Silver: Venice’s Wrath Part 2
It was the perfect day in the Green Hill Zone, as always. The sun was shining, a gentle breeze was blowing and the temperature was just right. The perfect day, indeed. Suddenly, a sphere of light interrupted the quiet chirping of the Flickies and, from it, Nega appeared and stretched his arms as the warm sunlight hit his body.
-Huff, finally… Now that I put a couple of centuries between me and that fastidious hedgehog, I can work on my plan…- huffed Nega.
-What are you working on now?- asked a voice behind him.
-Heh, funny you should ask, kid. You see, I…- Nega stopped talking, rubbing his eyes in frustration as he turned to see Silver behind him, smirking smugly with his arms behind his head.
-I SHOULD’VE FUCKING KNOWN THAT YOU’D FOLLOW ME HERE, YOU DAMN RODENT!!- he growled.
-Geez, Negs, language…- Silver sneered at Nega, folding his arms.
-Wait, what do you think you can do here? Kill me? We just said that your good heart prevents you from doing so!- said the mad scientist, stomping his foot on the ground.
-Maybe, but if I stay glued to you, I can see what you’re up to and stop you from doing it… Whatever it is you’re planning.- replied the hedgehog. Nega growled, as he had no way to outrun Silver, but to his aid came a familiarly-shaped vehicle that scooped Nega up and made him take flight.
-He-Hey!- said Silver, flying after him.
-What’s going on?!- asked Nega as the vehicle stopped in front of another one.
-What goes on is that you are getting rescued by me, the greatest robotic genius that ever lived! The one and only… DR EGGMAN!- said Eggman, opening the hatch of his vessel and showing up, grinning and spreading his arms.
-What took you, old man?- asked Nega, grinning back and shaking his hand.
-Hey, I’m here now, aren’t I, sonny boy?- Eggman asked back, chuckling.
-It was easy to find your tachion tracks once you gave me the specs.- added the robotic mastermind.
-Wait, what? You two are working together?- asked Silver, who had catched up to them.
-Oh, I see you’re having a little rat problem, Nega.- said Eggman, smirking.
-Indeed I do. And we have a special guest to attend to. We must not let him wait.- Nega nodded, smirking too.
-Wait, special guest? Who are you talking about?- asked Silver, raising a brow.
-Wouldn’t you like to know, flyboy? Take this!- said Eggman, shooting a white projectile at Silver, who was quick to catch it in his psychic grip. The three stared at each other for a bit as Silver made the sphere juggle in the air.
-Ok, what was this supposed to be?- he asked, chuckling, but then he heard the sphere hiss and shine until it exploded in a blinding light.
-MOTHERF…!!- Silver’s curse got lost as he covered his eyes from that blinding light, hearing the faint laugh of the two evil eggheads fading away.


Finally, after a few moments, Silver’s sight began to return but, as it did, what he feared came true: Nega and Eggman were nowhere to be found.
-Oh no. No, no, no, no, no! W-Where’d they go?!- he shouted, flying around in a panic as he searched everywhere for the two doctors, but no luck.
-GAAAH! Great work, Silver! You let the bad guys escape!- he yelled at himself, pulling his quills as he landed on top of the famous loop-de-loop, breathing harshly.
-Huff, huff… Ok… Ok ok ok… Take it easy, man… You got this. They… probably went to one of Eggman’s lairs! Yes, that’s it! I just need to find it and…- Silver tried to pep talk himself but groaned soon after.
-Ugh… I don’t even know where any of those are, if any are nearby or anything at all! I’m stranded in the past, without any hint of where they could be or what they are planning… aaaaaand I’m talking to myself. Sigh, at times like this, I really miss…- Silver started to say, groaning,when he was interrupted by a shout coming from below, calling him. He looked behind and his expression lit up a bit: Sonic was there! With his hands on his hips and tapping his foot lightly, Sonic stood at the base of the loop-de-loop, looking up at Silver as he called for him.
-Sonic! Boy, am I glad to see you! I need your help!- said Silver, smiling.
-Well, well, well… If it ain’t Silver the Hedgehog… I was looking for you.- said Sonic, seemingly ignoring Silver’s request and talking with a strange tone. Sadly, Silver didn’t pick that up as he raised a brow.
-You… Were? That’s a funny coincidence. But… Why were you looking for me?- asked the psychic hedgehog.
-I’ll tell ya as soon as you get down there.- replied the blue hero.
-Oh. Okay.- said Silver, flying down the stone structure and landing in front of Sonic.
-Okay, here I am. Now, as I was saying…- Silver started to speak, but then he saw Sonic vanish.
-TERIAAAAAH!!!- Sonic yelled as he punched Silver pretty hard, making him widen his eyes as he was shot backwards at tremendous speed. Silver groaned as that punch almost unhinged his jaw and launched him at great speeds. Sonic dashed in front of him, his eyes fueled with an unexpected rage.
-I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU, POTHEAD!- growled the Blue Blur, cracking his knuckles as he unleashed a flurry of fast, powerful attacks at Silver, not giving him the time to even realize what was going on, then Sonic ended it with a swift kick that had Silver hitting the ground, leaving him hurt and full of dirt.
-Hanf, hanf… W-What’s… Hanf… What’s happening? W-Why…?- whined the future hedgehog, shivering as he failed to get up.
-YOU’RE FINISHED!- yelled Sonic as he jumped in the air and revved in a Homing Attack, aiming straight for Silver while he still tried to get up.


