ARK - Roommates

[Jammerlee]

As soon as the light engulfed the two hybrids, Silver felt his stomach drop out from beneath him and a burst of pain through his head. His fur bristled all over as the world around them seemed to blink out of existence, replaced only with a blindingly bright light. As soon as it had begun, all faded into darkness as they landed without the old and abandoned space station known as the ARK.


"OOF," Silver gasped as solid ground once again found itself under his feet. Sucking in a breath through his teeth, he raised a hand to his face and squinted in pain. "That... always... sucks..."

[Val]

Shadow straightened up, tucking the emerald back into his hammer space. He was used to this trip but he’d expected Silver to have some negative reaction. Still the minkhog’s comment made him curious. “So you’ve travelled by Chaos Control before?” He wasn’t sure if that meant he had warped Silver somewhere in his supposed abandoned timeline, or if Silver himself was capable of inducing it. He would call it very unlikely Silver could do so but then…Sonic and Metal Sonic had both proven they were able to use the ability.

Despite the pitch blackness the hybrid knew exactly where to step. His skates clanging against the steel floor as he took several strides away from Silver. A moment later his hand found the switch he’d already known was there and flicked it up, causing the bright lights in the ceiling to flash to life and illuminating the room the two now occupied. It looked like it had once been a sterile corridor but now the silver metal floor and walls had grown worn and dusty. Some small patches of rust clung to steel panels along the bottom half of the walls. At either end of the corridor was a large door with a control panel beside it as the only means of opening them.

Shadow tapped a few buttons on the nearest panel and the door shuddered and began to slide open with a mechanical whirring.

[Jammerlee]

Silver squinted as light came rushing back into the world. He moved his hand from the center of his face in order to shield his eyes. "Yeah... a couple of times. You, uh... you were with me. It always hurts my head," he took a moment to look around at the unfamiliar surroundings. "Where are we?"

[Val]

Ah, so he was right; it had been Shadow himself who warped Silver before. As suspected.

He smirked, letting out a slight chuckle. He had to admit to a certain level of pride as the door slid open to reveal a large open room. It looked like a loft apartment with a black leather couch sat at one end, across the way from a large monitor built into the wall and a few silver steel coffee tables either side of it, clearly much newer than the metal the room itself was made of. At the other side of the room was some kind of breakfast nook and sink with a mug sat on the bench already.

By far however the most eye catching thing about the room would be the massive window that stretched the full length of the room. Beyond the glass, miles away was the earth itself, slowly turning before their eyes, a million points of light all around framing the beautiful blue and green ball they now orbited.

“Welcome to the Space Colony ARK.” Shadow proclaimed, unable to hide his relief to be home.

[Jammerlee]

"Oh wow," Silver exclaimed as he stepped inside. "This is really ni--" WHUMP. Something small and black slammed the minkhog in the chest and caused him to tumble to the floor.

[Val]

What just-…Oh, of course.

Shadow huffed and reached down to grab the creature off of Silver’s face, hoisting it up. A few flutters of tiny bat-like wings and it wriggled from his grip. A small Chao version of Shadow looked between the two with a pout.

“Chao chao chao!” It squeaked out, flapping its arms at Silver.

“I know. Trust me, I didn’t plan this.” Shadow replied casually as he walked over to the kitchen bench and began emptying the bags he was carrying.

“Chao chao?”

“I don’t either but get used to it.” Pulling out a large candle, the chimera motioned between the irritated Chao and Silver. “Silver, this is Sombra…She doesn’t like new people.”

The Chao fluttered over to land on Silver’s chest, trying her best to look threatening.

[Jammerlee]

Silver has laid there momentarily stunned after his assailant had been removed from his face. As the strange little creature returned and settled itself in Silver's mane, the hybrid looked up, meeting the gaze of his would-be attacker. Her attempts to intimidate completely failed.

"Aww! She's so cute!" Silver exclaimed. "What is she?"

[Val]

He’s never even seen a Chao before? Shadow hesitated before resuming unpacking, lining out the candies, the bread, candles and champurrado. It was starting to sink in that Silver really was from a completely different world. He was as alien to the earth as Shadow himself had once been when he was first freed from Prison Island.

