Blinded by Darkness - Chapter 2
By HeroKichona 
With the defeat of Eggman, and Infinite’s disappearance, Sonic and the rest of the resistance had restored peace to their lands. Silver knew it was time to return to the future, but the thought of Mephiles still roaming free troubled him. It troubled everyone.

Silver finally returned to his own time, and to his home, greeted by his longtime friend Blaze the cat. She smiled at him tenderly, which was something she rarely did, and Silver was usually the one to witness it. It made the young hedgehog feel special.
Blaze and Silver had been friends for a long time, developing a strong bond that some called to be mother and son, brother and sister, or even lovers.
The two knew each other better than anyone. There was no one in this world Silver trusted more than Blaze, and Silver was the only one in this world Blaze would give her life to protect.

“You’re back. Did everything go alright?” She asked as her expression returned to its usual stoic demeanor.

“Yeah, well...kind of” Silver explained everything that had happened, feeling helpless to stop any of it. Mephiles could destroy their world at any moment and it would be too late...

“I see...this is worse than we originally thought…”

“Yeah but he claims that destruction isn’t his prime adjective,” He said, remembering the demon’s words with a scowl on his face.

“Well, there’s not much we can do right now. Besides, you’ve practically been to war the past six months. You should get some rest.” With a small smile, the cat patted her friend on the shoulder with a gentle touch, easing the tension in his body as his face softened into a small smile.

“Yeah...I guess I’m a bit exhausted.” 

With the sun setting, Silver considered Blaze’s advice. She would stay behind and patrol the city for any possible threats now that she knew Mephiles was on the loose.

Silver lied in bed, trying to ease his mind into sleep, but nightmares of his homeworld collapsing into flames haunted his dreams, watching all the world’s beauty he had come to know fade away into ashes. The moon had already fully risen high into the sky, darkening every shadow in the room. The temperature suddenly began to drop within the walls of the room, chilling Silver’s body, but almost soothing him from the nightmare-induced sweat that soaked his fur.

“No...Blaze…” Silver continued to stir in his sleep, unaware of the figure that rose from the shadows of his room.

"Silver…" A voice whispered in his ear, sending a chill down his spine. Crystal hands roamed over his chest, fingers brushing the soft strands of Silver's mane. They stroked back and forth with a soothing motion, attempting to draw the hedgehog gently away from his nightmares and towards his voice.

“Silver...I can make it stop, I can make all your troubles go away…” Soulless emerald eyes watched Silver, waiting for his response.

“Nnh...make it…..stop…?” Despite being trapped in his deep sleep, Mephiles was able to reach out to Silver, almost dangerously so.

“Yes...and all you have to do, is…” Silver’s fingers twitched with anticipation, waiting to hear the answer of the voice that whispered its cold breath in his ear.

“...be...my...toy” And in an instant, Mephiles’s hand moved from Silver’s chest and slammed his tender stomach with his palm, sharp claws pointing out. Silver shot up, coughing in pain as his arms wrapped around his stomach tightly.  Once the pain had subsided enough, Silver’s golden eyes scanned the room for a possible enemy...but it was just him, all alone in the small dark room…

With the rising sun comes a new day. Everyone got up early in the morning, making breakfast and freshly brewed coffee before heading off to work while the children head for school. Blaze watched the bustling city, trying not to worry about the hedgehog who sat beside her. Dark rings hung under his eyes, deprived of sleep from his ruthless nightmares.

“You need sleep…” Blaze said, watching a small group of children run by them.

“I can’t…” Silver replied, barely keeping his eyes focused enough to see the blue sky.

“...Maybe you should take something” Blaze didn’t like modern medicine but if it would let Silver finally sleep, perhaps it would be worth trying.

“It’s better I stay awake...in case Mephiles attacks” 

“Don't be stupid. You can’t fight if you’re not well rested, and besides, if what you said about Mephiles was true, then we don’t need to worry so much.”

“But-”

“If he was going to destroy our world, he would have already done it. Besides, you said that doesn’t seem to be his plan this time around.” She crossed her arms as she flicked her tail...though she didn’t exactly feel like Mephiles’s words could be taken as truth.

"I...I guess you're right it's just…" Dropping his head into his hands, Silver poured his heart.

"We fought so hard to get here...We finally live in a world of peace. I just...I can't go back to that. I don't want us to live that way ever again…!"

"I know Silver...I feel the same way, but I know it'll be okay" With a soft smile and a gentle pat on the shoulder, Silver nearly cried as he wrapped his arms around Blaze, pulling her into a tight hug. She was a bit startled at first, but she smiled, relieved at the comfort she was able to provide to her friend, gently petting his head.

"Blaze…"

"It's alright Silver...and no matter what happens, I'll always be beside you." Silver silently nodded as he held onto her.
Blaze felt a little awkward as some people began to glance at them but the really troubling part was when Blaze noticed that Silver had fallen asleep while still in the hug.

“S-Silver…!”

200 years in the past, Sonic, and his friends had been discussing the threat of Mephiles and just what exactly he could be after, if not world destruction.

"He might be out to get me again," Shadow said, confusing both Tails and Knuckles.

"What do you mean Shadow?" Sonic asked, taking the words right out of Tails' mouth.

"Well, for whatever reason, that creep doesn't seem to like Shadow very much," Rouge said, taking a seat beside Shadow.

"He seemed to fear my powers of chaos energy...pure light" Shadow explained.

"Affirmative. Mephiles was persistent in acquiring Shadow as an alley” Omega stated as he recollected the data from his memory.

“But according to Silver, He’s already fused with Iblis...so would that still be enough? I mean, last time, me, Silver, and Shadow all had to go super, but it still wasn’t enough” Sonic explained, trying not to lose optimism. Shadow nodded in agreement before taking Sonic’s hand into his own, comforting him.

“Is there any way The master emerald could do something?” Knuckles suggested.

“Hmm...maybe if we combined the powers of the chaos emeralds with the master emerald…” Tails began running many theories and ideas in his head, calculating each one, trying to figure out their best plan of action.

“What scares me is what he could possibly want if not killing us all.” Knuckles said, which were Sonic’s thoughts exactly.

“I don’t know, but Silver seemed quite disturbed by all this when I saw him,” Shadow said, recalling the strong front Silver must have put up in front of him and Sonic.

“Yeah,” Sonic said. “I heard him yelling frantically before I finally found Mephiles trying to choke him out.”

“I can imagine. The guy lived his whole life in a disastrous world,” Rouge said, pitying the poor ivory hedgehog.

The group was silent for a while before disbanding. Knuckles returned to Angel Island, Tails went to his workshop, Rouge took Omega back to G.U.N headquarters to report their discussion, and Sonic and Shadow spent the rest of the day together.

While past and future worried over his presence, Mephiles was busy toying with humans, waiting to make his next move. He listened to a young woman scream as he tore apart the man in front of him, watching his blood rain down.

“Interesting. You humans always surprise me. Despite his behavior, you would cry for him…?” Mephiles asked as he approached the sobbing woman, slowly tilting his head to the side as he studied her pitiful expression. The young woman trembled in fear, unable to find her voice.

“It’s unfortunate though…” He said as shadowy hands oozed out from the shadows of the alley and ripped the woman apart limb from limb.

“You just don’t amuse me anymore…” Annoyed, Mephiles tossed one of the woman’s arms aside. “There is only one toy that will satisfy me…”

He eagerly anticipated the sunset; an opportunity to visit Silver once more. This time would be different from the last...