Chapter 10

Eggman stepped through the door to Chaos Brews and breathed in the rich aroma of locally sourced coffee beans. He found Silver sitting alone at a small table, but there was a strange wolf girl next to him whom Eggman immediately diagnosed as a schizoid. She was trying and failing to start a conversation with the hedgehog he had come to see.

"This café has truly captured the pure essence of quotidian domesticity!" Eggman exclaimed as he approached the couple. "Who's this new addition to our rogue's gallery of rodents?"

"Doctor, this is Whisper the Wolf." Silver said with a smile. "She works here now."

Eggman appraised her with an analytical eye. "Another charity case, huh? Anyway, I'm here to inform you that I'm going on a sabbatical starting right now."

"Sabbatical? But the semester isn't even halfway done?"

"Neither is my research on geothermal disasters." Eggman said, sticking out his chest. "If I don't finish it by the end of the year, I'll have to return all our grant money."

Silver thought for a moment and frowned. "We don't want that, I guess."

"I knew you'd understand." Eggman shook his hand wildly. "Care to join me in the Southern Islands, Mariah? This could be a turning point in your humble academic career."

Mariah, who had been trying to ignore him since his arrival, looked up from her sink and glared at him with a reserved contempt. "I have no future in academia, and even if I did, why would I waste it with frivolous people like you?"

Eggman grimaced. "Come on, we Robotniks have to stick together, even if we are from parallel universes. How else are we supposed to defeat this ever-propagating parade of pests?"

Silver stared at him in shock.

"Oh, I didn't actually mean that last part." Eggman laughed nervously. "That was just the writers putting words in my mouth. If you change your mind, Mariah, just shoot me an email. I unblocked you."

He slid out the door and Mariah sighed with relief. "Thank goodness he didn't attack. I was worried you'd have to shoot him, Whisper."

"Oh, she doesn't shoot people anymore, right?" Silver asked with a smile.

Whisper merely stared at the floor and pretended to mop an invisible stain.

Mariah put her elbows on the bar and rested her chin in her hands. "Maybe I should go with him and expose his scheme. . . . No, I'm sure he would just use me as bait to trap Shadow. That's what I would do."

Silver gave her a confused look. "Do you really think he's up to something?"

Mariah rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Silver. As someone who is genetically predisposed to supervillainy, I know he's up to something."

Silver stared into his coffee mug. "Maybe I should ask Shadow for advice."

Whisper suddenly ran to his table. "Before you go, I wanted to show you this."

She set down a book titled A Historical Record of the Wolf Tribe. "Mariah taught me how to use the library. I'm still learning to read, but look."

She turned to a page that contained a primitive illustration of a white hedgehog with crescent-shaped quills. "This is you saving my tribe from the sun's wrath. This proves you're Meness, the god of the moon."

Silver stared at her with no small amount of discomfort. He couldn't help but pity Whisper for her ignorance and isolation.

"You're half right." he said with a smile. "That was me, but I'm no god—just a time traveling hedgehog who wants to save as many lives as possible."

Whisper returned his smile. "Maybe that's how everyone else sees you, but to my people, you are divine."

"Well, Thanks." he said rubbing the back of his head. "How would you like me to teach you to read? Maybe it would clear things up if you could actually understand that book."

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course."

"Why not just send her to your school?" Mariah asked.

"I don't know if she's ready to sit in a classroom full of judgmental young adults."

Whisper gave him a toothy grin. "I know a place free of judgement where we can study."

"This café?"

She shook her head. "Can you steer a yacht?"

He blinked at her. "Um, I guess so."

"Good. Meet me at the pier after work."

There were few people in Hedgehog Village wealthy enough to own a boat, let alone a luxury yacht, but Silver's eyes did not deceive him. There was brand new yacht floating by the pier. He imagined it must cost at least half a million rings. Whisper was waiting for him on the deck. Waving her arms wildly, she motioned for him to join her. Silver levitated onto the deck, amazed that she could acquire something so extravagant.

"Nice boat." he said. "Did you borrow it from Shadow?"

She folded her hands behind her back. "He gave it to me."

