A Touch of Gray
A/N: Hello and welcome to a brand new story from yours truly! This tale, as you may already know, takes place in the time-honored and beloved franchise of 'Sonic The Hedgehog', specifically in the setting of the IDW comics! Folks who have not read the comics might be a little confused, so fair warning! Enjoy and remember that I definitely do not own this franchise or these characters!
...
Kit typed a few final commands into the control console, then swiveled the relatively large chair he was sitting in to face Surge, who stood a few feet away, drawing electricity into herself from a large cluster of power cables ripped from the nearby wall.
The lights in the abandoned eggbase, which had since been repurposed into "Starline Base Sigma" by the now late Dr. Starline, flickered and dimmed in response to the tenrec's greedy consumption of the electricity, her natural energy reserves bolstered further by the Dynamo Cage she was wearing.
"That's everything in the base, routed to you," Kit confirmed, reflexively shrinking in a genetically-conditioned response as Surge turned at the sound of his voice. Her normally electric blue eyes glowed an unnatural neon now, giving her already intimidating form an even more dangerous look that accompanied the use of her powers. To further accentuate her intimidating pose, Kit could see that she had even taken a small strand of cabling between her razor sharp teeth as well, the more direct contact increasing her absorption rate.
As more and more current flowed into the tenrec, Kit saw the Dynamo Cage glow brighter as well, the device acting as a near-perfect conduit for Surge's electricity-based abilities.
Originally a prototype designed by Dr. Eggman, the Dynamo Cage was created for the purpose of harnessing any and all energy it came into contact with, theoretically giving anyone who used it complete control over a wide variety of power sources. Though Kit held no fondness for the mad doctor, the analytical nature conditioned into him couldn't help but acknowledge the usefulness of such a device, and even without knowing the exact details of how it operated, the fennec understood that to not only design but actually create a working prototype was a feat only the most brilliant of minds could be capable of.
Such a device in the hands of someone like Surge was useful beyond measure, as her innate ability to wield electricity for her speed and attacks meant that she could now utilize any energy-based power just as easily by filtering it through the Dynamo Cage. Laser weapons, chaos drives, even Hyper-go-on energy from the Wisps was now hers to control with nothing more than a thought.
That fact had been proven only a few hours ago during the battle in Central City, where Surge had utilized the abilities of multiple Wisps at once during her fight with that strange masked wolf, "Whisper", as Kit remembered her to be called. As both Kit and Surge had already known from Starline's files on key Restoration figures, Whisper's fighting style involved the use of a custom-made Wispon and her own small squad of the tiny aliens, though she'd quickly lost her only advantage after Surge had absorbed the Wisps themselves into Dynamo Cage, gaining complete control of their power despite their unwillingness. The Wisps also served to amplify the amount of power Surge could bring to bear at a time, further heightening her lethality with the cage. The had served as an auxiliary source of power to her natural reserves, not enough for her to power her attacks completely, but bolstering them beyond their usual limits.
Unfortunately, a trap set by Tails during the battle managed to deplete Surge's energy, forcing Kit to retreat with her in tow, but he had been able to confirm that the Wisps were indeed still trapped inside the Cage, meaning that Surge still had access to their abilities despite her lack of charge.
Bringing himself back to the present, Kit jumped in his chair as the lights suddenly died completely, the sound of whirring down machinery echoing through the base as the power went out as well. A brief moment of blackness followed, then the lights turned back on, though this time far dimmer than before, which Kit immediately took as indications of the emergency generators coming online.
"Sorry…" the fennec bemoaned, turning back to the control console and reading the numerous alarms and warnings that had appeared on the screen due to the outage.
"The breaker was overloaded. Until it restarts, we're on emergency power," he confirmed, and a dissatisfied grunt from Surge caused him to cringe slightly and turn to her once more, anticipating a harsh reprimand or insult about his inability to keep the power flowing.
"Fine," the tenrec disdainfully said instead, tossing the length of cable she'd been holding to the floor. "It'll do for now."