(...This day couldn’t get worse…) thought Silver, his fingers digging in the dirt as he got on his knees.
(First, I failed to eliminate Nega… Then I let him escape with Eggman…) he commiserated himself while Sonic’s attack became closer and closer.
(And now I’m getting my ass beaten by Sonic? SONIC?!) he growled, sure he was Sonic’s friend but they were also somewhat rivals and the idea of losing to someone like him didn’t settle well in his competitive mind.
(That’s it! I’m done letting others stomp me!) thought the psychic hedgehog, gritting his teeth as his cyan aura flared up. He quickly turned on his back and stretched his hand, stopping Sonic in his ball form in midair and making him uncurl, keeping him still within his psychic grasp.
-Sonic, what the hell?! What was that for?- asked Silver, widening his eyes as he watched Sonic squirm and growl like a rabid animal, it was then that he noticed that, around Sonic’s green eyes was a light orange hue. The psychic hedgehog started to have an idea of what was happening but to be certain he had to calm down Sonic and, like that, there was only one way.
-Sonic, if you’re still in there… Sorry.- said the future hero as he started to slam him around several times and ending with a quick, powerful psychic-imbued palm thrust on the blue hero’s stomach that sent Sonic against the rocky mountain, making him dig a hedgehog-shaped tunnel with how powerfully he was thrown onto it. Silver cautiously walked towards the mountain side, peeking inside the hole to see if Sonic was ready to attack, but all he did was come out of the rubble, full of dirt and bruises as he cracked his neck and arms.
-Woo, what a ride… Oh, hey Silv, whatcha doin’ here?- asked Sonic, seemingly back to his usual self.
-I’m… Ok. How about you?- asked Silver, confused as to what just happened.
-Feelin’ fine. Urgh, a bit cramped though. Eh, I must’ve slept wrong.- said Sonic, cracking his back a bit and surprising Silver with how little pain he seemed to show.
-Sonic… What’s going on?- asked Silver, moving closer.
-Whaddya mean? I was sleeping like an angel and next thing I know I woke up under all that… rubble… WAITAMINUTE,WHATAMIDOINGOUTHERE?!- Sonic shouted super fast and darted his gaze around as he realized that he was not in his home.
-Ok, ok, calm down, alright?- said Silver, sighing and placing his arms on Sonic’s shoulders.
-You’ve attacked me, remember? For seemingly no reason, might I add…- said the psychic hedgehog, still feeling a bit salty about that but swallowing his pride for now.
-I… did? I… I don’t remember a thing…- Sonic groaned, holding his head.
-Hrm…- Silver muttered as he dug something on the virtual keyboard he had on his cuffs, then his fist lit up in a white light and he pointed it at Sonic, shooting a beam that went up and down on him.


