(FLASHBACK) Exiko: A Time to Remember

[Val]

The sky was ablaze of rich oranges as Shadow the Hedgehog stared out over the city. Hundreds of vibrant lights, streamers and decorations of blues, pinks, greens and yellows saturated the otherwise perfectly normal looking streets. Ordinarily it would be to Shadow’s distaste to be around such a brightly colored festive locale but today was different. Taking a breathe and holding it, the ebony hedgehog focused on where he wished to be. He felt his fur and quills bristle as a rush of Chaos energy washed over him and the sudden intense pull of movement as he nod found himself atop one of the building rooftops inside the city.

He slowly stalked along the edge of the roof, peering down into the streets at the humans wandering about their daily lives. He had heard of this holiday practised throughout the region of Exiko, to celebrate in remembrance of the dead and lost. This had stuck with him like a niggling itch in the back of his mind until he had finally decided to venture out and learn about it first hand.
That was a year ago. Now he returned with a basic but adequate understanding of the holiday. The concept, he still struggled with. How could these people be happy while purposefully reminding themselves of those they had lost? How could they stand that ache, that pain that pulsed from the very core of their being, beyond their reach to be able to make it stop? He wasn’t naïve enough to suspect his pain was simply greater than anyone else so surely they felt how he did. Didn’t they feel trapped? Like they were pounding on a solid wall, wishing with everything they had to be able to break through and fix what was broken within them but being denied every time?
Shadow snapped out of his train of thought as the sound of cheering and laughter assaulted his ear. Looking down he saw a heavy set man opening the door to a restaurant and welcoming in a family, every one of them garbed in facepaint to give them the appearance of a skull covered in brilliantly intricate swirls and markings of the same colors draped over the streets themselves.
Taking a step off the roof the hybrid plunged to the curb side, garnering several surprised gasps and mutterings of recognition as he straightened himself up and began to march purposefully along. Words echoed in his mind of the last time he was here. He had asked a storeowner about the holiday and why people chose to be…happy in the face of loss. He’d been told the answer was simple; Your pain proves you loved them but a persons life is not defined by how they died but how they lived. Remember what they did, who they were and how they filled your life rather than focus on the hole left behind.
It wasn’t easy. Shadow had tried but only found himself feeling worse. Still the other aspect to this holiday intrigued him more as he’d been told it was common for people to craft shrines to the departed in hopes of their spirit visiting them. That tiny sliver of hope was why he was here.

[Jammerlee]

Not far from where the chimeric hedgehog had chosen his route a dazzling display of lights erupted. Several gasps and terrified shrieks rang out as a sliver seemed to tear itself through the air itself, and tumbling through it was an unfamiliar hybrid of what appeared to be part hedgehog and part mink. His silvery colored fur bristled as he collapsed onto the ground, clutching in his hand what appeared to be a glowing gemstone. Stone rent itself from its owner's hand, and the figure made an attempt to grab for it, but the oddly cut stone rose itself toward the rift. Spinning as it seemed to gather the rift's energy into itself, it made a small flash and winked as it vanished.

The stranger stared at the now empty space and let off a small discontented groan.

[Val]

The roar of energy and distressed cries of passers by reached the next street over where Shadow was. His ear cocked to the sound, prompting him to halt in his tracks. Fireworks? No, the spectators sounded afraid. A quick glance to the sky and seeing it lacking any bursts of color confirmed to him that this wasn’t something –meant- to happen. Breaking into a jog Shadow rounded a corner to investigate. In the back of his mind he considered the idea that maybe it was the Doctor and Sonic…If that were the case he’d deal with them himself. This was no place for their irresponsible antics.

Skidding to a halt in the middle of the street, Shadow quickly looked around for any signs of a fight, of the aftermath of an explosion…Nothing. Instead all the humans were stood staring at someone. The hedgehog’s eyes narrowed as he peered at who had captured their attention. He didn’t recognise him. Something about this stranger’s silvery fur and large quills sparked…some hint of familiarity in Shadow but it was too small to consider.
Still whoever this person was, they’d presumably caused that noise he heard and everyone watching seemed shocked for a reason. Shadow felt his body tense as his hands balled into fists. If they were looking for trouble they found it.

