u/Tutchando

Chapter 2 - Time skip: A few days

She ran through the scorching land, the heat of the rocks burning her many feet. She looked to the side and saw the 6 thin appendages coming out of her back touching the ground as she felt the irradiating heat from it. She was lucky to have many legs and being able to cycle between them quickly to avoid a high degree burn.

 

However, she was lost. She didn't know this place. She was walking on the forest, going to her family's house and then, suddenly, she found herself where she was now, or was some minutes ago. She wasn't sure how long she had been walking or if it was having any effect. It all seemed to be the same hell raised land everywhere she looked.

 

Lost in her fear, she accidentally stepped in a small hole, although, to her luck, it wasn't deep or dangerous, just viscous. In a moment like the one she was in, though, being icky about this sort of thing was the last thing she could afford, so she continued onward without ever looking back.

 

Forward and without a place to go, she was trying to find someone, anyone, anything, but nothing ever came across her vision. She just wanted to see her family, touch them, feel their flesh, turn them into something better, spread the metal that made her herself.

 

--------------------------

Hello diary, this is Silver.

 

Amy had mentioned that she did this diary thing, so I wondered how it felt. I can't say it makes me feel any better, just weird, but she did also mention that this was how she felt in the beginning. So I'll push through it.

 

This diary will be more to take notes on big things that happen in my current timeline.

 

So things like people being brought to it suddenly and forcefully would be a great start to it, I think.

 

Me and some others gathered everyone we could inside the most stable building we found and tried to piece together what was happening. I told them who I was and what I had done. Although no one seemed to believe me for some reason, they started asking me questions about what had happened to this timeline. I explained the best I could and they seemed to understand it.

 

That was also around the time I started to notice they were all from different points in time. Some of them didn't know who Sonic was, others knew. Some knew Soleanna, others knew it from history books, others didn't even have books. Thankfully everyone talked the same language. Incredible how Mobian dialect hasn't changed in at least centuries. I wonder why? Maybe it's because it has already reached the maximum efficiency?

 

Anyway, some of them started to believe I was a time traveler, finally, and then asked me if I couldn't just take them back to their time. I had to unfortunately deny them as I had no means of doing it alone and that time travel was extremely dangerous. There was also the chance of it not working, since I did try to use it to solve my problems, but they all could see how that turned out.

 

The lack of a good way out seemed to lessen their hopes and optimism, but I quickly tried to calm them down. I offered them a bit of hope that we were going to find a way back, but that for now we should focus on making a place where they could live and house new people that would come.

 

The work starts tomorrow, or at least after everyone is properly rested, since time is hard to tell with all the clouds. I have to make sure I'm rested to give my all to everyone, but there seems to be some of them having trouble sleeping. I can't just leave them helpless, now can I?

 

Well, this is a goodbye for now, diary. I'm going to help the sleepless rest and then go rest myself.

 

There is still hope for a brighter future.

There always is.

------------------

Chapter 3 - A running axolotl

Silver flew in the air as he held a giant wall of concrete with his psychokinesis, placing it on one of the destroyed buildings, as many other Mobians helped on rebuilding the remnants of the city around. The surroundings were still the same hell as they were before, but now with the life of the new people in it, old places were being repaired, the houses were being fixed and filled, shops were starting to sell the little they had and some floors were being used as a public space for resting and talking.

 

Silver landed on the last floor of the destroyed building he was helping rebuild "Is it correct, Ferd?" He asked.

 

"Yes. It looks perfect" A big brown bear, wearing construction gear responded with a smile "With help like this, we should finish this tower in a few days"

 

"This one will house the last ones remaining, right?" The hedgehog asked, getting ready to fly back down.

 

"Yes, with enough room for some more shops" Ferd said with much happiness.

 

"Then we can start to focus on the food problem. We need to find a stable energy source and any piece of renewable food around here" Silver said as his expression turned fiercer.

 

"Well, I still don't understand why you can't just go and grab some from the past, time traveler" A white cat from the side joked, earning some laughter from the other members of the team.

 

"I already told you guys" The hedgehog turned his attention to them "Time traveling is really dangerous. It also didn't help me the last time, so there's no guarantee it will now. And I can't do it on my own. I don't have the accessories for it" He seriously answered.

 

"And what are those accessories?" Asked a red beetle from the other side of the room, taking a break from the work.

 

Silver smiled and moved his finger, denying the answer "Nu-uh-uh. I won't give away the way of doing it. I don't want anyone making the same mistake I did" He responded, taking a few laughs from the workers again.

 

Ferd wrapped his arm around Silver and dragged him away "Don't mind them, Silver. They're just messing with you. They don't believe that you're a time traveler" He said with a tired sigh.

 

"They still don't?" The hedgehog asked, following along.

 

"Why would they? You refuse to prove them" The bear laughed "But I think you're telling the truth and agree with you. Time isn't something we should mess with, at least until we stabilize ourselves here" He said as he looked at the hellish horizon.

 

Silver gave a wide smile "Thanks, Ferd. It's good to see someone with common sense" He said, much to the bear's ironic confusion "Anyway. I'm going to grab more of the building pieces down there. Be-"

 

"No, no" The bear called him "We're taking a break in the moment, so just go down there and take your time to eat something and rest. I've never seen you eat anything"

 

"I do eat some snacks from time to time, but I don't want to take too much food from you guys" He said with a smile.

 

"Silver, you're one of us. You aren't taking anything" Ferd said with a little worry.

 

"Don't worry, friend. I'm fine" The hedgehog reassured him "Anyway. I'm going down there. In an hour or two I'll bring the next piece, okay?"

 

The bear gave out a sigh "Fine. The crew will be ready until them. Make it two hours. These lazy bums are going to make any excuse to not work" He laughed "Have a good rest" He waved.

 

"Everyone too!" Silver waved back, before flying down.

