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They finally did it. Eggman finally came around, he wasn’t going to cause trouble anymore. And if they were lucky no one else would come along to cause problems. The world was safe. The future was safe.
It was time for Silver to go home.
He didn’t want to. He wished he didn’t have to. But he did, so he plucked up his courage and said his goodbyes. Most of his friends seemed hopeful they’d see him again, if Blaze could visit surely he could as well! Silver wanted so badly for them to be right. But he has a mission, he can’t abandon the future.
Now Silver sat in his garden.
He had to go.
He sat there, slowly wringing his hands.
He had to go.
He had to…
“The garden looks beautiful.” Espio. He had walked up next to him. Silver kept staring at his hands and Espio studied him for a moment, “... Nervous?” Silver made a small noise. Espio leaned towards him, “It’ll be beautiful. There’ll be blue skies, white clouds, and more trees than you could ever wish for.” He smiles, “Everyone’s going to love you.” He placed a hand on Silver’s shoulder and gently squeezed, “You have a bright future, Silver.”
That broke the floodgates. Silver burst into tears, and for a moment Espio feared he had said something wrong, “H- Hey, it’s alright-” and then Silver was hugging him, nearly knocking Espio over. He was stunned for a moment, before hugging him back.
Silver buried his face in Espio’s shoulder and spoke, it was muffled but Espio could still make it out, “I’m going to miss you.” Espio could feel his heart breaking. Or maybe that was his ribs, Silver was hugging him tighter. He let him, being there for Silver was more important than his bones right now. He held him tighter in return, “I’ll miss you as well… You are my most treasured friend, and I’ll never forget the time we’ve shared… I hope to see you again.” Silver sobbed.
They stayed like that for what felt like eternity. Silver didn’t want to let go.
But eventually, he did.
He pulled away from the hug and started to wipe away his tears, “There’s… One more thing…” Espio waited for him to continue, and after a moment Silver spoke again, “I want you to have the garden.” What? “You… You’re giving me the garden?” Espio was stunned. Silver nods. Espio gets a serious look on his face, and takes Silver’s hands in his, “I vow to watch over it.”
Silver smiled, and held his hands tighter for a moment. But then his smile faded and he glanced at the ground before looking Espio in the eyes again.
“Goodbye Espio.”
He stepped away, and in a flash, he was gone.
- - - - -
Espio had spent all his free time in the garden since then. If there wasn’t a case to work on, he was here, tending the garden. He told Silver he would watch over it, and he was going to keep his promise. Especially if Silver never came back. This would be all that’s left of him…
Vector was starting to get worried about him.
Okay he was REALLY worried about him.
They had barely seen Espio lately, and when they did it was like no one was home! He was clearly having a rough time with Silver gone. It hurt to see him like that. And it was taking a toll on Charmy too. He’d been trying desperately to cheer Espio up to no avail. He was worried sick. They both were.
They were checking on Espio today. They had done so plenty of times before, but Vector was determined to make some progress today, no matter how small.
Espio was sitting against the shed when they got there. Charmy immediately flew up to him, “Hi Espio! I brought you something!” He held out a piece of paper, it was a colorful drawing of Espio. He had clearly put a lot of effort into it, trying to make him look as cool as possible. All he got was a glance. He deflated and lowered the drawing.
Vector approached now, patting Charmy’s head then looking at Espio, “Hey, we were gonna grab a bite to eat, ya want somethin?” Espio didn’t react.
Vector sat down next to him, “You okay?” He had asked that every visit, but maybe he’d get a different answer today.
“...I’m fine.”
Guess not.
He reaches out and puts a hand on Espio’s shoulder, “We’re worried about you.” Espio didn’t respond. Charmy plopped down on his other side, and they sat with him.
After a while, Espio softly speaks, “...What if I never see him again?” He curls in on himself, “This is all I have left… I feel closer to him when I’m here.”
Suddenly he was pulled forward, and a pair of arms were wrapped around him, and then another, smaller, pair. Oh… He hugged back, clinging to Vector. After a moment, he speaks again, “I don’t want to lose him.”
Vector pulled away to look Espio in the eyes, “That won’t happen. You’ve got all your memories of him right?” Espio nodded, and he continued, “And the garden ain’t goin anywhere. So he’ll always be here, right?” Espio nodded again. “I know it feels impossible, but you’re not alone. We’re all right here with ya. And we’ll get through this together.” Charmy spoke up now, “That’s right!”
And now Espio was the one hugging them. They both hugged him back. And they stayed like that, hugging him as long as he needed.