-Uh, cool light show aside, whatcha doin?- asked Sonic.
-I’m scanning your body to see if there’s any residual of what might have caused your rage.- said Silver as he finished the scan, then gave Sonic what looked like a rice ball.
-Eat it. It’s gonna heal up the bruises.- said Silver, before forming a screen and analyzing the scan. Sonic gobbled it and in a second all of his bruises vanished, then he watched Silver for a few seconds with his arms folded. Not even a minute after, Sonic was already getting bored, tapping his foot and starting to walk in circles.
-I’m sorry, it’s gonna take a while…- said Silver.
-Dude, you said that 30 seconds ago! I thought that in 200 years technology would be super fast and all that jazz, but this thing’s taking forever!- Sonic grunted.
-Really? You can’t even wait a few seconds? Talk about immature.- Silver grumbled back, all this noise was making it hard for him to concentrate.
-What did you just call me?! Take that back, jerkhog!- Sonic grunted and slapped Silver’s nape. Silver’s eyes widened all the way and he glared back at Sonic, gritting his teeth as he was having enough.
-Oooo, haircut’s maaaaaad. Soooooo scary…- Sonic sneered with sarcasm.
-I can’t believe you are supposed to be a hero! You’re the most arrogant, self absorbed and immature jerk I’ve ever had the displeasure to meet! And I fucking know Nega!- Silver growled, the screen disappearing as he yelled at Sonic.
-Well, at least I’m no pothead, so there.- Sonic said childishly, turning his head away and folding his arms.
-STOP. CALLING ME. THAT, YOU BABY!- Silver growled louder.
-Make me, P-O-T-H-E-A-D!- Sonic growled back, to which Silver tackled him and they started fighting again. Sonic pulled Silver’s hair and Silver bit his arm, when a sudden burst of energy separated the two fighting hedgehogs.


-Enough.- said a stern voice coming from between the two heroes, then as the dust settled none other than Shadow the Hedgehog appeared. The Ultimate Lifeform stood up, dusted himself off and folded his arms as he went to Silver and lifted him up from an ear.
-You call Sonic a baby, yet you throw a tantrum because of a few kindergarten insults? Grow a pair, Silver. You’re better than this.- he commented sternly while Silver whined as Shadow pulled his ear, then the klatter let the former go and Silver massaged his ear.
-Ha! Serves you right, haircut!- said Sonic as he got up, to which Shadow knocked him back down with a super fast punch in Sonic’s belly, which had him fall on his knees and whine.
-You're even worse than him, faker, so shut up.- Shadow grunted as Sonic struggled to keep up.
-W-What the heck, Shadow?! H-He started it!- Sonic whined to which Shadow grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him up.


-And I ended it. You’re both a disappointment for our kind, bickering like babies fighting for a teddy bear.- Shadow growled as he then pushed Sonic away, making him struggle to keep his balance as his stomach still hurted.
-Hhnnff…- Sonic grunted but then he moved his arms away and looked up.
-Why are you here, Ultimate Grumpform?- Sonic grunted but winced back as Shadow simply clenched his fist.
-Believe it or not, I was looking for you.- said the black and red-striped hedgehog, folding back his arms.
-Aw, you missed me that much?- asked Sonic, snickering and spreading his arms as if he wanted to hug Shadow.
-Touch me and it’ll be the last thing you do, faker…- Shadow hissed which ahd Sonic stop in his tracks.
-And no, I haven’t missed you. But Amy did. When she called, she was crying and she told me that you suddenly went crazy and started thrashing your home for no reason. I wouldn’t have bothered to come looking for you, hadn’t she begged me to do so.- Shadow explained, still keeping his arms folded.
-Wait, what? I don’t… remember anything about that…- Sonic groaned again, holding his head.
-You’d know if you let me finish the scan in peace!- Huffed Silver, resuming the scan who luckily was almost done. A beep let them know it was over so they all gathered around Silver to watch the results.