 

The time traveler flew down the destroyed building and landed on the scorched ground, the lava geysers had stopped, so Mobians could walk outside, but they still preferred the inside of the buildings. The ground floor of every building they had finished served as a public plaza where people could sit and talk, an attempt at normalcy, despite the dread of food and energy creeping on their backs.

 

He entered one of the buildings and all the attention was immediately shifted to him. A loud "Hello, Silver!" Was shouted by various in the floor. He was taken back a little by how famous he had gotten between the survivors. He wasn't used to even having people around, certainly not being praised.

 

"Good morning, mister Silver!" A small caterpillar, wearing a pink shirt with paint splatters, waved her entire body to him with a much happy face.

 

"Good morning, or at least the closest thing to morning we can have" He waved back as he walked inside.

 

"Silver!" A chubby raccoon, wearing a poorly put on, but new, farmer clothes, called "I'm so glad to see you. Here to buy something again?" He loudly said to get everyone's attention "Business has been down a little, but I think I'll manage with some more sells" He said with an attempt at sadness in his voice.

 

"Oh, if that's the case-"

 

"DON'T BELIEVE HIM!" Screamed a light brown weasel with ragged farmer clothes, as he stood up in a table "He's the one that sells the most out of us all. He's just trying to guilt trip you into buying his stuff, like he did everyone else!" He accused.

 

"Hey! Don't meddle in my business!" The raccoon shouted back.

 

The two started arguing with each other, getting closer and closer, but clearly never with the intent of starting a physical fight. Silver stood by the side for a few moments, before sighing and shaking his head. He used his powers to quickly fly around everyone and to the back of the building before they could notice, not wanting to deal with whatever that show was about.

 

He walked to a small tend with tables as a balcony, that sold small snacks "Good... Day, I guess" The hedgehog greeted.

 

"O-Oh, Silver" A shy white heron, wearing a white sleeveless shirt, said, hiding behind a comic book "G-Good day. Here to buy th-the usual?" She asked with trouble.

 

"Yep" Was the answer as the hedgehog leaned on the tables with his arms "You're getting better with your voice, Jose"

 

The heron blushed and turned around "T-Thank you. You're kind" She said as she started looking at some boxes behind her. The searching became more frenetic with each second, until she emerged from it with a worried face "T-They're not here" She whispered to herself.

 

"What's the problem, Jose?"

 

"M-My, my snacks. Th-They're not here" She said as she held her head with her wing-arms "I-I-I must've left them somewhere else. Far from here. I-I'll take time to g-get it back. I c-could lose co-costumers" She continued saying without stopping.

 

The hedgehog reached to her and put a hand on her shoulder "Hey, Jose. Don't worry. I'll find them for you, okay?"

 

"O-Okay" She said as her breath calmed down a little "I-I think I co-could've left it at the seventh floor, at t-the white tent" She informed without the strength to look at him "A-After you bring it, y-you don't need t-to pay f-" She started talking, but the hedgehog was already gone.

 

Silver quickly flew to the stairs and up the gap between the flights, making it much harder for him than if he had went outside, but it was too late the moment he thought his actions better. He arrived at the seventh floor, seeing an open space with no walls in between the corners of the building, that were completely open to the outside, with no window, due to the lack of fresh air. Various tents were made on the ground with boxes around, housing at least some dozens of Mobians. It wasn't the best of residencies, but it was what they had for now.

 

He looked around for any white and, coincidentally, there was only one tent of that color. He landed at its entrance and found a half open box full of magazines and books, which confirmed the owner of the place. The hedgehog closed the box with his powers and looked around, finding another box that, upon further inspection, had the snack merchandise inside. He smiled and levitated the box, getting ready to return it.

 

As he turned around, he heard the noise of rumbling coming from the side. He would've ignored it any other situation, but the entire floor was empty and no one was there to take care of their stuff. If anyone were to rummage through other people's stuff, that would be the perfect time.

 

The hedgehog swiftly made his way around to the sound, finding a small pink axolotl, just a little over half his own height, wearing blue overalls, too busy doing something with their backs to the time traveler. Silver peeked over the shoulder of the Mobian and saw them messing with a black box, but his action caught some unwanted attention, as the axolotl suddenly turned around to meet his gaze. The lack of attention made the box start to glow red in an alarming rate, enough to warrant the hedgehog flinging the box out of the building, just before it created a huge explosion that shook the entire floor and the ones around it, being heard across the entire construction, despite its glow being nothing compared to the lava outside.

 

"Aw, man" The axolotl whined as they looked at the last few seconds of the explosion "Mah things"

 

Silver stood stunned for a second, looking at what once was a ball of fire "What was that?!" He shouted out of surprise.

 

The axolotl flinched and jolted around, meeting the hedgehog's gaze once again "Shit" They cursed to themselves, before bolting to the stairs.

 

Silver took a moment to come back to his senses, noticing the escape attempt and immediately following behind "Hey! Come back here!"

 

The flying hedgehog went after, making sure the box of snacks didn't get left behind or was damaged. He saw the axolotl jumping from flight to flight of stairs and he followed them with care. When he exited the stairs, he gave Jose the box, taking one of the snacks from the box and placing the money on her counter.

 

"Here! Thanks!" He said as he flew by.

 

"Y-You didn't need t-" The heron tried to say, but was too late already.

 

Silver flew close to the ceiling of the floor trying to spot the axolotl, but there were too many Mobians of all varieties around the place. It would be nearly impossible to spot a specific species in the middle of them all, if not by pure luck. He then tried looking for the color pink, but that would also be of no use. Many people below were pink or wore the color. It wasn't of any help. He kept himself floating up, which caught some attention of the survivors, that started looking at him with a curious look.

 

"Has anyone seen a pink axolotl?!" Silver decided to bluntly ask.