[Jammerlee]

Silver opened and closed his empty palm a few times before looking away from the vacant air. Instead he brought the same hand back to rub at the side of his head. That.. had packed a wallop. Any other time he had time traveled, the ride had been smooth, almost like walking through an open door. This time it felt like he'd been slammed through a curtain of viscous liquid. It was as though this timeline had tried to reject his return.

Becoming more aware of the people standing around him staring, Silver quickly shook his head, beginning to shuffle back to his feet. He sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Aha... uh... sorry everyone...?"

And it was at that moment, as he scanned over the crowd of onlookers, that his eyes flashed over something black and red. Looking back, sure enough, he recognized the hedgehog standing there amid the crowd.

"Sha--!"

Silver paused mid-sentence and seemed to wilt. Oh. That was an angry look he was getting.

"Uhh.."

[Val]

As the black and red hedgehog advanced slowly towards the unknown hybrid his crimson eyes scanned the street. No sign of damage, so what was that noise? What did this person do to shock everyone like this? His body language didn’t seem aggressive, rather he looked anxious. Still appearances could be deceiving.

Shadow stopped a few feet away from the shy looking stranger and entwined his arms into a fold, maintaining his glare. “Whatever you’re doing here, if you’re looking to cause trouble I suggest you rethink your plan.”

He wasn’t about to let this celebration be ruined. Shadow could feel the eyes on him all around as the humans watched the pair. The air was becoming tense as the sun continued to set, dark silhouettes stretching out from every building and streetlight, crawling across the city…Then suddenly Shadow felt something land on his head. He flinched and bared his teeth as he spun about to see a few partygoers stumbling along, laughing uproariously, leaning on one another to avoid falling over as they made their way from a bar on one side of the street towards a house directly across the road.. Reaching up, he felt the rim of a large hat poised atop his quills…A sombrero.

[Jammerlee]

Silver's expression flickered to that of terrified confusion. Instinctively he took a step back, his fluffy tail swishing beneath him.

"H-hey now," Silver began raising his hands up in front of him, "I thought we were past this already. Come on, Shadow, I don't want any trouble!"

[Val]

An irritated grumble rolled out from beneath the large sombrero. He quickly pulled the hat off and tossed it to the ground as Silver spoke, causing the ebony chimera to snap his attention towards the frightened hybrid. Who was this person? Were they delusional? Were they sent here by someone?

Straightening up, Shadow took a moment to really get a look at this silvery stranger who seemed to think they’d met before. He still felt that tiniest spark of remembrance but no matter how deeply he dug into his memories he couldn’t find this person. He was about to accuse them of trying to manipulate him when a thought struck him. Shadow had recovered many of his memories over the course of the Black Arms invasion some years ago. He thought he’d regained all of them but…what if that wasn’t the case?

Raising a brow in curiosity he folded his arms once more. “Who are you? And how do you know me?” He tried to keep his voice steady, to sound like he was sure of himself but he felt himself waver as a hint of his own trepidation slipped into his tone.

[Jammerlee]

Seeing Shadow relent, even if only slightly, sent a wave of relief through the hedgehog hybrid. Not even realizing he'd been holding his breath, Silver let it go. "You... you don't remember me?" Silver paused, glancing off to one side, his brow knitting together in concern. He almost seemed hurt by this. "Did I go too far back?" he mumbled more to himself than to the hedgehog confronting him. "No, no, I'm sure this is the right time..." he shook his head, momentarily banishing the questions as he looked back at Shadow. "You really don't remember me? I-I'm Silver! ... Or did I tell you it was Venice? I-I'm pretty sure I said it was Silver..."

[Val]

This was getting uncomfortable. If it were anyone else Shadow would simply assume this “Silver” was messing with him but his reaction…he seemed genuine. He sounded just as confused as Shadow and that was just throwing him off. Surely someone trying to manipulate him would do so with more confidence. There was the possibility that this was part of the plan, to pretend to be unsure to seem more credible but Shadow’s gut was telling him this was honest. Still the fact remained that he had no memory of him but Silver seemed fairly sure he should. Trying to sound more disarming but still maintain the aura of someone not to be messed with, the ebony hedgehog took another few steps forward, “I don’t know anyone named Silver. So how is it you apparently know me?”