After a long while, Espio moved his arms away. And the other two did the same. Vector moved a hand to Espio’s shoulder again, “You okay?” This time, Espio shook his head, and Vector asked, “Do ya wanna get some food with us?” Espio thought for a moment, then nodded. Vector stood and offered Espio a hand, he took it and Vector pulled him up. Vector started walking, and Espio was about to follow when he felt a tug at his arm. It was Charmy. He was holding out the drawing again. Espio smiled and took it, “Thank you, Charmy.” Charmy beamed at him then zipped off to buzz around Vector’s head.
Espio hesitated at the edge of the garden and looked back. It still hurt, but there was something else there now too… He smiled, and turned to catch up with the others.
Espio would be okay.
- - - - -
Silver was not okay.
Something had been eating away at him ever since he got back.
He was supposed to be happy. And he was! The future was happy and safe. It was full of blue skies, white clouds, and lots and lots of trees. There were people! Lots of people, happily living their lives. This is what he was fighting for. Of course he was happy. But at the same time… he wasn’t. Something was wrong.
Maybe he just needed to stop thinking about it.
He made an effort to look around, Maybe something would distract him.
He was in a town. There were people. A lot of people. Most seemed to know each other. No one knew him. He definitely didn’t recognize anyone.
…
This wasn’t helping.
A walk. Maybe a walk would help.
He started off in a random direction. He didn’t care where he was going.
Getting out of town felt good. Walking into a forest felt good. He liked forests. The trees looked pretty. And were a lot more interesting than his thoughts.
Unfortunately, staring at the trees meant Silver wasn’t watching where he was going, and now he was falling into a hole. “Wagh!-” He lands face first. He groans and moves to sit up, rubbing at his face, “Stupid pit…” He looks around. He knows this place… It was really overgrown, but there was no mistaking it…
The garden.
He should have known it was here. But wait… Wasn’t the forest on the other side of the garden? It must have grown over the years. He pushed himself up to his feet and stepped further in, taking it all in. He could still make out the flower bed. The stones had shifted and were hidden by grass and moss, but it was still there. He turned his gaze toward the old shed.
It had definitely seen better days. The walls were crumbling, the roof had caved in, and the door had fallen off its hinges. He stepped forward and placed a hand on the wall, smiling fondly. This place was full of memories. He paused when something caught his eye, partially buried under the rubble from the roof. Curious, he stepped forward, moving the rubble out of the way with his telekinesis. It was a… Capsule? It looked like something Tails would make. But what was it doing here?
He picked it up, and set the rubble back down. Leaving the building and settling down in the grass, he took a closer look at the capsule. It was engraved, ‘For Silver’. It must have been left here by his friends. Does it open? He turned it over in his hands, trying to see if there’s a latch or button. There wasn’t. Maybe… It twists? He tried twisting the lid and… It worked!
He took a look inside.
It was full of mostly papers. And... A rock? Silver smiled. That was definitely from Knuckles. He grabbed it and set it down in his lap, then reached in to see what else was in there. A drawing from Charmy and Cream, lots of photos, Amy probably took those, there were some notes from everyone, and a lot of letters. He recognized the handwriting as Espio’s. His smile softened, and he started reading through.
Some of them talked about how the garden was doing, others were about the cases Chaotix were working on, and some were just talking about his day. And the more he read, the more his heart ached. By the time he got to the last letter, he had started to cry.
That’s what was missing, wasn’t it?
His friends, the life he built for himself, it was all gone. Lost to the past. All for a future he had spent everything fighting for. A future he didn’t even belong in. All because he had to go back. He always had to go back.
Didn’t he?
It’s what he had always done. They’d fix things, save the future, and he’d go back. He fought for the future. He protected it. That was his purpose.
Wasn’t it?
Everyone else got to live their lives, choose their path. Why couldn’t he do the same? Why didn’t he get to choose?
…
He could choose.
The weight of the future didn’t have to be on his shoulders. He’d finally got his absolution, he could let go, it would be okay.
He could decide his own future now.
- - - - -
Espio wasn’t coming around the garden as often, around once a week, but was still keeping his promise. The vegetables were doing well, they’d be ready to harvest soon. He was tending to the flowers now, pulling weeds.
He paused when there was a flash of light behind him. That couldn’t be right. Silver was in the future. He slowly rose to his feet and turned.
There he was. Standing right in front of him.
They both stood still. Until Silver rushed forward, grabbing onto Espio and hugging him as tightly as he could. Espio hugged him back, just as tight. They held each other for a few moments.
And then Espio pulled back to look at him, “What are you doing here? I thought you had to go back to the future.”
Silver took both of Espio’s hands in his, holding them tight.
“My future is here.”