The electric glow in her eyes faded as did the glow from the Dynamo Cage, the bundles of wire that ran from each of her banded wrists to the central ring that acted as a makeshift hair band going dark as they returned to their dormant state.
In the now relatively low lighting, Kit saw Surge's gaze then contort into a commonly worn scowl, a reflection of her nigh-constant rage against the world the two of them had been born—no, created into. Her fists clenched tightly at her sides as she stared into nothing for a few moments, then she spoke again, her voice reverberating throughout the control room and echoing into the empty halls of the base beyond.
"Gotta be ready," she rumbled. "Sonic won't leave us alone. So long as we're not marching in lockstep with him, anyway."
Surge raised her hands and inspected the bands of the Dynamo Cage attached to each of her wrists, her gaze following the bundled wires up to where they met at the top of her head.
"Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes probably wants to save his precious little pets, too."
"W-we could run, or hide…" Kit offered timidly, his mind automatically thinking of how he could best protect Surge. Despite his knowledge that such an attachment had been coded into him by Dr. Starline, Kit couldn't bring himself to fight it. Regardless of how he felt, Surge was all he had in this world, as Starline had erased their memories and any record of their life before being under his control. He had foolishly latched on to Sonic as some sort of replacement out of unthinking reflex after he'd been told that Surge had been inadvertently crushed during the fight in Eggperial City, but after seeing her return with his own eyes and seeing the wounds she'd sustained at the hands of Sonic and Tails, Kit knew that those so-called "heroes" were no better than Starline or Eggman. They'd lied and tried to keep her from him, and that alone was enough for Kit to despise them to the core. Because without Surge, he had nothing; he was nothing. Starline had thoroughly seen to that.
"No," the tenrec growled fiercely, more than enough for Kit to flinch and immediately regret having spoken. "We end this now. It's their fault that we're here, Kit. And we're gonna make them pay for it."
Kit blinked, then set his jaw and nodded resolutely. If Surge wanted to take down Sonic, then he would give his unwavering support. It was what he was created to do. It was what he did best.
Turning back to the computer, Kit began typing out commands to restore power to the base, already anticipating the coming battle.
"Tails will likely have a way to trace the Dynamo Cage's energy signature. At the very least, he'll be able to figure out which direction we went from Central City," he said, his confidence receiving a small boost with the knowledge that he was helping Surge. "It won't be long before they track us here."
"Screw that!" Surge growled. "We're not just taking down Sonic and Tails, we're burning everything they care about to the ground. They robbed us of our past, so we take their future! I want all of those little morons they call 'friends' to see them fail, watch as their spirits break, then take them out too! If we're doing this, then we're doing it where everyone can see! We're gonna send the world a message that's impossible to ignore!"
Kit hesitated at the controls for a moment, Surge's idea registering in his mind.
"We would need something to lure them all in," Kit said. "B-But not even what happened in Central City was enough to get a lot of them together at once. And when they do get together, they might be a problem–"
"Do I look worried, Drippy?" Surge countered harshly, flexing her power and causing the Dynamo Cage holding up her quills to glow brightly once more in response. "I handled Sonic, Tails, and their shy little Wisp-girl easily back in Central City. All they got was one lucky hit! Otherwise, I would have crushed them! Plus, I've got you to hold off the rest of those worthless extras until I'm done with Sonic!"
Kit flinched deeper into his chair as Surge's aggression flared, though he couldn't help but feel a small spark of joy blossom in his chest at being useful to the tenrec.
"As for getting them all in one place, you're supposed to be the smart one, so why don't you use that supposedly big brain of yours and figure it out! Ain't that supposed to be what you're good at?"
Kit's mind raced rapidly to try and think of a solution. The sooner he did, the sooner she would stop being mad at him, right? For a moment, he wilted under Surge's intense glare, then his eyes opened widely as an idea came to him.
"W-well, Restoration HQ is the obvious choice since most of the people Sonic associates with are there, but they have a lot of fighters there too. Are you sure—"
Kit flinched yet again as Surge's power intensified further, energy arcing outward and causing the closest pieces of machinery to spark and smoke as her sheer proximity caused them to malfunction.
