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Crisis City - The Future, In The Past

Silver had the same dream every night. The hedgehog jolted up awake in panic, hyperventilating, tears streaming down his face. His hand stretched out reaching out for someone who wasn't there.

He lowly whimpered, “please no...” As the words he spoke left his throat he came to the realisation as to where he was. He scanned his surroundings; he was in an old abandoned apartment, in one of the many leaning, darkened skyscrapers of his ruined city. This was where he set up yesterday, he was back in the apartment of peeling walls and creaking floorboards, but back from where? The room was barren, just like he left it, the only thing within the room were two torn mattresses, one on which Silver slept. The other empty. It wasn't much better than the ground, but for Silver - the boy who had nothing, it was a luxury. That and the extra can of pineapples he had found yesterday, only a year after expiration. What luck. It was nice to taste something other than cockroaches, even though a roasted, seasoned cockroach was a delicious delicacy to someone who never tasted anything better. The hedgehog’s irises changed from yellow to glowing a greenish-cyan, connoting that his telekinesis was now in use. A cyan aura coated the blanket and with the flick of a finger flung the blanket off of himself. He stretched and yawned. It took a lot of willpower for person to get out of bed in a world like that, but Silver stood up and greeted Armageddon once more. Just like he did every morning.

Silver peeked out from behind the boarded up windows at the world outside, hoping against all reason and logic, that he would wake up in a better world. But hope had abandoned him, he was faced with boiling streams of red flame. The only speck of green within the smouldering world was Silver himself. It was strange, but somehow quite poetically perfect for the hero - He stood out among a world of darks, reds and greys with his snow white fur. The only speck of green were his light lines. The only speck of light in an ocean of darkness. It was almost as if he didn't belong there, as if he represented some better future, a better possibility. But that better future seemed farther and farther away with each morning. Even Silver himself had begun to fade away, his white fur coated in ash and soot, his boots covered in dirt and grime, under his gloves and bracers his hands were scarred. Fur singed by the eternal, undying flames. He was slowly meshing into the environment - As if he DID belong there.

Something dripped down from his face, he just noticed it there and then. Silver wiped the tears off his face from his watering eyes, there wasn't much water left to wipe as most of it had already evaporated due to the heat constantly surrounding him. The memory of his dream already fading away from his mind. He sighed, and he took a breath in and out. As he gathered himself he gathered his things too. A new day had come, and it was time to survive it. He used his powers to pull the blanket over himself into a makeshift poncho, torn and tattered and dirtied much like he was himself, it was a bright white piece of cloth with golden accents around the edges. He could not explain it, but it brought him great comfort, eased his nerves. A safety blanket, you could call it. Then he pulled on his gloves over his scarred hands, harmed over years of hardship the totality of his telekinesis was channelled through his hands, or at least his appendages. The weight of his telekinetic constructs weighed solely on his hands. Damaging them over time. Silver didn't have much, therefore he didn't have much to pack. He often draped the blanket across his shoulders in attempt to cover up his neon glowing markings, so not to stand out too much. They drew attention to him, attention of the monsters who roamed the outside realm.

So, his daily routine began once more. It was the same thing over and over again. He lived the same day every day, stuck in an inescapable trap. The day always began with Silver waking up in tears from a dream into a nightmare with no memory of what happened before. Reaching out for someone that wasn't there. Scavenging for resources; medicine, and water, and food, and or anything to help him survive so that he could do the whole routine all over again. And again. Normally, on most days he'd find nothing, and no one, though he never stopped his search for other survivors. He knew there were others out there, or he hoped at least. He couldn't be the last. He searched every building, basement, what was left of the train station tunnels – now overflowing with lava. Nothing. No canned food. And no people, never any people, not a soul. He found out he was more and more alone every day. But he never gave up hope. It gave up on him. He kept on keeping on. His willpower drove him to keep going. After everything he would always return to his bed rest, and dread falling asleep. Never stayed in one place for long, The Beast always found him. Silver could never have a home for too long. It wouldn’t let him. It’d send some disaster his way, take his home. Mock him.