[Jammerlee]

"Uh," Silver froze, staring at Shadow. How in the world was he going to try to explain this without sounding like a complete crazy person? "I'm.. I'm from the future," he admitted slowly, pressing the tips of his index fingers together. "Around 200 years or so. My friend Blaze and I, we came back, looking to stop a creature named Iblis who completely destroys the world. There was you and Sonic, and Eggman, and..." he paused, smacking himself in the forehead a couple of times. "Nng, this sounds so STUPID I wouldn't even believe this!"

[Val]

…..okay, yeah no, he was lying. Time travel was not possible and to even suggest such a ludicrous idea was insulting to Shadow’s intelligence. His eyes narrowed slightly, peering into the flustered “time traveller” as something else sparked a reaction within Shadow, Blaze. He knew that name, he’d heard it mentioned before…but he never heard it in relation to time travel.

“You’re right. I don’t believe you.” The chimera made no attempt to hide the irritation on his face from having his time wasted. Whoever Silver was, he knew Shadow –somehow- but was trying to hide it. “So I’m calling your bluff.” He said with a slight smirk creeping onto his lips. He was interested to see how Silver handled this. “If you’re from the future…Prove it.”

[Jammerlee]

Everything about Silver's demeanor seemed to deflate at that point. Distraught, he looked down at his hands, thinking of the time stone that had flown back into the rift he came through. "I.. I don't know how," he admitted.

[Val]

A low sigh escaped Shadow at that response. It was disappointing. He could try pressing the point as to why Silver was truly there but he seemed committed to the time travel story. He wanted to turn and walk away, to forget all about this odd little interaction, buy the things he needed and go home but…it still didn’t make sense. Silver did know him somehow, even if he wasn’t going to say how.

Best to start with what –could- be proven. “There was a noise before. What was that? Why were these people shocked to see you? And keep in mind if you lie I can just ask them to find out.”

[Jammerlee]

"Oh," Silver looked awkwardly to one side. He fiddled a bit with his mane. "That was me. Coming out of a time rift from my future," he mumbled out the last part. "It was never that hard before. It was.. almost like it was trying to fight me from coming back. I'd show you the time stone I used but it kind of disappeared back into the rift."

He sighed. It was clear trying to convince him wasn't going to be any use. "Look. Do you happen to know where I can find Sonic? I'll just.. be out of your fur..."

[Val]

Again with the time travel. Still, nobody within earshot objected to Silver’s claim so Shadow conceded that there was some kind of rift there but the idea of it being a time portal was simply too outlandish, even for someone who had seen the things he had.

The assumption that Shadow may know where Sonic was irked him slightly. That blue loudmouth didn’t matter to Shadow nearly as much as he apparently did to everyone else. “I don’t know where Sonic is.” He said sharply. “And I can’t allow you to wander around unless I’m sure you’re no risk."

[Jammerlee]

"So you're not going to let me go now??" Silver looked at the other hedgehog in exasperation. "But I haven't even DONE anything! I mean, okay, granted I did try to kill Sonic a couple of times before but you don't even remember that!"

[Val]

That was probably the worst time for Silver to put his foot in his mouth. At the mention of attempting to KILL Sonic, Shadow launched forward, his skates bursting to life as the hedgehog cried out, “Chaos Control!” The air felt dense as Shadow felt time slow to a crawl, every sound around him falling away into utter oppressive silence as he closed the distance and planted one foot infront of Silver. In a swift pirouette Shadow raised his other leg and delivered a powerful kick to the back of Silver’s head. At that moment time rushed to flow on at its normal speed as the now enraged hybrid barked, “No more playing around. Tell me what you’re after –now!-“

[Jammerlee]

CRACK. Silver's face went down hard into the pavement. He spat, tasting a tinge of blood in his mouth. "WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT?!" Silver growled. "I DON'T WANT ANYTHING!"

[Val]

It seemed improbable that someone like this had any chance of beating Sonic but if he’d tried, that made him a potential enemy. Shadow raised his fists, sinking into a battle ready pose as he glared down at him. He did raise a brow at Silver’s protesting. Even being kicked to the floor he still insisted they’d met before and even hinted that they’d fought? If Silver wasn’t lying then he was certainly delusional, which made him just as dangerous.

“If you don’t want anything then why are you looking for Sonic? You just admitted to trying to kill him already so why should I believe that’s not your plan this time?”