"You've got ears the size of milk cartons, kid, and you still didn't hear me?! I've got the ultimate weapon attached to my freaking head. Whatever these Restoration chumps throw at me, I can dish it back out ten times over! If their headquarters is where we'll make the most impact, then who cares how many of them there are?"
Surge's temper then subsided as she seemed to think over his idea, her face morphing into a vicious grin after a few moments of contemplation.
"And even if there are a lot of them, most of their fighters use Wispons, right? Heh, against me, those aren't worth crap right now! Storm their main base, and show them how powerless they are? Good idea, Drippy!"
Kit then felt his heart soar in his chest as Surge ruffled his hair in praise, the small spark in his chest now a roaring flame at her words. If Surge was happy, then he was happy, and that was all that mattered.
…
Surge flashed Kit a vicious smile, glad to see her little partner was finally pulling his own weight. That timid welp could be so spineless sometimes, but he had his moments. Having Kit around meant Surge didn't have to deal with any techy nerd stuff when they needed information or had to use a more indirect approach. On top of that, the kid wasn't half bad in a fight either. Though Surge hated to admit it, having Kit as support had saved her hide more than a few times already, and she doubted she would have made it this far without his help.
Above all else, however, Kit really shined in his unwavering loyalty to her. What she wanted, he wanted. In his eyes, Surge was the best, the greatest, with no one else even coming close to her level of awesome, not even that sarcastic jerk, Sonic.
Having someone idolize her like that, having someone look up to her for answers and guidance…Surge had to admit it felt good. Even if Kit just agreed with whatever direction she chose, she couldn't help but feel a bit more right in her direction knowing she had his support.
"But of course, you aren't really choosing your direction, are you?" came a sudden ominous voice over her shoulder, and Surge immediately bristled and grit her teeth in response.
Looking to the source of the voice, Surge's hateful gaze met that of the self-righteous Dr. Starline, the genius platypus wearing a vile grin as he stood in a leisurely pose that suggested that there was nowhere else he'd rather be.
Of course that would be the case, the mad doctor was dead, crushed by tons of falling concrete and rebar back at Eggperial City, and all Surge was seeing before her was a trick of the mind, an apparent side effect of the Dynamo Cage's effect on her brain.
"All you've done is try to carry out the mission I gave you, or at least, whatever twisted version of it you justified using that empty mind of yours. I can't say I'm surprised. Giving you a sense of vision was certainly not one of my top priorities when I built you from the ground up, was it?"
Surge felt the veins in her forehead pop out against her skin as the apparition sauntered closer.
"Tell me, what makes you think you'll be successful? Don't tell me that you think that little bauble on your head is really going to make a difference? All of your stolen power will mean nothing with such a short-sighted plan."
"Shut up," Surge hissed softly, turning away from Kit, ignoring the fennec's confused and concerned look at her sudden tenseness.
"You said it yourself," the Starline apparition said, holding his hands out and shrugging nonchalantly. "I was always the 'plan-guy'. I orchestrated everything. I gave you your direction, your purpose. Without me, you are nothing. Nothing but a ticking time bomb. An infant on the verge of a screaming temper tantrum."
Surge squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back the wetness that had begun to form at the corner of her eyelids.
"Hmmm? No rebuttal? No denial? Perhaps you do have some small semblance of foresight, then! After all, you're about to prove me right, aren't you? Sonic, Tails, all of their friends, you can't help but go after them! You can't help but cave in to my design! Even after I'm gone, you're still mine!"
"RAAGH!"
Surge finally let her emotions out, slamming an electrically charged fist into the Starline apparition, who chuckled and dissipated as her hand carried through where his face should be. Her punch carried into the wall beyond, caving in the metal and showering the area in sparks from her collision.
At the control console, Kit startled, his reaction making Surge's anger spike further, though some part of her knew that it wasn't directed at him.