“She’s a Chao. Maybe you’ve heard of them too?” The hedgehog answered. Meanwhile Sombra had folded her arms and exaggerated her pout even more, trying to show her distaste at someone new barging in.
“When Rouge found out I was living alone up here she bought me a Chao egg. She thought I could use some company.” He shrugged as he picked up one of the sugar skulls and lazily tossed it in Silver’s direction. “Just give her that and she’ll be fine.”

[Jammerlee]

"That.. sounds vaguely familiar?" Silver mused. "Everything I know about this time is either from stories my mom told me, or things I read from books. As For Rouge.. she's a friend of yours I guess? I never had a chance to meet her."

As Silver spoke, he tried to poke at the small chao. "Hey, little one, can I have my mane back now..?"

[Val]

The tiny candy bonked off of Silver’s head as the psychic failed to catch it and clattered to the floor. Shadow just stared, bemused while Sombra fluttered up off of Silver and hovered over to land beside the skull and poked at it curiously.

“Yes.” Shadow finally spoke after a moment of awkward silence, “Rouge is…someone I’d consider a friend.” He walked over to pick up a steel kettle and filled it from the tap, flicking a switch to turn it on, Shadow let out a long sigh as if he’d been holding himself up all day.

[Jammerlee]

Silver glanced sideways at the sugar skull, rubbing at the side of his head. He hadn't even noticed it coming at him. He pulled himself up into a seated position, looking down at his extra fluffy tail as he subconsciously wrapped it around himself. "Hey, Shadow? Thanks for taking me in. I know you probably still think I'm crazy and all, but, it means a... " he paused, his eyes having trailed over to the wall-length window. "... lot..."

The psychic floated back into a standing position, his eyes completely transfixed. He could feel his heart beginning to beat faster.

"Is that... the earth...?"

[Val]

He couldn’t help but smile at that. “As I said, I live in outer space.”
It was true, he still didn’t trust the minkhog but…he seemed genuine enough. At least up here on the ARK he couldn’t cause any trouble if he –was- planning something. He highly doubted Silver knew anything about how the weapons on the station worked, especially not the Eclipse Cannon so he would be relatively harmless from here. A small part of Shadow had to admit also to wanting to keep an eye on Silver to learn more about how time travel worked. He knew he shouldn’t but part of him still considered the possibilities.

Meanwhile as Silver rose to his feet the small Chao beside him had picked up the sugar skull in both hands and began to nipple at it. She waddled over and sniffed at Silver’s fluffy tail, tilting her head slightly as if catching something that shouldn’t be there.

[Jammerlee]

Silver's eyes had grown as wide as saucers. At that moment, everything else in the room could have vanished or all he cared. Slowly his feet shuffled their way toward the window. His hand drew out and he pressed it against the cool glass. In his reflection on the smooth surface, one could see the look of sheer amazement in his eye and his jaw as it dropped.

"It's so... blue... and green..."

His breath had deepened, and he felt a sting at the corner of his eyes.

[Val]

A jolt of pain stabbed at Shadow’s chest as he watched Silver stare down at the serene globe beneath them. In his mind he suddenly felt like it was fifty years ago again as he saw himself standing just like that the first time he saw the earth.
He slowly stepped around the bench and walked to Silver’s side. Sombra too flapped up and perched herself atop Shadow’s head, munching on her sugary treat.

'Shadow. What do you think it’s like on earth?'

The words still sounded so clear in his memory as the first time he’d heard them. It made him tighten his hands into fists as he tried to bite back the rising swell of emotion. He finally knew the answer to that question…and he could never tell her.

[Jammerlee]

Silver, meanwhile, was beginning to break down. He sniffled, rubbing an arm across his face, but refused to tear his eyes away from the world below them.

"My mom," he sniffled, "My mom used to tell me about how the world was destroyed. That the moon was where Iblis came from. That the day the moon was shattered, the world became awash with the Flames of Disaster." his hand pulled away. He took a few deep breaths in an effort to try to control his emotions. "I know that's just an old fairytale now. I've since learned where Iblis had really come from. And he's gone now. My--my best friend, sh-she took him with her. I couldn't even do anything in the end..."

He closed his eyes, clenching his teeth. In an instant, he slammed his fist into the glass. "I tried to murder someone! Oh, Chaos, I actually tried to murder someone, I was so desperate! And I kept messing up, and I lost the only friend I'd ever had! But--but it was all f-for this," he looked back up to the earth. His face was now soaked with tears. "It was... all for... this. I-I wanted to try to give this to the future. A-and the worst part is--is that I don't even know for sure if I succeeded."