"Wow, that was nice of him. He knows you like your solitude, I guess."

Whisper nodded happily. "And he gave me a private island too."

"Did he?" Silver asked, growing uncomfortable. "What did, uh, what did you do for him?"

"Oh, I just assassinated this guy." she said with a pleasant smile.

"Oh, okay, just . . . What?!" Silver screamed and backed against the railing.

Whisper frowned. "It was just a dictator on the other side of the world. Shadow said I would be helping a lot of people by killing him."

He grabbed her hands. "Even so, violence will never solve your problems. It only leads to more violence."

She looked away, dejected. "I was just trying to make the world a better place . . . like you said."

Silver smiled awkwardly. "Well, sacrificing one life to save the world is something I've struggled with myself, and if Shadow wanted him gone, then he probably was causing a lot of suffering."

He sidestepped around her and stood at the helm cautiously. Using his psychokinesis, he steered the yacht to her private island on the horizon. Every now and then, he glanced over his shoulder to see what she was doing. She simply smiled wistfully, watching the waves smack the hull of the ship.

When they docked the yacht at her beach house, Silver noticed a large volcano towering over the rest of the island. It did not appear active in the slightest, but it still managed to lay a blanket of dread over Silver's brain. They sat in Whisper's well-furnished living room and studied for an hour by poring through her library book, one paragraph at a time.

"You're a very motivated learner." Silver said. "But let's stop for now. You've had a long day."

Whisper smiled. "I think I could learn anything from you. So," she scooted closer to him on her white sofa, "how long have you been saving the world from disasters?"

He smiled and looked down at his knees. "For as long as I can remember. I'll probably wander through time and space forever . . . like some temporal nomad."

Her eyes widened and she gripped the edge of the couch. "You're not going to leave this timeline, are you?"

"I'll have to eventually. . . . Sorry."

Whisper wiped her eyes and hugged her knees to her chest. "Then I'll be alone again."

Silver took her hand and smiled. "You don't have to be. I've been wanting to ask you this. . . . I think I can go back in time and save your parents from that forest fire. What do you think?"

Her eyes shimmered and she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into an embrace. "Thank you . . . thank you."

Silver put his hand on her back. "Is that a yes?"

She stared at him, her mouth parting slightly. "No."

"Wait. Really? It could solve all your problems, or at least make your life easier."

She shook her head. "And it would change who I am. For the first time, I'm happy with my life—happy because of you. I know it's selfish, but if you did that, we might never meet."

He smiled. "Maybe so, but you'd have other friends, I'm sure."

"I don't want any other friends." she said sternly. "When I'm with you it's like I'm sitting around the fire with my parents again, listening to the stories their parents told them. With you, I can feel the warmth and love of my entire tribe going back generations."

Silver looked away and smiled. "I'm just trying to help everyone."

"Then let me help you." Whisper exclaimed. "Let's stay together until you have to leave. When you're a stranger in a different time . . . I don't want you to forget me."

Silver kissed her forehead and she gasped. "How could I?"

"Did-did you—"

"Let's be honest," Silver said, pulling her in closer, "I haven't been coming to see you every day because I like your coffee."

He started to kiss her again when the entire house trembled violently, the rafters popping and creaking.

"Silver, was that you?" Whisper asked, clinging to his shoulders.

"I don't think so. It sounded like . . . Oh no."

He flew out of the house and saw a column of black smoke climbing from the volcano. Silver clenched his fists. "Impossible! It's erupting."

He grabbed Whisper's hand and started to fly back to the docks, but she pulled away. "Stop, Silver! It's not erupting. That's industrial smoke."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Eggman. . . ."

Shadow stood at the top of the grand stair in his casino, watching his servers mingling among the patrons, handing out drinks at record pace. Mariah stood next to him, leaning over the golden rails while she adjusted her black dress.

"Thanks for inviting me to your party, Shadow." She said with a gentle smile.

He looked up at her and for a fraction of a second, thought he was talking to Maria. The light of the chandelier shone in her eyes, and Shadow could see within them a pale reflection of the Earth just as he saw decades ago when he would stare into its azure depths from space.