"Surge? What's wrong?"
"Nothing!" she snapped back. "I'm fine!"
Surge took a few deep breaths to further steady herself, then stood upright, though she refrained from turning back towards Kit as she spoke her next words.
"We hit Restoration HQ, hard, take out whatever half-baked defenses they have, crush whoever is there, then deal with Sonic when he shows up. Once all of his little friends see him fall, we steamroll over the rest of them, then we burn their entire operation to the ground!"
Feeling the Dynamo Cage whir up in response to her excitement, Surge felt her vicious grin return to her features. Shaking off her anxiety from her interaction moments ago, she turned back towards Kit's hopeful yet still slightly concerned features.
"We do this right, then we put an end to Sonic, Tails, and everyone else who ever worshiped them for their so-called 'heroism' today."
Kit's eyes sparkled as all traces of worry subsided from his features as well, and seeing him with such a hopeful look on his face was enough to broaden Surge's vile smile further.
"How's that for a plan?"
Kit's enthusiastic nod was all that she needed, and with a satisfied grunt, Surge turned towards the exit to the base and coiled in preparation to run.
"Grab on, Drippy," she said, and Kit nodded before producing his hydro-coil tails from his pack and wrapping them securely around Surge's midsection.
"We're going to Restoration HQ."
…
Silver's brow furrowed in concentration, as the importance of his task demanded his full focus. Currently, the hedgehog was in Central City, aiding in repairing the damage that it had suffered less than a day prior. According to the authorities, a fearsome tenrec had attacked without warning, causing severe property damage through the use of electricity-based powers and some sort of additional energy-harnessing equipment. What was most concerning about the story was that Whisper the Wolf, who Silver had previously known as the legendary "Guardian Angel" throughout the war against Eggman, had engaged the tenrec and had been ultimately been defeated by her, losing her team of Wisps to the tenrec's equipment as well.
With the power of multiple Wisps at her disposal, the attacker had been nearly unstoppable, apparently even gaining the upper hand against Sonic and Tails when they had arrived upon the scene shortly after. Thankfully, some quick thinking by Tails had been able to drain her of her energy, forcing her to flee.
Unfortunately for Central City, that battle had left quite a mark upon the downtown area. It was as though the entire city block had been struck by a meteorite. Vehicles had been completely totaled, buildings had entire sections caved in, and the street…
Silver shook his head, refusing the nagging thought that pestered him when he'd arrived: how closely the damage resembled some of the destroyed cities he'd seen in the future. Such thoughts were distracting him, so the hedgehog blinked once and refocused on his task.
Currently, he was assisting the search and rescue crews by digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings, ensuring no citizens had been trapped when they'd caved in. His psychokinetic abilities had been perfect for the task of removing rubble precisely and methodically. Removing large sections at a time would certainly be faster, but such movements could cause shifts in the rubble that could injure any potential survivors buried beneath.
Such knowledge about how to safely search through wreckage came to Silver from a wealth of experience, as he had many times before found himself searching for survivors within collapsed buildings and structures in the future. As such, he did not require much direction from the rescue coordinators. In fact, Silver's experience and ability allowed him alone to search through wreckage at a much faster rate than an entire crew could, so he'd volunteered to search a full row of buildings by himself so that the crews could focus their efforts elsewhere.
Carefully removing chunks of concrete one at a time, Silver carefully looked over the newly exposed areas for signs of life before continuing, and before long, his task had been completed. The last building had been searched thoroughly, and thankfully no one had been trapped underneath when it had fallen.
Feeling a touch of weariness, Silver allowed his shoulders to slump slightly as he breathed a sigh of relief and looked over the rest of the repair efforts. Despite the event happening less than a day ago, fast progress had been made thanks to the quick and efficient response of Restoration HQ, and as Silver marveled at their work, he couldn't help but imagine how much good an organization like the Restoration could have done in his future when it had been destroyed.