 

"You mean Ent?!" A tall giraffe responded "He went that way" She pointed to the stair he had come from, where he saw a pink blur entering.

 

"Thanks!" He said and waved as he flew to the same place again.

 

The flying hedgehog flew into the flight of stairs again, hearing someone sprinting to the first floor. He followed them and met with the axolotl in the middle of the storage floor. Ent fell to the ground by surprise and found himself trapped, the only way out being jumping out of the window onto the scorched earth underneath. He looked between the open wall and his pursuer and took his choice.

 

"Alraight, alraight. I give in, I give in" He surrendered with his arms in the air, flinching back a little.

 

Silver landed on the ground and walked closer "Good. I wouldn't want to keep chasing you" He said with a sigh "Now, what was that? Why did it explode?"

 

Ent lowered his hands, but still kept his defenses "I... I was trahying to make a battery. The lack of energy is busting my brain to the cretaceous" He explained with a lack of eye contact "And I would've gahtten it. I must've missed a wire or something" He pondered as he caressed his ferns.

 

"Wait, you're making a battery? How?"

 

"Ah, ya'see... I had some spare parts on me when I got kidnapped here. Wouldn't be able without it" The axolotl scratched the back of his head "S-Sorry" He forced it out.

 

"So you weren't stealing up there?"

 

"What?! No! I'd never steal" Ent responded much indignant "Everything I have is mine and a result of mah work. I'm legit"

 

"Oh, sorry. I got it confused then. I thought you were stealing since you started running when you saw me" The hedgehog gave an awkward smile "You also lost the components in that explosion, so no more batteries. We could've used that" Silver said with tiredness, scratching his chin as he thought "Is there anything I could buy you to make up for the loss? Like some food?"

 

The axolotl opened his mouth with haste to talk, but heard the loud rumbling of his stomach. His face flushed a deep purple as the sound reached the entire empty room "I-I guess that would be helpful, ye, but I'm not eating in da middle of all those people"

 

"Why's that?"

 

"Too much noise" Was the quick answer "Too much everything"

 

Silver smiled at him and offered to help him up "Okay. Let's get something proper to eat then. We can go out there if it makes you feel better"

 

Ent looked at the hand, his gaze switching between it and the hedgehog's face. He was analyzing, thinking, doubting, many things that seemed to unnecessary in the face of someone so… Simple as that white furred Mobian.

 

Silver helped him up and started to walk to the stairs with a chuckle "Also, what's a cretaceous?"

 

"Just a slang for old" Ent responded.

 

The two made their way to the ground floor and there they got some simple food. They couldn't afford much and didn't have much either, so the less they'd wish for, the more they'd be satisfied with. They grabbed their food and walked outside.

 

The ground was scorched and still emanated heat from the lava underneath, but it had cooled enough for them to walk on it. The two sat on some rocks outside, seeing the cracks on the ground that led to a sea of magma. It wasn't the best place, but it was different and away from everyone else. The two sat on their rocks, looking at the same hellish view, but calmer than anyone else.

 

"So" Silver started a conversation after swallowing a bite "You're an inventor? Making batteries and things of the sort?"

 

"I try ta be" Ent took a bite of his food "An you? Don't you have other things to do? Like helping the builders and shi?"

 

The hedgehog snickered "They're taking a break now. And I'm here to help people in need, no matter who"

 

"I see" He drank a bit of water "You from this place, raight?"

 

"Yeah. Born and raised"

 

"So the stories you told are real?" Ent asked with a raised eyebrow.

 

"People don't seem to believe me for some reason, but I've only shared the truth of the situation" Silver leaned forward, staring into the hell of his world and wondering why it was so hard to believe in the story of this place.

 

The axolotl was going to laugh, but looked at the hedgehog, staggering his reaction. He saw the face of someone who truly didn't understand why it was unreasonable to believe his crazy words. It's as if he didn't know lies existed.

 

"Well. Half time god and time travel aside, anyone surviving this hell fo how long you have without help is insanity" Ent said with a smirk "Almost a fary tail"

 

"I wasn't alone" Silver quickly rebutted.

 

"Ya, ya. The fire princess. Sorry, that's ma bad" The axolotl apologized.

 

…

 

The two stayed in silence.

 

…

 

Each took a bite of their food.

 

…

 

Then stayed in silence again.

 

…

 

"I know someone that's an inventor too" Silver broke the awkward tension "He would've liked to talk to you and be really helpful here. He managed to fly a plane at 8, did you know that?"

 

"Fly a plane a 8?" Ent repeated to himself in a whisper "Wait, you mean Tails Prower?" He whipped his head to his companion.

 

The hedgehog perked up with a bright smile "You know him too?"

 

"Af course I know Mile Tails Prower! He was da main hero of ma time!" Ent stood up on his rock.

 

"Tails? What about Sonic and the others?"

 

"Sonic had already passed away" The axolotl's mood dropped at his own response "Af the original gang, only Tails and ah really old Amy had survived" He sat back on the rock "Tails took it upon himself to keep helping people. He did his best, but da world is too big for a single fox"

 

"He couldn't keep up with everything?"

 

"Na. Na one could. Afta the heroes died, people started to become more aggressive. They didn't know wha was gonna happen. 'What if Robuttnik comes back?', they asked, and those questions made everyone nervous" Ent looked at the ground, as if seeing his own time in that rock "Tails did his best. More than most an anyone else. Made his most brilliant inventions to try an help, but people were too crazy to appreciate"

 

"You seem to hold him in high regard. I understand. Tails is a true hero" Silver said, looking at the dark sky, searching any light he could.

 

"Ye, but even he couldn't help the places I was in" The axolotl said, relaxing on his rock "Bunch o alleys, run by crime. Couldn't even try to do something different to not catch the attention of those scumbags. They hated anyone that tried ta be better"

 

"That didn't seem to stop you" Silver noted.