A weakness in his legs seized him, and he buckled to the floor. He continued to clench his jaw. "Did I just expect the world to change around me?! But coming back here... something... something had to have changed! Iblis is gone, he can't threaten the future anymore. And neither you or Sonic even remember me. Hell, I have this stupid tail now. Something changed! The future has to be a better place now! It has to!"

He hefted several deep breaths, swallowing hard as he fought to regain his composure. He placed a hand back on the glass. "It's so... beautiful. I just.. wanted.. everyone to be happy..."

[Val]

There wasn’t anything Shadow could do. He just silently watched and listened to Silver’s outburst. The punch against the glass surprised Sombra into hopping from her perch and flying over to the bench where all the items were. Shadow didn’t even flinch, he knew the glass would hold. Moreover he knew this pain. He understood wanting something so badly that nothing else, not even the lives of others, seemed to matter. He also knew the guilt that came with that.

A hand gently landed on Silver’s shoulder as Shadow maintained his gaze out at the world. Admittedly it was hard to still doubt Silver after…that. He gave the minkhog’s shoulder a slight squeeze before turning and walking back to the bench. By now the kettle was shuddering as steam poured from the spout. The ebony hedgehog grabbed three mugs from a cupboard and set about making a drink. “You can watch it as long as you want.” He finally spoke. “I can even make sure your room has a window if you like.”

Sombra landed with a light plop beside Shadow, still sporting her pout as she rested against one of the mugs. Shadow gave a weak smile and scratched at the Chao’s head affectionately, causing the small creature to nuzzle against him. “Do you want one?” He called over to Silver again as the Chao wandered to a small black can and heaved it towards the mugs.

[Jammerlee]

A shiver crawled down Silver's spine at the touch. He certainly hadn't expected to suddenly... unload like that. But once he had started, he couldn't seem to stop himself. And now, as a result, he'd let himself feeling incredibly vulnerable to a guy he barely knew - that didn't even remember him. The tears still wouldn't stop though, and he pulled his knees in to his chest, burying his face up to his nose. His eyes remained locked on the planet below. He felt so... small.

"Sure..." he answered distantly.

[Val]

Behind Silver, unseen to him Shadow gave a slight nod as he took the jar from Sombra and motioned her to a collection of small boxes beside her. “Get one of the cappuccinos.” He said as he took out a fourth mug and began dishing out each drink mix. Straight black coffee in one, champurrado in the two others. Sombra flicked open the box and withdrew a sachet of powder and proudly held it up like a hard won prize for Shadow to take. He did so and emptied it into the fourth mug before filling each of them up with boiling water, the gentle trickle being the only sound heard in the room from the two.
He wasn’t sure what to say. He’d never had to…deal with this kind of thing before, not from someone else. Stirring each mug, Shadow nodded at Sombra before glancing over to the sniffling hybrid. The Chao huffed but got the message, wrapping her arms wide around the drink and lifting it to carry over to Silver.

[Jammerlee]

"Mm?" Silver glanced over toward the chao. "Ah.. thank you..." Silver mumbled, taking the cup. He eyed the warm liquid, blowing on it before taking an experimental sip. He held back the need to choke. It was so sweet.

"You want to know what's funny?" Silver began, turning his focus back to the earth. "The guy who sent me after Sonic? He was after you as well. He looked just like you, except with green eyes. And his stripes were grey," Silver looked down, gently shaking his mug. "I don't know but what he might still be out there. His name was Mephiles."

[Val]

Now –that- got Shadow’s attention. It was most likely just another hedgehog but it seemed too much of a coincidence that someone who looked almost exactly like him was out to kill him.
The hybrid pushed one mug to the side for Sombra as she made the trip back, taking the drink for herself and flapping back to sit at Silver’s side. “Do you know where he came from or why he wanted Sonic and I dead? You said you were tricked into it so I’m guessing this Mephiles knew killing Sonic wouldn’t save your world.”

[Jammerlee]

"From my understanding, he was the other half of Iblis. They were apparently halves of a greater being called Solaris, if that makes any sense. Augh, time travel. Let me see I can explain this in a way that makes sense," Silver pulled in a deep breath. "For some reason this doesn't seem to work anymore, or maybe it's because I was doing it alone and needed another person, Augh, not important, anyway," Silver shook his head. "It used to be that when two people had two Chaos Emeralds and used Chaos Control at the same time it could open a temporal rift. We went back into your past and witnessed both Mephiles' and Iblis' creation. But this happened after I met Mephiles. I don't know how he got free, only that he came to me in my future before I'd met him."