But life wasn't always doom and gloom, it wasn’t always awful, there were some glimmers of joy. For example: one of Silver's absolute favourite places in the entire city was the library. It was a miracle that two thousand years after the collapse of society and The Cataclysm the library had stayed mostly intact. One third of the building burned up and collapsed long ago, but there were plenty of books still undamaged inside. Reading was a favourite past-time of Silver’s. He had read all the left-over books a dozen times over, cover to cover, as it was pretty much all had. He loved to learn, and especially about the old world. The hedgehog often daydreamed about what the days before the fire could have been like. What would it be like to live in a green world. The blanketed hedgehog was captivated by agricultural books about farming and gardening. Soil once was healthy and brought forth life; Vegetables and beautiful flowers and that completely mesmerise him. To be a creator, what a dream that would be. He’d look over the lands of dark rock and molten rivers of fire and he’d close his eyes and imagine cultivated a garden – He dreamed of healing this dead earth.

“If I ever had a garden I would grow potatoes, and turnips, and onions, and tomatoes.” He spoke to himself as he had no other ears to entertain. “Whoa!” He chuckled, snorting and breathing out his mouth, “He's a vampire!? Didn't see that coming.” Silver grinned and looked from side to side, of course realising there was no one to share his reaction with, his smile faded slightly. But he returned his attention back to the romance novel that had captivated him, and chose to escape.

He had a fondness for science and cosmology textbooks, he loved to learn about space and planets and stars. He was endlessly fascinated with what laid beyond the dark clouds that blackened out the skies. As Silver was fascinated with what was out of his reach; for freedom was what he sought, freedom and absolution. To live, to finally feel real, and to escape this poverty and hardship.

Among all the literature available, there was one book that captivated him the most, drew out a strange longing within him that he did not fully understand. A book titled: ‘The Etiquette of Royal Families’, which disclosed much about an era of time called the mediaeval times. The illustrations within the flipping pages depicted castles, dragons, princesses, and ballroom dances. It all enthralled him, learning about royal families, rules of conduct, manners and etiquette, all the different fancy, pretty dresses and elegant jewellery. Perhaps it was silly, but Silver in truth wished he could have been a Princess; being loved and respected by all - of being important. Yes, he wished that. Silver reached THE page, he’d always spent minutes just longingly staring at the double page spread; The depiction of a royal gala, people dancing in pairs, smiling and laughing, and having a wonderful time. Silver's fingers gently caressed the picture, desiring to be there, with them. Perhaps he longed too much for that fictional situation, as he often daydreamed and imagined himself dancing in a beautiful hall of marble pillars, silvery reflective floors and painted ceiling ceilings framed by golden accenting. Perhaps dancing with someone—

Stop!

…Stop, it's not real. Silver snapped out of his daydream, there was an animalistic roar right outside of the library walls. Silver’s heart skipped a beat. Did-- Did they find him? Did they follow him? Were the monster horde about to swarm the building? Was he in peril? Thoughts raced through his head. Silver shut the book closed, and the hedgehog crawled his way through the small opening in the sidewall on the east side.

He surveyed the area. No monsters. No activity anywhere around the library, thank goodness. If they had been there he was about to lead the hordes away, because he dreaded losing the library, one of the only places that brought him comfort. His light attracted the monsters like moths to fly. The Beast always managed to find him. And that was what he feared; The belief that The Apocalypse had its eye on him. Nonetheless, he persisted. Silver continued to search for other survivors, every day, tirelessly, but every day he searched for something he didn't fully know he wanted to find. Yes, of course he wanted to find others, know that he wasn't the last one, not to be alone. But Silver was nothing if not self-deprecating, the future-to-be time-traveller saw himself as a bad omen. Bad things had happened to people around him. It was all superstition, yet still, he wondered if it’d be better for others not to cross paths with him.

Still, he searched. And found no one, like the day before, and the day before that. And so, he returned home alone. Or what was the left of it. There must have been a tectonic shift as Silver’s apartment had crumbled and had fallen – split into two down the middle. The apartment had collapsed in on itself, Silver quickly rushed in, attempting to rescue what little he owned. Any of the food rations, maybe the mattresses, any of the random junk he kept as souvenirs. He saved none of it. For some reason Silver felt like that was a reoccurring theme in his life.