 

Ent laughed "Na, it didn't. Heh heh. But it did give me ah lot of trouble. Always running around, apologizing through ma teeth, even if na one believed me. Can't say I miss them"

 

The two then sat in silence again, but this time it felt warmer between them. It wasn't awkward. The silence didn't sting or suffocate, it washed them like a gentle wave of the ocean.

 

"There was this time" Ent spoke up with a little chuckle "That I stole ah private plane from one of those rich bastards that ruled the slums so I could follow on Tail's steps" He told with laughs in between.

 

"And you knew how to fly it?" Silver asked with interest.

 

"Hell nah! I crashed the plane inna lake afta getting chased by two others" The axolotl said, breaking into a loud laugh "But I got da hang of it in my next attempts"

 

"You tried it again?! After crashing?!"

 

"Couldn't pass the opportunities when they presented themselves. I really wanted to learn how ta fly a plane"

 

Silver snickered, despite his worry "You're insane"

 

Ent took a bottle of water and drank it all in a single gulp "Yea. Damn, it's hot here" He complained as he got up from his rock and looked at the lava beneath.

 

"We've been trying to find ways to make energy so we can make what the people call an 'air conditioner'. They say it cools the air of closed spaces, but we didn't have much success yet" The hedgehog stood up and walked to his side.

 

The axolotl stared in thought at the cracks of magma "We could try to use da heat" He proposed "There's plenty of machines that would be able to turn this into som kind of energy. It ain't efficient, but better than nothing. We could also make many of them to compensate for da loss, there's enough spots fa that. If we find some material resistant enough, we could also use the movement of da lava as a source" He instinctively said.

 

Ent felt two hands grabbing his shoulder. As he turned around, he saw Silver's face right up to his, the hedgehog's eyes almost shining on their own as he floated on the air "Ent. You're a genius!"

(+18 for kind of gory violence)

Tutchando woke up at the start of the day, his heart ready to meet with his loved lady.

The cathedral found itself silent, as it was still too early for any prayers to be done. Yet, at the bottom of the statue of Queen Lamia, knelt a nun.

Tutch knew better than to interrupt her vows, so he knelt a few feet behind her and made his own, which were always shorter than the nun, no matter how late or long he was or made his words. She always finished last, as if her prayers held the final word, something he didn't doubt they did.

The few seconds in between the end of their prayers left him time to admire her a little, since no time in the universe would allow him to fully contemplate her being. Her pale face, always maintaining her eyes closed and the tunic of a nun adorning her entire body, quite close to her curves, giving her a divine figure.

But he knew better, more than most. He knew of the secrets locked in the catacombs of this place. It just added to her beauty.

Her head tilted down, before she gave a small look behind her "Don't you look too much" She said, her voice a faint sweet melody adorned by the wretched voice of a deep secret.

Her form bent and twisted, mashing together into a chaos of a view, before expanding into an amalgam of different woman, trying to escape the monster, but their looks in her body showed their failure. On top of it all, funnelling into a single figure, it was the twisted silhouette of Lamia.

His eyes focused on her and only her, the woman he worshipped above all, the one he followed no matter the circumstances. She called herself Double, in a show of her great irony.

He more he looked, the more majestic she became. The puzzle of what she was never seemed to be solved in his head and it amazed him. The sight of her always made him melt into a puddle of pure love for her.

"I'm sorry, my queen, but I can't help myself" He said without an ounce of guilt "You know how beautiful you are and I am no liar"

She giggled and, despite standing like a column, crawled towards him. Her form wrapping around him like a snake "That you are not. You wouldn't be beside me in this moment if you were"

Tentacles formed out of her body and slippered by his cheek, flustering him, despite the predatory intent from her "I-I know of your mercy, m-my love, and I still am grateful to you for allowing me to stay by you" He said, stumbling with his words as an uncounted happiness took over his body upon receiving a reaction from his goddess.

"I know you are" Her acidic voice echoed in his muscles.

Her body moved like a liquid taking over his body, entering every spore of his body, molding like molten steel in an ant hill. Tutch was filled from the inside with Double. His breath was slow, almost stopping, his intestines were filled with only one being, his arteries only carried her. He was being invaded by his love for her and he couldn't wish it any other way.

Double quickly took all of her out of him and threw him to the side with a laugh that shook the very cathedral.

The way his body hit the wall and fell on the ground, he certainly had broken a rib at least. The pain that shot through his body, the agony that ran through his veins, the fear that shot through his synapses, all trembling his body like a blizzard in a second. It was still not a match for the love that filled his heart and veins, the devotion that made his synapses work, the admiration that made his body and soul.

He was happy, in love, devoted.

As he laughter died down, her expression returned to a calm and melodic face. Her moment of lashing out had ended and now she could return to her only goal of helping the Trinity.

She looked at her devout and a smile creeped onto her lips. From underneath her clothes, more masses of flesh and muscle came out, wrapping around Tutch, as he was brought closer to her.

When close, she grabbed his body and placed a hand where the broken bone was and inserted her finger through his spores once again, feeling the edges of his skeleton and putting the pieces back in place, gently holding it together as she watched his face of pain and love.

"Isn't he an interesting human?" She asked as a nurse and a half skeleton child entered the cathedral, to the scene of a nun tendering to her devout.

The giant goddess sat on her bed, or the closest a human eye could perceive this "act" as. She tried to take a break from her usual life of keeping the other gods and their relationship with the other lesser species in a tight leash, but her work never ended and gave no time for rest.

As she checked on the other's manifestations on the physical plane, she felt a well known prayer trying to reach her.

She glanced at it, just for confirmation, and she saw that human that kept pestering her.

He had no way of actually annoying her in any meaningful way, but his insistent worship did get on her nerves. Not because of his unending loyalty and on time consistency, but because no matter what she did to destroy his soul, he survived. Not out of the need to live, but of the need to continue worshipping her.