He pondered that for a moment. He could already feel his head beginning to hurt.

"As or Sonic.. no, killing Sonic was what helped to release the seal on Iblis and cause my future to happen. Iblis is gone now though. But I don't have a clue what happened to Mephiles."

[Val]

Shadow perked a brow. So Silver –could- use Chaos Control? Or used to be able to…and the Emeralds were how they’d initially time travelled? He’d never considered Chaos Control could warp someone across time as well as space. Something to test out later perhaps, if he ever acquired a second emerald.

Sombra shook the spirals from her eyes from trying to understand everything going on and just nursed her drink as Shadow stepped out from the kitchen area. “So Mephiles caused the future you set out to fix in the first place.” Shadow understood that much. Whatever Iblis and Solaris were, that was beyond him for now.

[Jammerlee]

"Yeah..." taking the mug from his hand with his psychic abilities, Silver left it hanging in the air as allowed himself to fall back onto the floor. He clutched at his head in frustration. "What I don't get is, if it was so easy for him to kill Sonic, why did he get me involved?! He waited until he was sure I wasn't going to do it, and then finished the job himself. I'm just some random guy. Why would he pick me specifically to mess with like that?!"

[Val]

“Stop worrying about it.” Came Silver’s answer in a stern tone. “You said it yourself, everything else from that future was changed so Mephiles must be gone too. If Sonic and I knew about him in the alternate time you met us in then we would’ve stopped him. You’re only wasting your time worrying about things you don’t know and can’t find out about.”
It sounded harsher than it’d meant to. Shadow knew first hand how not knowing something could consume your life and how crippling it can be. He also knew that if there really was no way to find out then Silver would only work himself up wondering. It would be better to simply move on. If Mephiles –was- still around…they’d deal with that then.

[Jammerlee]

"Yeah... yeah, you're right," Silver sighed, dropping his arms to his sides. He felt a knot beginning to form in the pit of his stomach. "Except Blaze is gone now because of it."

[Val]

Silver’s last comment hung in the air for at least a minute of silence. The feeling someone you loved was gone because of something you did…or were.
Sombra looked up to Shadow, sensing his mood and offering a weak whine. The black and red hybrid just turned and walked back to the bench, taking up the mug of champurrado and marching over to the wall to Silver’s left. The wall clicked and slid away to reveal another room.

“When you’re ready, come through here.” Shadow said softly before vanishing, the door sliding shut behind him to leave Silver and Sombra alone.

[Jammerlee]

For the longest time Silver simply laid sprawled out on the floor, his head turned, his eyes looking through the glass at the earth once more. His bushy tail lazily thumped from side to side, which annoyed him, but he allowed it to continue. For a moment he felt as though he were completely alone in the room, until a flash a movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He glanced over to see Sombra.

"So.. I'm guessing you still don't want me here," he commented dully.

[Val]

The tiny Chao had flown back up to the collection of items on the kitchen bench and stolen another few sugar skulls for herself. Fluttering back down beside the mug almost as tall as she was, she was about to take a bite when Silver addressed her.
Looking up to him, mouth still agape with the skull partway past her lips she withdrew the treat and eyed the minkhog inquisitively.

“Chao chao…Chao chao chao.”

With that Sombra popped the skull into her mouth, creating a hamster bulge in her cheek. She then padded over and took up a second skull and glanced back up to Silver. With a reluctant pout, she offered the teeny sweet up to him.

“Chao chao.”

(Translation: “You smell funny…but familiar.” “I guess you can stay.”)

[Jammerlee]

This seemed to bring a tiny, if strained, smile to Silver's face. The sugar skull glowed and levitated as the minkhog accepted the treat. "Thank you. Funny, huh? I guess there's worse things I could be called."

[Val]

Sombra chirped as she plopped down at her mug again, tilting it to noisily slurp at her drink.
“<I’ll call you worse if you keep moping.>” She muttered before suddenly stopping. It took a few seconds of the gears turning before the Chao’s eyes went wide and her head snapped up to look at Silver. “<You understand me?!>”