"Of course." he said, gripping the rails.

"What are we celebrating?" she asked. "Your successful coup of that country in the north?"

"No, Sonic and Amy finally left."

She smiled. "I'll drink to that."

A jazz band was strumming out a slow blues song from center stage. Mariah did not have to say anything. She simply took Shadow's hand and led him down the stairs to the dance floor. She hugged him to her stomach like a child and swayed side to side.

"I used to dance with Maria like this." Shadow said, his voice trembling. "I'm sure you did with him as well."

She nodded. "I don't think I deserve it, but I actually feel happy, Shadow."

"You should." he said with a slight smile.

"Isn't there a Chaos Emerald up in your office? I wish you could freeze us like this forever. I feel like . . . whatever happens in the future, I'll be okay as long as I remember this moment. Even if I become evil again, I'll be able to remember this moment and smile. At least I was good once, you know?"

"That won't happen."

"I know." she said, laughing. "I can't doubt you when you use your serious eyes."

He frowned almost like a pouting child. "I'm always serious. Even without me, it should be obvious you're a good person. . . . It's in your soul just as it was in hers."

"Thanks, Shadow, but if you saw what I was like before I came to your world, you might disagree."

He shrugged. "No offense, but that doesn't matter to me."

"Thanks, but it does to me. . . . If only I could save the world and be a hero like you. Maybe that would make up for everything I've done."

"You don't owe a debt to anyone on this planet. Just help others and enjoy life."

Mariah smiled, her face trembling. "I'm trying to, Shadow. I'm trying. . . ."

The band stopped and Mariah released him. She began to pet his quills when Rouge suddenly jumped down from a balcony and landed in front of them.

"Well, don't you two look cute?" Rouge said with a wink. "I hate to ruin the party, Shadow, but I've got some bad news."

"Did Silver screw something up?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms. "Because that wouldn't surprise me."

"Well, kind of. I followed the money Eggman stole from the school. He's sent barges of construction materials to the Southern Islands. Judging by all the coolant and heat shields he's bought, I'd say his little science project is a homemade volcano."

Shadow's eyes widened as he recalled Silver's future prediction. "Mariah, you better go change, and Rouge, get my helicopter. Tell Silver we're on our way."

Sonic put his arm around Amy as they sat down together at Meh Burger. Tails, Sticks, and Knuckles were sitting across from them, eating their food in silence.

Tails pushed away his tray and tried to smile. "So, uh, are you two—"

"Hitched? You bet we are." Sonic said, putting his feet on the table. "I'm her favorite thing in the world, and she's mine. It's pretty great."

"Wow." Tails said. "I didn't think it was possible for you to become anymore narcissistic."

"Judge me all you want, Tails. Someday you'll understand how it is, you know, when you actually get a girlfriend."

"I've been dating Zoey for almost a year!" he shouted.

"Oh, yeah, forgot about that."

"I'm proud of you guys." Sticks said. "You were both finally honest about your feelings, and Amy embraced her entrepreneurial calling as a casino hostess. . . . Actually, you were just working for a crime lord. You sold out!"

"Thank you, Sticks." Amy said, taking her hand. "I know Sonic and I will be so happy together, and I promise we'll help out a lot more now and not get so caught up in our petty disputes."

"What are you talking about, Ames?" Sonic shouted. "We always help out!"

Amy sighed. "Oh, here we go. . . ."

"What's a dispute?" Knuckles asked. "Wait, I know. It's what Sonic and Shadow are going to have when he finds out Sonic is dating his girlfriend."

Amy took him by the hand. "Knuckles, we all love and appreciate you, but you have to—" Her communicator suddenly rang. "Hello?"

"Amy, this is Shadow. Eggman's built a volcano lair in the Southern Islands. You all need to go there immediately. I think he's going to accidentally destroy the world."

"Oh, um, okay. See you there." She hung up and stared at everyone in silence.

"Why does Shadow have your number?" Sonic demanded.

Amy rolled her eyes. "Because he was my boss."

He crossed his arms and glared at her. "You're lucky the planet's about to blow up. I'll just delete his contacts when we get there."