She has thrown him in dying universes, yet, he found his way back to his home and kept his prayers, knowing full well she was the reason he endured hell. It seemed to not matter to him.

That persistence. A small creature, just barely sentient and stupid enough to not even understand the making of his own universe, he defied her attempts at divine comedy because of herself.

What a bother.

She couldn't lie, though. It did interest her a little. To understand why such a lowly creature continued to defy the most unthinkable of odds, not searching any recompensation, just the ability to keep worshipping her, it brought her curiosity.

She wondered what would happen if she were to indulge his fantasies, if even for a little, what kind of reaction that would result.

Her eye, smug and curious, swiftly closed with grace.

It was not this prayer that she would answer, however. She wondered how much more she could punish him until his faith broke.

It meant losing a follower, but one as interesting as this was rare. She couldn't pass the opportunity to test a toy.

Then, maybe, if he survives however long until she becomes bored, and if she's in a good mood, maybe she will grant him a visit.

Until then, he can pray, she can observe, as he is sent to a reality where nothing makes sense. She expects his death, but a small bit of her infinity also waited for his survival.

A white male hedgehog, with maple leaf quills on his forehead, wearing white gloves with light blue circles, golden bracelets with cyan stripes and black and blue boots, is kneeling on the ground, his hand gripping the scorching earth beneath, as his eyes gave away tears that immediately evaporated. Ahead of him, a sea of lava with columns of rocks sticking out, broken buildings, burned to their most basic materials, surrounding the area.

 

He couldn't believe it. Silver, the time traveling hedgehog, despite all the work he had done to get rid of Iblis, it all had been for nothing. He- No, Blaze had defeated that monster for good. He had changed the past, helped Sonic and Shadow defeat Solaris, yet, nothing happened to his future. It was all the same. The same fire, the same destruction, the same loneliness. Specially without her.

 

He punched the ground in anger. He couldn't believe in this situation, in himself, in anything. He got on his knees, looking at the black sky. There was no sun, no moon. Just smoke from the hell that had been raised.

 

Why?

 

Why did he have to suffer like this?

 

What had he done to deserve this?

 

Why not the others?

 

He saw Sonic's time. He had a beautiful scenery. Life. People. Friends.

 

Why did he have to be stuck with this hell?

 

…

 

Why did the others deserve more happiness than him?

 

"Why, why, why?" Said a voice from behind Silver. He quickly turned around, to see… Himself "I hear a lot of questions, but not enough actions" He said.

 

"Who are you?" Silver asked, taking a stance to protect himself.

 

"I'm someone just like you. Angry at this unfair universe for putting us in this hell, while giving everyone else a good place to live in with friends. All while WE get nothing. We were forgotten, spitted on by them, the universe" Was the response from the mysterious white hedgehog, anger slowly rising in his voice.

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

"Oh, please. Don't try to act as if you weren't feeling, thinking, the same" The hedgehog got closer, his hands relaxed around his body, posing no threat "I saw you laying on the ground, crying and questioning the sky. You and me, we both feel the same. How unfair it is that we don't get anything" He stopped in front of Silver "However, I might have a solution for us both, for a better future"

 

The time traveler heard this man with attention. His words… He felt them deep in his heart, as much as he didn't want to "And what would that solution be?" He asked, reluctant as the shadow of Mephiles rang on him.

 

The man raised his hand "We have nothing. This world is destroyed, there's no reason to stay here. Nothing to gain, nothing to build. My offer is for us to take from them"

 

Silver stayed silent for a second "You can't mean-"

 

"I do" The answer was quick and rude "We have nothing and we never did anything to deserve this. You thought it yourself. You saw what the others have, they have it too good. Would it really be that bad for us to get that, just enough for ourselves? For our lives?"

 

"Why take? Can't we live with them?"

 

"Living in a world that isn't ours, that we aren't a part of. None of us want that. We want a home, not a hotel"

 

"You're insane!"

 

"I'm insane for having the same thoughts you had? Are you calling yourself out?"

 

Silver's stance tightened "No. I'm realizing how much of a fool I was for ever thinking like that" His hands started to glow cyan, as small rocks started to float around him "I shouldn't have thought that. To wish the downfall of others, instead of the uprising of yourself? Heh, what are you? Stupid?"

 

Silver immediately started levitating and dashing forward. He tried to grab the hedgehog with his psychokinesis, but the same cyan glow started to flow on his enemy's hands. The space in between them shifted, as if it became a spiraling painting. It pulled them both, surprising the time traveler, who got punched right in the face with an immense force, sending him flying away as the rocks around him dispersed to all sides.

 

Silver flew into a stable position, catching the arm that tried to grab his face and swinging his enemy down to the lava. The strange hedgehog grabbed one of the rock columns and transformed it into a bowl, stopping his fall just as he entered in contact with the magma, exploding it upward.

 

Silver used his powers to blow the lava away, but this only separated it into smaller pools in the air. He avoided those, but couldn't find his enemy, before quickly blocking a punch with his bracelets, but too slow to stop the other from wrapping their arms around his wrist, tugging it and elbowing his throat. He coughed in pain, but caught a glimpse of his adversary using their psychokinesis to propel their punch forward and protect their hand, before being sent across a building in the distance.

 

Silver dug his fingers on the building's walls to stop his momentum, then grabbed the entire construction, spreading his fingers as far as he could, causing the structure to be torn apart in several small pebbles, which he sent at high speeds. The strange hedgehog created a shield around him, but Silver started to make a hurricane of small rocks, attacking from all sides, breaking the protection in seconds.

 

The other mobian tried to grab one of the rock surrounding him, causing the clash of their powers to create a gravitational pull that atomized the other rocks. He came out panting and with some blood dripping from surface wounds around his body, while his time traveling foe was unscathed.