[Jammerlee]

"BECAUSE I WAS BEING MANIPULATED!" Silver spat, climbing back up to his feet and wobbling a bit. "I was told he was the reason my timeline was as screwed up as it was! If you could go back into the past and stop a catastrophe from happening, wouldn't you?!"

[Val]

A rush of anger rose up in the black and red hedgehog. He shot out a hand to grab at Silver’s shoulder, rearing his fist back for a punch, teeth bared. How dare he insinuate Shadow wouldn’t try to avert some horrible fate? He was the fool for trying to claim that he was from the future and was sent back to try and fix it by killing Sonic. Did he think Shadow was an idiot and would believe that? Did he think he could casually suggest that he was bent on fixing his past to –him-? As if Shadow wouldn’t do everything in his power to fix things, to fix his own past, to fix what happened to them?!

It dawned on the hybrid that he could hear his own strained breathing, his heart hammering against his chest as he snarled through clenched jaws. He took a slow breath in and out before callously shoving Silver away. If there was a way to change the past he would stop at nothing to do so…but there wasn’t. What was done was done and could never be altered.

He shot Silver a stern glare, “Whatever game you’re playing, I’m bored of it.”

[Jammerlee]

Every strand of fur on the minkhog's body stood on end when Shadow grabbed him, a look of sheer terror etched in his face. It took him several seconds before it even registered that Shadow had shoved him away. His heart pounded in his ears. Slowly he turned back, pulling in a few shakey breathes as he returned the glare.

"Good," Silver muttered. "Just leave me alone."

He turned, attempting to walk off. As he did, a large trash can clattered to the ground beside Shadow from what appeared to have been several feet in the air, its lid rolling along the ground until finally coming to rest.

[Tony]

"Sn-snrggkk-uwah..?!!"

As the trash can seemingly toppled over of its own will, something blue came rolling out of the fallen bin, eventually coming to a stop and unfurling before the eyes of onlookers. Sonic the hedgehog lay face-down on the pavement, not moving an inch. "... ... hrgnhf... i wasn't.... done nappin'..."

He flopped over onto his back, slowly, and just stared up at the sky as he took a deep breath. He had apparently been taking refuge in the trash can as a result of a food binge earlier on, before the rude awakening begrudgingly stirred him back to life. Sonic eventually got back to his feet, dusting himself off and picking crumpled newspapers out of his quills. He looked to his left. "Oh. Hey, Shadow."

He looked to his right, towards the stranger who had been attempting to walk away.

"Uh... Hey, Silver."

[Val]

As Silver stormed off Shadow huffed. This was frustrating. He wanted this odd hybrid out of his quills so he could just get back to what he was doing but something still felt too off about him to just allow him to walk away.

A sudden loud clattering grabbed the hedgehog’s attention as he instinctively dropped back into a combat-ready pose. Looking for the source, he noticed the trash can bounce off the pavement. It must’ve fallen at least a few feet, how in the world did it get that high? Who could’ve….wait..

That blue…

WHAT THE HELL WAS HE DOING HERE?! How did he…WHY did he get into a trash can, of all things?
Shadow just stared down at the pathetic display before him. Sonic the Hedgehog, world renowned hero, flat on his back and covered in garbage of his own accord.

Just as he opened his mouth to make some insulting comment towards the blue blur, Shadow froze. His ruby eyes darted between Sonic and Silver several times before he walked over so he was standing just above Sonic’s head and shot a serious stare down at him.

“You know him?” He jabbed a finger accusingly towards the minkhog.

[Jammerlee]

Equally shocked had been Silver. The hybrid came to a dead stop and stared in surprise at the blue hedgehog's appearance. When he began to levitate the trash can he hadn't expected anyone to be inside it, least of all Sonic the freaking Hedgehog himself.

"Sonic?" Silver asked, giving a shake of his head to regain his bearings. "Sonic! You remember me?? Oh thank Chaos," he jabbed a finger of his own in Shadow's direction. "Tell him! Tell him I'm not lying about being from the future!"

[Tony]

Sonic got back up to his feet, quirking a brow towards Shadow as he started to explain himself, but then the stranger came bounding back, excitable for some reason or another.. "H-huh...? I know you? ... Future..?" Sonic reached up to scratch behind his own ear, and smiled sheepishly as he shrugged. "S-sorry, dude. I didn't mean to, uh... That was... actually your name, huh...?" He jabbed a thumb towards his darkened rival as if to emphasize a point. "Just so we're clear on it, when you have a lotta friends with... very specific kinds of names, you just sorta... start to predict this stuff by appearances alone. So, I saw you there, and, uh... huh. My bad, dude."