The writings were written in weird symbols and not even Shadow knew exactly what they were, aside from some sort of language.
-Uh, don’t you have an English translator for this thing?- Sonic asked, to which Shadow bonked his head.
-Ow! What was that for?- Sonic groaned.
-Keep talking. There's more of that where it came from.- Shadow commented, narrowing his eyes and Sonic grumbled but stayed quiet.
-Thanks for that, Shadow. This language can only be read by people from my time and it says that… Huh… Up until the moment I slammed you onto the mountain, your brain was full of psycholanine… Interesting.- Silver muttered.
-Psy-what?- asked Sonic.
-What is it, Silver?- asked Shadow as well.
-Oh, it’s a cerebral enzyme responsible for psychic powers. But Sonic has an anomalous quantity of it for his biology.- explained Silver.
-What’s that mean?- asked Sonic, blinking.
-Mind control.- said a feminine voice from behind them, which had Sonic yelp and jump up a bit then he turned and saw Blaze the Cat standing behind them, her tail swaying slightly in the wind.
-Geez, where do you come from?!- said Sonic to the fiery princess.
-Cream invited me to one of her little tea parties. It was rather… enjoyable…- replied Blaze, omitting the fact that Cream had asked her when she was going to declare her feelings for Silver, which had her hilariously spit up a mouthful of tea while blushing in embarrassment. Even now her cheeks were slightly red just for being near Silver, due to her major crush on him and by the fact that, despite her tough act, she was actually pretty shy and had no idea on how to convey her feelings for the psychic hero of the future.
-Uh, Blaze?- asked Silver, making her come back from the dream world and blink as she looked at him, rubbing her right arm.
-Yes?- she asked, trying to not sound like a complete shy blob.
-What made you jump immediately to the mind control hypothesis?- he asked back, making her sigh.
-I’m… currently on the tracks of a criminal from my home world who just so happens to be an expert telepath and telekinetic. Several reports from various worlds show many people who, like Sonic, have been found after vanishing for a few days, all in a frenzied state. Since he pretty much did the same exact thing in my world, I suspect he’s been zone-hopping for some reason and his last recorded position was not far from this world’s Marble Zone.- she explained, curiously lowering her ears as she talked about him.


-So he’s the one who made Sonic lose his own marbles?- asked Silver, which prompted Sonic to giggle at the pun and Shadow to roll his eyes at it.
-Yes, I fear it was to distract this world’s heroes from whatever Eggman’s planning.- Blaze confirmed, nodding.
-Eggman’s in on this?- asked Shadow.
-Of course he is. It’s like you don’t even know the guy Shads. Of course Eggs for Brains would team up with his descendant and this other guy if it means helping him ‘achieve my goal to destroy that blasted rodent and conquer the world!’.- said Sonic, shaking his head as he imitated Eggman and stole a giggle from Silver and Blaze.
-Jokes aside, Sonic’s right. I have seen him going inside Eggman’s base in the Marble Zone. Those three together are a bigger threat than you imagine. We need to stop them.- said Blaze, clenching her fist.
-I was already trying to stop Nega. Stopping his much more incompetent version of the past and this other telepath will be a bonus.- Silver nodded and smirked, placing his hand on Blaze’s, to which she replied with a shy nod and looked away.
-I’m so joining you two! I need to find this telepath and give him hell for controlling my mind!- said Sonic, placing his hand on top of Silver’s, then they all looked at Shadow, who folded his arms and huffed.
-I’m not doing that, but I’ll come along…- he finally grunted.
-Fair enough. Let’s go, gang! Time to crack some Eggheads!- said Sonic, bolting away. The others sighed and shook their heads as they followed him. Unbeknownst to them, though, a small bee-like drone had spied on them. From the safety of their bases, Eggman and Eggman Nega had watched the entire scene.
-They’re coming here.- commented Nega, twirling one of his mustaches.
-So what? Our defenses will slow them down. Besides… This time we have our little ace up our sleeve…- Eggman replied, cackling creepily as, from the shadows, came forth a mysterious figure emblazoned in darkness.
-Hm… I still fail to understand how you were able to retrieve this guy…- muttered Nega, folding his arms.
-I didn’t. He was the one who found me, plummeting right onto my doorstep from a space-time rift, injured and in seek of refuge from the Zone Cops.- said Eggman, grinning and placing a hand on Nega’s shoulder.
-Trust me, sonny boy: with this guy, the Eggman Empire is bound to win!- concluded Eggman, chuckling as, from the shadows, a couple of cyan eyes shone along with a menacing, sharp-toothed grin.


To Be Continued.