The thought quickly led to the previous nagging feeling that had plagued Silver before, namely how similar the scene of the destroyed city block looked to a few futures created and subsequently deleted since he had started his cycle of continuously traveling back in time to save it. Seeing such destruction in his own time was one thing, but to see it here in the past…?
Silver couldn't help but feel a foreboding sense of worry wash over him. He had already understood the fact that both his future and the past were safe for the moment. And with it, he came to terms with the fact that it was ok that he didn't have a clear set mission to complete right now. And yet, he still looked around at the devastation and wondered if there was anything he could have done to make sure it had never happened in the first place.
What if this was the event that led to his future being destroyed again? What if he'd failed to prevent it by not being here? What if it was too late to stop it now?
No. Silver refused to believe that. Whatever this was, whether this attack was an isolated event or something that triggered another cataclysm in his timeline, he would do his part to defeat whatever threat emerged, no matter what it took.
Silver was pulled from his thoughts to the sound of his name being called amidst the hustle and bustle of the Restoration crews. Looking towards the source, the hedgehog felt his lips automatically curl into a smile to see the form of Blaze the Cat approaching, her eyes surveying the destruction around her but still offering a friendly smile of her own in his direction.
"Blaze!" Silver called back, enthusiastically running over to the princess and wrapping her in a tight hug. The hedgehog felt the cat stiffen slightly at the sudden contact, reminding him that his tendency to enthusiastically embrace his companions could sometimes be a bit too much, especially when it came to someone like Blaze, whose regal status usually prohibited any overt physical displays such as hugging.
Despite knowing all that, however, Silver had not been able to help himself, as he had not seen her in what had felt like a long time, not since before the Metal Virus had been released by Eggman. A lot had changed since then, and truth be told, just seeing the princess again had helped quell a lot of the lingering doubt and uncertainty that plagued the hedgehog's mind since arriving back in the past.
"It's so good to see you!" he said genuinely, giving Blaze one final squeeze before releasing her and stepping back. "How are things in the Sol Dimension? I heard Sonic accidentally wound up there after we destroyed the Metal Virus!"
"It's good to see you too, Silver," Blaze said, appearing to be slightly flustered from Silver's overt display of affection as well as his unbridled enthusiasm. The cat took a moment to collect herself, then smiled back at him.
"And yes, things are going well within my home. It would seem actually that an unprecedented time of peace is upon the Sol Dimension now, which has afforded me an opportunity to come visit this dimension on a…well, I suppose you could call it a vacation."
"A vacation?" Silver pondered. The hedgehog was familiar with the term, though his job of continuously traveling back and forth between destroyed futures to fix the past did not afford him much time to do anything else. He supposed that tending to his garden could be a sort of vacation, but he had only been able to do that in short increments of time, and he knew that vacations were typically longer in nature.
"Yes," Blaze confirmed with a nod. "Although…"
The cat cast her analytical gaze over the destroyed street block around them before turning back to Silver and raising an eyebrow.
"...I cannot ignore the opportunity to offer my assistance if it can be of use. Can you tell me what happened here?"
It was then that Silver filled Blaze in on all that he knew about the attack that occurred less than 24 hours prior. Investigators were looking into it to get the full story, but he had not been told the details, and he'd been too immersed with the cleanup and rescue efforts to ask further.
"A green tenrec…" Blaze said, holding her chin in thought after Silver finished his story. "...utilizing some form of energy-capturing technology. I don't recall us ever having encountered an enemy like that before. At least, not during any of my time spent here in this dimension."
"Me neither," Silver confirmed with a nod. "As far as I can guess, Sonic and Tails should be following her trail right now, but if she's dangerous enough to cause all of this destruction and has the power of multiple Wisps at her disposal, then I think they might need our help to take her down!"
Blaze, as usual, was able to read Silver like an open book, and as he spoke, he noticed her eyebrow raise slightly at his tone.
"Yes, I'm sure they would greatly appreciate our assistance, but I can't help but feel like there's something more to this. Something you're not telling me. Is everything alright, Silver?"