 

"The clash between our powers… It's dangerous to reality" Silver said to himself "Who are you?!" He shouted at the other "I don't remember having ever met you in all my years of wondering this planet!"

 

"You know me more than you think" Was the dry answer "Or maybe not" He chuckled.

 

Silver dashed forward and tried to use psychokinesis on his enemy again, but he countered, creating that attraction one more time. His enemy went for a punch, but it got parried and Silver, using the same hand, grabbed his shoulder, using his powers to propel and protect his punch, but the strange hedgehog tilted his head and dodged by a centimeter.

 

"You think you can use my tricks against me?" He joked as he freed his shoulder.

 

He delivered a gut punch, but Silver held onto it and reacted with a knee on the chin. The other tried to swing him down at the lava, but he spun with him and delivered a kick in the ribs, followed up by him grabbing his enemy's other shoulder and headbutting him, before grabbing the arm and throwing his adversary at a rock column at the ground.

 

The strange hedgehog was plowed through the rock, almost reaching the magma below, but he stopped his descent and grabbed the rest of the column he was in, sending it at his enemy, who sent a blast that destroyed the projectile into dust. Without time to react, smaller rocks came out of the smoke and hit Silver, taking a chunk of his arm and belly.

 

"Why do you persist?!" The other came flying off the ground and grabbed his enemy "This is the only chance we have at something!" He flung his foe at a building "Our only good future" He flattened the building with his power "But you fight for them?! What about us?!"

 

The building was sent flying into the air, before being thrown like a frisbee at the strange hedgehog "What about us? WHAT about us?!" Silver screamed in anger.

 

The other dodged the building, but was grabbed by Silver's tackle, who delivered a punch right to the face, sending him down to the ground.

 

"I've lived my whole life in this hell! I shouldn't even be alive!" He continued screaming as he followed his enemy and dragged him across the ground.

 

The strange hedgehog broke free and tried to fly away, but was grabbed by his wrist, being sucker punched, before any reaction could surface.

 

"Why should I sacrifice the life of others for mine?! Take away from them for me?! For you!? For this time!?" Silver continued to punch and grab rocks from behind and throwing them at high speeds as he screamed in anger "This reality is dead already. Let it rest with me!"

 

His punch was caught by the strange hedgehog, who didn't even try, pulling him off his balance and kneeling him to the air. The stranger flew at high speeds to catch up and landed a massive punch on his gut. The time traveler felt the energy of the attack passing through him, dispersing the clouds above. He was sent above them, but no matter how above he went, the clouds never seemed to end.

 

Silver got a firm grasp of his consciousness back, still feeling the waves of the punch he got hit. It was massively stronger than anything his enemy had shown before. It made no sense. He noticed his foe chasing him through the skies, so he started to escape. The more he flew, the closer the other was.

 

Silver started to worry, his enemy wasn't just stronger now, but also faster. He didn't have time to react as his wrist got grabbed and punched right in the face. He felt his body travel through space as the corners of reality closed on him. His nose hurt and bled, cracking out of place. The time traveler would have been sent flying if he wasn't being grabbed, but that only resulted in the other hedgehog pulling him closer and headbutting his forehead.

 

Silver slammed against the ground and got dragged across the rocks. He bled from his nostrils and spat blood on the ground, as more of his sanguine fluid covered his eyes, dripping from his cracked skull. He slowly got up as his enemy floated down without any caution.

 

Silver immediately dashed to the strange hedgehog and started to punch him, but nothing worked. He barely felt it. He threw rocks, but they were swatted away. Nothing he did worked, nothing he did ever worked. He was useless. Just like when fighting Iblis. Again and again, he couldn't do anything. down to the end, he was nothing. He didn't win, he just got helped, saved. He wasn't a hero, just another useless and defenseless poor soul that thought he had any relevance. Nothing, nothing, nothing!

 

The other hedgehog slapped Silver's punch away, then kicked him on the side and quickly followed up by floating and kneeling him in the chin with much more strength, only to finish with an immensely more powerful punch to his chest, shattering his ribs and sending him even further back across the ground.

 

Laying on the scorched rocks, did he finally get it. His attacks getting stronger so suddenly, his appearance in such a weak time, his looks so similar. It all made sense in a second.

 

Silver got up with groans as his chest hurt, a glow on his body. His eyes, however, didn't portray pain, they were somber, understanding, happy, directed at his enemy.

 

"Your semblance changed. Have you snapped?" The strange hedgehog asked, noticing his enemy using his psychokinesis to put the bones in place and stop his bleeding.

 

The time traveler laughed "No. It's just that finally understanding you has opened my mind to look into myself"

 

"What are you babbling about?" Was the response as the other flew forward with speed.

 

He threw multiple rocks at Silver, but Silver reacted by using his own power on the same rocks, disintegrating them into a singularity as they pulled the other hedgehog for a greater impact, but Silver simply floated to the side and passed his hand by the other's arm that was stretched for a strike.

 

The stranger turned to look at him, but noticed the arm that was touched going completely limp. He felt as his bones were out of place, taken just slightly off to disconnect from the whole structure.

 

"What!?" The other hedgehog felt his arm with pain "What did you do?" He tried to use his psychokinesis on Silver with his other arm, but the moment he connected with his enemy, his arm opened wounds all over, dropping a river of blood on the ground "I-I can't, so how can you!?"

 

Silver looked at him with worry "I told you. I understand what you are and now my consciousness can grasp you. You on the other hand, have no idea of what I am anymore, and so, you get hurt upon trying to do the same. Even if we are the same"

 

The stranger chuckled, his knees trembling as he had no more options "So you do know me now. Then you understand that denying me is pointless, because I'm your own mind"

 

"You're a moment of weakness I had" Silver quickly shot his words down "A stupid moment I thought, that my powers expanded into its own thing. That's what you don't understand. You're a weakness in me that grew on a hard time. That's why you can't understand me, use your powers on me" He answered.

