog was leaning back in the grass, his arms behind his head, and a relaxed expression on his face. Shadow was across from him, also leaning back, but one eye was open, observing his surroundings, not completely relaxed. Silver was a little ways away from the two, leaning against a tree, staring into space.

Sonic craned his neck to look at Shadow. "Yeah, sure, but nobody really knows about this place! Who's going to attack us here? Relax for once."

"Well, excuse me for looking out for your sorry butt."

"Hey!" Sonic exclaimed, and playfully leapt on his older brother. Shadow immediately pushed him off, a smirk playing on his mouth. He started chasing after Sonic, who was laughing.

Silver didn't join in the fun. He was busy staring at…whatever he was staring at.

In the blur of colors, Sonic noticed Silver. The white hedgehog's quills were all disheveled and his eyes were blank. Sonic narrowed his eyes and skidded to a stop. Shadow narrowly avoided barreling into him and instead ended up next to him. "What is it? Is someone attacking?"

"Cool it, Shads. Not everyone is trying to kill us all the time. It's Silver."

"What about Silver?" Shadow followed Sonic's gaze. "Wait, what's wrong with him?"

"That's my point. He never misses a chance to join in the fun. And, is it just me, or does he look…depressed?"

"It's not just you," Shadow muttered, a worried look overtaking his face.

Sonic cocked his head to the side. "He seemed perfectly fine at breakfast the other day. Have you noticed anything?"

"No…wait, I did!" Shadow realized. "Just yesterday, after you helped out at the office, I went to visit Silver. He seemed like a mess. He was so tired, his place was trashed, and…he just didn't seem like himself."

"Did he tell you what was wrong?" Sonic asked.

"Uh…he told me he had a pretty bad nightmare about the time Blaze died and you turned into a vampire, but that's pretty much it. He didn't mention anything else. And he looks so much worse today."

Sonic winced. He remembered that night very well. It wasn't so pleasant. He shook it off after a moment. "That shouldn't be the cause of his mood. A nightmare doesn't have the power to do that."

"Yeah, I should know," Shadow murmured, flattening his ears. Sonic looked sideways at him and winced again. Yep, if anyone should know about nightmares, it's Shadow.

Shadow crossed his arms. "We should keep an eye on him. There's something he's not telling us."
Sonic nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. We can visit him every day, talk to him, see how he's doing. And maybe, when he's fed up with us, he'll spill the beans!"

Shadow didn't laugh. Instead, the worried look intensified. "Let's go talk to him. Maybe he'll tell us something now."

Sonic nodded again, and the two hedgehogs approached the third one, who didn't acknowledge them until they were right in front of him. He looked up blearily, his eyes still blank.

Sonic avoided grimacing at the state of his younger brother. He looked so sad. Instead, Sonic forced a grin on his face and said, "Hey, Silv! What's up? Why do you look like you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" He felt a sharp poke on his arm, and glanced sideways to see Shadow with his arms crossed, glaring at him. "What?"

Shadow rolled his eyes and kneeled in front of Silver. "Seriously, what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

Out of nowhere, Silver recoiled away from Shadow, pressing himself even more firmly against the tree. He hugged his knees and buried his face in his legs, muttering frantically, "Not again, not again, not again…"

Sonic immediately knelt down next to Shadow, who was staring dumbfoundedly at Silver. "Dude, what's wrong with him? Was he like this yesterday?"

"Not even close!" Shadow replied. He tried reaching out his hand to touch Silver's shoulder, but the second his fingers brushed Silver's fur, the white hedgehog leapt up, hovering in the air due to his psychokinesis. His hands were pressed against his face, and his whole body was shaking like a leaf.

"Silver!" Sonic yelled. "Snap out of it, man!"

At the sound of Sonic's voice, Silver suddenly stopped shuddering and he peeked his face out from behind his hands to see both gray and blue hedgehog staring at him. For a second, a look of relief passed over his face, but then it quickly disappeared before he turned around and flew off desperately, leaving a light trail of cyan behind for a second before it vanished.

Sonic and Shadow were frozen in place, still staring in the direction Silver fled in. After a few shock-filled moments, the two slowly turned their heads to stare at each other.

Sonic snapped out of it first. "Okay, something's definitely wrong. He's never reacted like this before to anything. We have to find out. You need to tell me everything that happened yesterday."

Shadow nodded silently, a worried look on his face. Without another word, the two brothers took off in the same direction Silver flew off in.

To be continued…

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