"I…" Silver suddenly felt sheepish, as he somehow always did when Blaze seemed to catch on when something was off with him. He took a deep breath as Espio had taught him, then explained the thoughts that had troubled him since laying eyes on the scene. How eerily similar it looked to a few of the dystopian futures he had seen before traveling back to the past. How even though he knew it was silly, he still felt as though there was something more he could be doing. How he felt guilty for letting himself relax and potentially grow complacent in these times of relative peace.
Blaze listened intently as he vented, then offered a comforting smile as he finished and looked at her apprehensively.
"You said that you've already spoken with Espio about this?" she asked after a moment of silence, to which Silver replied with a nod.
"Well, I've always found him to be quite the astute individual, so I don't think there is anything I can say that he hasn't already. But I can reiterate:"
Blaze then stepped closer and placed a hand on Silver's slumped shoulder, forcing him to look at her despite his sudden sheepishness.
"I know that you have been the final balance that has tipped the scales in our favor in battles come and gone, but the same can be said for nearly all of us at some point, Silver," Blaze said, and the hedgehog couldn't help but hang on to every word she said as her amber irises looked back into his with conviction.
"You've carried both the weight of the past and the future on your shoulders for so long, and while it's a true testament to your strength that you've managed to do so, you don't have to shoulder that burden by yourself anymore."
Her words, as he knew they would, had an immediate effect on Silver, calming his fears about the recent attack and thoughts of how he had failed by letting it happen.
"You have so much more to fall back upon, Silver. You have Sonic, you have the Restoration, and you'll always have me and the support of the Sol Dimension as well. With all of us together, I'm confident there is no threat that will take from you the future that you've fought so hard to keep safe."
Silver was speechless for a moment, his eyes still staring deeply into hers and his mind still absorbing all that she had said. Then, he sighed and looked away, letting a small smile build on his face as he did so.
"I…thanks, Blaze," he said, the cat nodding once before removing her hand from his shoulder. The spot she'd touched now felt cold despite the warm temperature of the city, reminding Silver of just how naturally warm Blaze was due to her connection with the Sol Emeralds and her innate pyrokinetic abilities.
"I know I'd already heard this from Espio, but…I guess just hearing it from you too, seeing you here too, I think really helped drive the lesson home for me."
Blaze nodded once and hummed in satisfaction, her smile still present on her features.
"If I am being honest, seeing you here has helped me a bit as well," she began, her confidence abating in a way that surprised Silver, as Blaze was always one to be rather sure of herself.
"My thoughts all too often dwell on how things are back home. I worry if something has happened and both Marine and Gardon are unable to call me home because of it. I also worry that if I am called back, that Eggman Nega or some other unknown threat will have risen to a level that I will be unable to stop. Seeing you here though, it reminds me that I'm not alone. It helps me realize that I have so many capable friends who would be at my side at an instant, and all I would need to do is ask."
A spell of companionable silence fell between the two of them, and Silver, despite feeling at peace with her here, couldn't shake a strange feeling in his chest. He couldn't say that he had known Blaze for particularly long, but for some reason, he felt like he knew her better than he knew anyone else. It was almost as though he and Blaze had been friends for much longer than they actually had, and despite logic telling him that such a thing was impossible, such an explanation felt right to Silver.
The hedgehog made to voice his thoughts to her, but he was interrupted by an adamant beeping from his wrist, the communicator he'd been given by Restoration HQ going off and informing him of a high-priority transmission.
"Silver!" crackled a familiar voice from the device. "Jewel to Silver! Please come in!"
Silver immediately frowned and answered the communication, sharing a concerned look with Blaze as he did so.
"This is Silver. I read you, Jewel. Is everything alright?"
"I'm coming through? Thank goodness! And no! Everything is very much not alright! We've got trouble at HQ! We're under attack by…by someone! I don't know who they are, or how many, but our defenses aren't effective against them! Are you closeby?"
"I'm in Central City; be there in no time!" Silver answered.