 

The other hedgehog huffed as he bled, taking a step back with each word. He didn't accept them, but they made sense. So much sense, that he doubted himself and his beliefs for a second. They wavered within a thread of credibility in his mind.

 

"But it doesn't have to be this way. The past is fixed and we can't go back there anymore, but we still have here, a now to fix, and we can only do it with the help of people. Yes, you were my mistake, but you don't have to be. You could turn out to be my greatest part. You just have to try to forget that hate that made you and embrace the hope that we can bring to this land" The time traveler continued with a smile in his face.

 

The other hedgehog, a mere sample of Silver's consciousness given life by his powers, clenched his teeth in anger. His only working arm made a fist, as blood ran down his member. He was being discarded as a mistake, a creation, lesser.

 

He whispered something under his breath, but too low to be heard.

 

"What did you say? I couldn't catch it" Silver asked as he approached with small steps.

 

"I said, I'M NOT A MISTAKE!" The stranger screamed as he used his powers to instabilize the lava underneath them "I'll prove it to you, Silver! I'm not a mistake, I'm not your creation! I am the truth you refuse to see! The only path you had to being happy!" He shouted as he flew into the sky.

 

Silver tried to stabilize the ground as the other escaped, torn between saving the land he wishes to save, even if barren, and chasing his enemy down. In a split decision, he flew to the sky in great speeds as the ground collapsed into geysers of lava.

 

"I won't let you escape!" He yelled as he started to chase him down.

 

The other hedgehog looked back for a second, seeing his other half getting closer "Shit, he's not angry. I'm losing my strength" He said to himself as he felt his body weakening, but it didn't matter, he was too close to getting out of the atmosphere, where he wouldn't be followed anymore.

 

"You don't have to run away! You can stay with me and help me create the happiness you talk of!" Silver shouted as he extended his hand to use his powers on him.

 

The anger turned and used his own psychokinetic powers to stop the other's attempt. Their shock colliding and bending space and time, pulling both of them closer.

 

The other tried to fly away faster, stronger, while Silver continued his psychic attack, feeding the bend into becoming more volatile and pulling even harder. The space around the entire world started to shift as the waves that shook it were infinitely thin, affecting it in ways so small and so large that it would be unnoticeable to a normal mobian eye.

 

The other hedgehog then, escaped. Despite Silver's attempts, the bend also attracted the very atmosphere of the planet, allowing his anger to escape away, breaking the bend and flying away into space, where the time traveler couldn't follow anymore.

 

"Damnit" Silver cursed to himself as he looked at the spot where his own thoughts had ran off, before turning away and flying down.

 

He landed on the ground with little grace, just tiredness. He looked at the land in which he was stuck to and put his hope in. A scorching hell of geysers of lava and a giant sea of the burning liquid rising as nothing more was alive. Only him in this broken world.

 

Not even his own anger with himself now. Maybe that was for the better.

 

He sat on the ground. He had a lot of work to make this world his home again, but he couldn't now. He didn't want to. He was tired, hurt. He just wanted to lay on the ground and s l e e-

 

"Hello!?" Came a scared shout from behind Silver.

 

It shot the hedgehog awake as he jumped on the air and started flying out of surprise. He turned around and saw a group of three mobians carefully walking around the burning land while avoiding the lava around.

 

"Hey, someone there is flying!" One of them, a male wolf, pointed out.

 

"Hello!" Silver quickly reacted, flying to them with a happy smile "My name is Silver! It's a pleasure to meet you, truly. I didn't know there were survivors here" He said as quickly as he could.

 

The three survivors were overwhelmed with his interaction, but another, a male panda, was able to blurt out "S-Sorry, but do you know what happened here? I was having a nice day in my home when from all the sudden I was brought here" His voice cracked from fear.

 

The hedgehog's smile faltered for a second "Brought here? You're not… From this place?" He quietly said.

 

"Yes" The other mobian, a female rabbit, spoke "I wasn't from here either. I don't even know these two, but we were all brought here suddenly"

 

"That's… Strange" Silver said as he tried to think of a possible cause. He looked behind him and that's when his eyes widened. It wasn't only three, multiple groups and many other solo mobians were appearing on the horizon.

 

Dozens, hundreds of them, probably just as scared and confused.

A small boy, with messy white hair that fades into orange at the tips and wearing an overgrown pajama that clearly belonged to an adult and was passed down to him, walked out of his room with a happy smile and full of energy.

 

He jumped into the living room, where his parents were. A tall woman, wearing a black robe around her body with owls drawn on it and with a long, smooth hair that starts black but fades into white, and a small man, wearing a light suit of chainmail, with pads on the shoulder and knees with the symbol of the Spartan's helmet engraved and with short orange hair.

 

"Mom!" The child called, as the woman that found herself standing in the kitchen, searching for recipes in her visor,made way in her vision to see her son "Dad!" He called again, getting the attention of the man in the couch, reading an article on his visor, slightly tilting his head to listen to his son.

 

"What is it, my son?" The mother asked, giving him a bit of her attention.

 

"Γ and ι are outside and calling me to play with them" The boy said with happiness.

 

"No" The mother quickly shot his proposition down without even hearing it.

 

The child got caught by surprise, taking a second to process the denial "B-But why?"

 

"Because" The father talked from the couch "Shen's child is still missing and no one knows where she is or what happened"

 

"B-But I'll be with my friends"

 

"Two other children that are susceptible to being kidnapped" The mother retorted.

 

"We're not gonna be kidnapped. We'll stay right in front of our houses. If anything happens we'll scream" The kid tried to argue.

 

"Serial Designation Ξ" The mother spoke in a mildly annoyed tone "You are not going outside to play. It's dangerous and you could be lost forever. Tell your friends to go back inside their houses and when everything solves itself, you three can meet each other again" She said, going back to looking at her recipes.

