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Silver was much older now, and the future was safe.
He’d honestly lived longer than he thought he would, and then suddenly, there was no reason to go back.
Not that he could, even if he wanted to.
The people around him couldn’t even begin to fathom the horror that had once awaited them, in a version of the future (or his present) that no longer existed.
Even now, years later, there were days Silver would wake up still feeling the heat radiating through Crisis City, still smelling the smoke that smothered the city.
Everything that had once been his original 'home' was gone. And on top of that, everything that had existed in his friends’ time has been buried or broken down by age, nothing remained but the inaccurate information in history books.
He just wished he could see them again. But going back to a time he already visited was sure to cause a paradox, or worse. Going back could mean messing up the future he had worked so hard to save.
The future he had saved.
And so, he lived his days alone.
Every so often, one of his friends' voices would pop into his head to comment on something. Amy might remark on someone's outfit, Sonic would crack a joke, Tails would occasionally pop in to explain something technical because 'gosh Silver the future has amazing tech!', and Blaze would show up when he needed advice.
But with time, even their faces began to fade. And soon, their voices too. The words stayed, along with the names tied to them, but they didn't sound like they should anymore.
He'd tried closing his eyes, tried to picture them at the last birthday party he'd been to. Surely it hadn’t been that long ago?
But all that remained were vague shapes. Blobs of colours in their place- purple, pink, blue, yellow, black, red, magenta…
Maybe he could risk it.
As long as his past self didn't see him, as long as no one saw him, nothing bad would happen, right? Just a glimpse. Just a refresher of what they looked and sounded like.
Just so he wouldn't be alone.
Days passed, each one just like the one before. If he had to be honest, the future was boring.
He’d gotten so used to having to fight, to survive, that now he lived almost always on constant edge. But nothing ever happened.
He'd settled outside of the city. The noise had been too much- filled with families and friends, with laughter, while he looked on longingly from the sidelines. His friends were gone.
They'd asked, once, what the future was like when it was safe.
It had been the last time he'd seen them, all older than when he'd first met them. He'd told them the name of the unruined Crisis City, had described the tall buildings and advanced technology as best he could. Sonic had asked if Green Hill still existed two hundred plus years into the future, and it had nearly broken Silver to tell him it was lost and buried.
That even the city he lived in stood over the ruins of one they knew so well.
He'd lied when they asked if he had anyone waiting for him. Told them not to worry, that he absolutely had friends in the future too. Never told them they were his first - and only - friends.
He hadn't missed the skeptical looks, nor had he missed Blaze quietly talking to Shadow , of all people, before the other hedgehog inevitably left the party like he always did. He'd made his appearance to satisfy Amy and Rouge, now he could leave. He wondered what they had talked about.
Eitherway, Silver hadn't entirely lied. He’d just… improved the truth.
He supposed he could call the man who owned the store his friend. Or maybe even the woman he passed in the main square every week and who greeted him so kindly each time. So what if they didn't know his name, nor he theirs. He spoke to them, so that had to count for something.
He wasn't entirely alone. Honest.
So what if his little hovel outside the city was devoid of any life, gray and dull in such a vibrant and colourful world?
At least he had his orchard and garden to help pass the time.
It happened when he least expected it.
A random day, in a random week, in a random month. Nothing notable. Nothing important or grand. It was just another boring day
The man at the store, whatever his name was, made some off-handed comment about a new hedgehog having entered town accompanied by a horrendously outdated piece of robot machinery. Silver paid it no mind.
There were numerous dig sites littered about these days, trying to piece together what they could of the past, entirely unaware that Silver held so many answers to their questions. More than once had they dug up an old badnick, and this time was surely no different. They’d parade it around, trying to appear ‘retro’ and ‘cool’ with their reprogrammed old tech. When he’d seen it, Silver had to restrain himself to not tear it to pieces. Old habits and all that.
Walking back home, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. But everytime he turned to look over his shoulder, nothing seemed amiss. Just the same streets as always, with no one paying him any mind.
As the sun set, he floated a few items out of the fridge and over to the counter, preparing the first real meal he'd had all day.
Sonic would’ve scolded him for that. Silver could swear he had once, maybe during a talk with Blaze? Or maybe he was remembering wrong. It had been so long ago.
The knock on the door caught him completely off guard, so much so that a few apples tumbled to the ground as he dropped them in surprise.
No one came this far out, and certainly not to his house.
Cautiously, he peaked out the window, hoping to get a glance of whoever it was. The last time someone had knocked (about three months ago), it had been a nuisance of a salesman trying to sell him oxygen of all things.
He spotted two silhouettes at his door now, hidden in the shadows. He couldn't make out their features in the dark, but one was much larger than the other, its green eyes piercing the darkness.
A robot, no doubt. But the optics reassembled nothing he'd seen in this time. They looked far too old and out of place to be any modern model.
Silver backed away, uncertain. They definitely knew he was home, but they hadn't knocked again beyond the first two raps. They didn't seem like salesmen, either. And well, if they were trouble…he'd be ready and on his guard.
He opened the door, opened his mouth… and froze.
A greeting ghosted over his lips as all rational thought vanished like smoke.
Standing in the light of his open door, was a black hedgehog, quills streaked with red. A brown, weathered scarf was thrown around his neck, its tails fluttering behind him in the wind.
Standing imposing behind him was a piece of machinery centuries out of date, that had clearly been patched together with newer parts multiple times.
Silver balked at them.
There was no way this was real, right?
Sure, he knew Shadow was the Ultimate Lifeform. He’d been told the guy was immortal.
But he'd never seen hide nor tail of him in all his years in the future.
Shadow, apparently done waiting for a reaction, opened his mouth to speak. Silver didn’t let him get a single word out, throwing his arms around the other hedgehog's neck, gripping him with the strength of someone who hadn't been hugged in years.
Shadow stiffened, startled, exchanging a glance with Omega over Silver's shoulder before awkwardly patting his back.
Silver let out a nervous chuckle when Shadow called him out for lying about having people in the future, Omega chiming in with 'Meatbags are social creatures’.
He waved the comments off, inviting them inside.
Was he selfish for hoping they'd stay a while?
Maybe.
But either way, he'd enjoy the company for tonight.