"Be careful when you get here!" Jewel's voice crackled from the communicator. "Reports are coming in similar to those of the previous attack in the city. If they're one and the same, we'll need everyone we can get to assist! I'm trying to contact Sonic and Tails as well, but I think they're out of communicator range!"
Silver saw Blaze set her jaw and nod resolutely, and though not a word had been spoken, the understanding between the two of them was clear.
"Hang tight, Jewel," Silver acknowledged. "We will be there soon."
The transmission had barely ended before both heroes were airborne, both glowing with their respective powers as they zoomed across the sky towards Restoration HQ.
As they flew, Silver risked a side glance at Blaze, feeling a touch of remorse that she had become a part of all of this during her vacation. Truthfully speaking, however, there was no one else that Silver would trust more to fight at his side. The feeling of familiarity he'd felt with her mere moments ago reemerged as the two of them flew, making him feel like this was something that should have been more commonplace between the two of them. In his mind, however, Silver knew that neither of them had really been paired together like this on a mission or otherwise. Frowning slightly, the hedgehog resolved to delve deeper into the strange feeling later, as now was definitely not the time.
Silver's thoughts then went to what Jewel had said about the attackers, and how their initial profile matched similarly with that of the tenrec that had attacked Central City. If they really were the same person, then Silver knew that they faced quite a battle ahead of them, especially considering the level of destruction they'd left behind. If something like that were to happen at Restoration HQ…the hedgehog grit his teeth just thinking about just how many lives would be in danger. Blaze had said that the Restoration would be there for him to help protect the future if need be, but if the Restoration itself was in danger…
The hedgehog clenched his teeth and willed himself to fly faster at the thought, refusing to think any further on what might happen. Blaze sped up as well to match his pace, then pulled slightly ahead to catch his eye.
"Whatever this is, Silver, we will overcome it together," she said reassuringly.
Silver watched her for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"Darn right!" he said confidently. "Against the two of us? Whoever these attackers are don't stand a chance!"
…
Sonic glanced around warily as Tails led the way deeper into the abandoned Eggbase, or if the insignias on the outside were any indication, the abandoned Starline base. Tracking the energy signature from the Dynamo Cage had been difficult, but Tails had managed to make it work, and now the two of them were delving deeper into the repurposed lair, following the trail of Surge and Kit.
"This has to be it," Tails said, his eyes scanning the readouts on the Miles Electric as he led Sonic further down the passage. "Traces of the Cage's energy are much more abundant here. It's strange though…"
"What is it, buddy?" Sonic asked, scanning the corridors around them for signs of danger as they delved deeper.
"Well, I'm certain that this is the place," Tails pondered. "But I'm still only getting trace readings from the Dynamo Cage. I'm not picking up the energy signature of the Cage itself."
"Soooo, is that a bad thing?"
"I'm not sure. The walls of this place are pretty thick, so it is possible that the signature is being masked by the structure, but unfortunately, it could also mean that they're not here at all."
"Well, that whole 'walls blocking the signal' thing holds water," Sonic said, looking at his wrist communicator. "We're definitely not getting any comms reception down here."
Sonic took another surveying glance around the passage as they continued forward.
"Even if they're not here, it's obvious they at least were at some point. Maybe we can find out a little bit more about what Starline did to them and figure out where they went."
Tails looked as if he were about to voice his agreement before the two of them reached the end of the passage, entering a large room that looked to be a massive laboratory. Equipment and loose sheets of paper were spread haphazardly about the place, giving Sonic a strong sense that someone had trashed it, likely in a fit of rage.
He certainly didn't need Tails' genius to venture a pretty good guess as to who.
...
A/N: Alright! First chapter is in! Gotta be honest, I've enjoyed Sonic games ever since I was little, but I never really felt the urge to write a fanfic about it. And yet, for some completely unknown reason and completely out of the blue, Silver's character really began to stand out to me, and within seemingly the span of a heartbeat, Silver became my favorite Sonic character. So I just had to write a story about it! For this story, I'll be updating it in parts to pace it out, so I'll see you all in the next chapter! Bye!
-ImpulsiveWeaver