 

"But mom-"

 

"Son, she's not going to answer you anymore" The father spoke "She gave you her final answer and that's it"

 

"But I just want to play a little" Ξ said with frustration in his voice.

 

"Exactly. You just want to play. It's not worth risking your life. You'll get over it in some minutes. So, just obey your mother and go to your room" He said, not even taking his eyes off the article he was reading.

 

The boy stormed off the place with anger and sadness. He entered his room and closed the door. His bedroom was quite normal, just a bed, a table, a drawer and a carpet with the symbol of a scepter in the middle of his room. He slouched himself to a closed curtain on the side, which when opened revealed a window to the other side, the corridor of the HQ, and two children standing close by.

 

"So, what did they say?" A boy with short brown hair, wearing a black headband and a simple grey shirt, asked.

 

"Did they let you play?" The other boy with short orange hair, wearing a cap with the symbol 'Γ' and a stereotypical scout outfit, asked.

 

"Sorry guys" Ξ lay on the window "But they won't let me out of the house, because of the disappearance"

 

Γ hummed "Ms. Pontuc and Mrs. Gura are stricter than I thought. My parents didn't care that much"

 

"My parents didn't want me to come either" The other boy said "They were all over how μ disappeared, saying things like 'Oh, ι. You can't go out. What if you're next?' and blah blah blah" He made a poor imitation of his mother.

 

"How are you here then?" Ξ asked.

 

"I sneaked out" He answered with a shrug of his shoulder "And you can do the same" He pointed at the boy in the window with a smug smile.

 

"But what if my parents notice? How did yours not?"

 

"Relax" ι waved his hand "My parents are too occupied in parties and yours shouldn't check on you for the next few hours. That leaves you open to sneak around for that time"

 

"He does make sense" Γ commented.

 

"Okay, but how do I sneak out? They will certainly see or hear me if I go through the front door" Ξ asked.

 

"Just open the window" ι bluntly said.

 

The boy inside the room, then, simply opened his window and slowly climbed out of it.

 

"Well, that was anticlimactic" Γ said.

 

Despite that feeling, the three looked at each other with their eyes hollowing of happiness. They quickly started to run away, ready to have fun around the area. Although the fear of getting lost was higher than their rebelliousness and they stayed around the housing area of the HQ.

 

They played catch, running around the corridors trying to be as fast as they could. ι used his wings, but since he didn't know how to fly properly, he used it as balance points and to boost himself in the air. Γ tried to copy him, but failed miserably, barely even knowing how to move his wings.

 

Next they played hide and seek. Ξ was specially good at finding small places to hide and being able to crawl inside. Γ always got caught, since he couldn't hold his laughter when the catcher passed by him.

 

Then, they grabbed a lost ball in the hall and decided to play with it. The first thought Γ had when he got a hold of it, was to throw at ι's head. His aim being poor caused him to completely miss, but it set the rules of the game they were playing. Dodgeball.

 

Ξ was really good at dodging, while ι was really good at aiming. The two started an impasse, where none could hit the other, with the exception of Γ being bombarded in the crossfire. Until, the ball was thrown and dodged right in front of a white, with black details, vase.

 

The vase, upon impact from the ball, instantly shattered into pieces, crying a loud sound of its broken structure, followed by the cascade of its pieces. The pristine shards fell on the ground, sliding to all sides, but one fell right in front of Ξ. It was the image of the vase, what it represented.

 

It showed Narcissus losing his mind in the lake, while Echo watched, accidently having driven her loved one into that state.

 

The child, however, recognized that image. Not because he was taught it since he could think, but because… He lifted his head and saw the door of the house who the vase belonged to.

 

From inside the door, loud voices were already screaming out of anger. It didn't take them longer than a few seconds for them to check outside and when they opened the door, his parents were there.

 

Gura had her eyes agitated, darting all around the hallway, before locking on her child. Pontuc, on the other hand, had already come out fuming from his mouth and instantly saw his son.

 

"What happened here?!" The father screamed.

 

Ξ tried to say something, but he couldn't. They got stuck in his throat. He had seen his parents angry before, but never like this. He could feel their hatred touching his shoulders, consuming him.

 

"Isn't it clear? He broke our vase!" Gura screamed in anger. She stomped to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him off his feet inside their house "You come here! We told you to not go out! Then you do what?!" She continued screaming as she passed by the door "You stupid child! I'm gonna punish you for this!" The shouts came from inside.

 

Pontuc watched as his son was dragged to the darkness of his own house, then turned to the other two kids "You two should go back to your own houses. It's not safe outside until we understand what happened to the generation VI that went missing" He said, before slowly walking back inside.

 

Ξ was dragged without any regard for his own well being inside the house. His mother screamed, but his brain had tuned it out. His processors only understood a loud rambling from her. He tried to keep pace, but his mother's tugs threw him off balance each time. His head felt light as each step he took bent the world around him. His vision was weird, probably due to the tears that got in the way of his visor.

 

Gura opened a door with all the force she could muster, slamming it against her child accidently and knocking him on the ground.

 

"Get up!" She ordered as she pulled him to his feet and shoved him inside the room.

 

Ξ fell to his knees as his head rang like a bell from the impact with pain. With struggle, he looked at his surroundings. Blinding white walls, ground and ceiling filled his gaze, with a single light in the middle at the top, shining a strong light that downed on him like a continuous lightning. The floor was soft, even a bit bouncy, which made him lose all sense of footing. The room was small and empty, there was barely enough space for a full spread of arms and nothing in there for him to use. Just a blank space in the house.

 

"You're going to think about what you did here. You'll be out when you understand what you've done wrong" Gura said, looming outside the door like a shadow, a dark block in her son's view, before closing the door and a loud clang of metal locking the door shut.