"Now, that bein' said..." He crossed his arms, and quietly tapped a foot as he processed what 'Silver' proclaimed just then... "You say you're from the future... But you seem to know who I am... If you're from the future, how far ahead are we talkin' here, like... two weeks, two years, a couple o' months..." There was a pause, and then a glance to Shadow. "The cryogenically frozen Ultimate lifeform that was created atop a giant space station who can also warp around as he pleases thinks a potential time traveler could be lyin', huh?"

[Val]

An irritated sigh escaped Shadow as he rolled his eyes. Now he had to deal with two of them. He threw Silver a glare at his pleading for Sonic to corroborate his ridiculous story, only to give the same to the blue speedster at his comment about his name.

Shadow slid his arms together too…afterall, that was his thing. But as Sonic addressed him, he balked, “Don’t try and be smart with me, Sonic. You’ve been to the ARK, you’ve induced Chaos Control yourself.” His gaze turned back to the white furred newcomer, “I’ve never seen any evidence time travel is possible.”

Shadow was hesitant to say what he was about to, he could already hear Sonic’s mocking tone but…he deserved to know. “Besides, he claimed he’d tried to kill you already.”

[Jammerlee]

Ah... of course. Of course Sonic wouldn't remember him either. He sighed in exasperation. At least the other hedgehog seemed more receptive to the idea of time travel than Shadow did. Hearing Shadow's retort caused the hybrid to cup his chin. "Chaos Control..." Silver muttered almost to himself. He frowned. "Chaos Control can be used for time travel when you use two emeralds, that's how it works for me anyway. You of all people have traveled with me," he glared in Shadow's direction. "But for some reason, it no longer seems to work that way. When I left to return to my own timeline, one of you.. one of you must have created some sort of paradox! That's the only thing I can think of that makes any sense!"

[Tony]

Sonic grinned as his rival scolded him, and all he could do was wag a finger in his direction with a fairly audible tsk, tsk, tsk...

"Man, you're so old, and yet, y' still don't know much about the world around you... You need to go on a vacation sometime, dude. There's crazy stuff out there." He crossed his arms, and simply beamed. "... crazy stuff, such as a tiny planetoid that allows visitors to travel back and forth through time. Y'know... at just th' right speed." He tacked that last bit on with a wink.

"So, y'know." He nodded towards Silver. "If time travel exists on somethin' like Little Planet... it's gotta exist just, like, in general." He shrugged. "I dunno - I ain't a scientist. The only one who may actually have a clue about that stuff other than me is Eggman, and let me just say; I doubt he'd be willin' to discuss over a cuppa tea."

He motioned a hand to Silver with a smirk. "So, you're from th' future, you apparently tried to kill me once, and now you're here again. To, like, what... finish what y'started? I don't exactly see the malice of a killer in them eyes o' yours... So, what's the story, dude?"

[Val]

As Silver threw out his accusation Shadow bared his teeth in a low snarl. Two Chaos Emeralds allowing –time travel-? Silver clearly thought he was an idiot if he thought he’d believe that and now he was suggesting it was –their- fault for not remembering? He’d had about as much as he could take of this white furred know-it-all.

Then Sonic started. Who was he to make any kind of judgement considering he was asleep in a trash can a minute ago an-….What?

WHAT?!

Shadow just stared blankly at Sonic, the rest of the conversation fading into white noise. A small planet that….No, Sonic was messing with him. He was a practical joker afterall. If such a planet existed he would’ve known about it by now, surely.

Sonic wasn’t watching for a reaction…He wasn’t laughing…Was he really not joking? Was this planet –actually- real?? Why in Chaos’ name had he never told him before???
Shadow felt a rush of anger rise through his body as he suppressed the urge to punch his blue rival in the jaw for keeping this information from him for so long. This changed everything. If Time Travel was real then could he…?..No. No that wasn’t an option, no matter how badly he wished otherwise. What was important was, time travel being an actual real thing meant that potentially Silver wasn’t crazy afterall…or at least not completely crazy…potentially.