Silver found himself retreating to an old basement bar a few streets away. A place he often frequented. To people watch, and observe the ghosts of the old world come and go and mingle in a social setting as they once did when present. Or perhaps it was only the light and shadows playing tricks on him. Silver made two new beds from the remaining spare cloth he had, as he always did, though he did not know why. The strange quirk seemed to be a form of muscle memory of some sort. Silver laid his head down on a makeshift pillow and turned on his side and faced the other bed, silently. He missed something, but didn't know what. He fell into slumber once more.

The next day was the same as the last. Silver wiped the tears away, and he ventured out once again. The cycle repeated, the same jail cell every day. Silver on his way out grabbed his beloved handheld music player that he had stored in the pub for safe keeping, as well as a pair of wired headphones. And put on his personal playlist. It was one of the only tech devices left over that functioned. The day he found it was great, that was a good day, he hadn't been that happy in a long while. He had customised a playlist for himself. Before he had found the recorder he had never heard music before – he had never heard OF music before, but it turned out he LOVED it. Music was amazing. It absolutely blew his mind, it quickly became his entire personality for a few months onward from then, and listening to music became a new hobby for him. So, he was, in fact, the plainest man alive.

Silver came across a caved in store as he investigated what else the shift affected around his block. The hedgehog channelled his power through his hands, his marks aglow, and an aura engulfed the store’s debris in front at his feet, and the rocks began to lift, and levitate. He stopped as he heard a cacophony of roars and the horrendous noise of claws and talons scratching against metal and rock. Silver heard choruses of horrors every day that was why he kept out the rest of the world with the music. He usually would have retreated and made as much distance between him and them as possible.

However, this time Silver ran into the danger as fast as his legs could carry him as what he heard was a scream. However, he didn't drop the debris he levitated, he brought them with him, they followed him, he brought them with him into battle. And rained them down onto the upcoming horde like a hail storm, like a meteor shower. It crushed several. But not enough. The hedgehog noticed that the doglike creatures were clawing and gnawing at the ground trying to breakthrough to what seemed like a school bus embedded in the ground. And a shriek of fear come from inside there. The voice sounded... young… like a little girl. And that was when Silver got angry.

That poor boy, he got so so angry. Silver leapt into the air and fired himself like a bullet, clearing a few, knocking back a dozen. That caught the attention of the monsters, they all turned to Silver. Silver could swear, for a moment, he saw them smirk. They all charged at the boy. Silver pinched his cloak and pulled it up and over his muzzle and nose. He thought he should have said something cool, but nothing came to mind. And so, he launched into attack, he kicked his heel into the ground creating a trail of with sharp jagged rocks impaling several attackers ahead of him. He turned to the other side and waved his hand creating a slice of compressed cutting a dozen of beasts in twain. Then another beast pinned him to the ground. Silver punched the air in front of the beast's throat and a whole exploded through its throat and head. The monster crumbled into smaller shards. Silver lifted the shards up with his telekinesis and sent them flying like shrapnel cutting through the creatures. The hedgehog was back on his feet. Another swing took off half of a monster’s face. He pointed his toes at a boulder and in one swift motion kicked a beast, which puppeted the boulder to slam into and crashed through a row monsters. Silver's fighting style could have been described as a dance, each movement, each punch, delivered swiftly each motion leading into the next. Each time he struck the air it sent a wave of force which punched holes in the demonic creatures. His stomp created an earthquake, shattering several knees, felling them. He bent the earth beneath them with a clapping hand motion causing a slam of earth to collapse in on the hell-spawns, flattening the attackers. Silver had destroyed dozens and dozens of the beasts, but there were still more oncoming forces, they were endless.

Conflict drew attention. But Silver didn't care, he had lost himself to the rage, as he often did. He was panting, sweating, his quills dishevelled and messy. He was engulfed in anger, but what snapped him out was another scream, a high-pitched shriek from the school bus. He noticed the markings that ran across his body were fading, darkening, he was running out of stamina. He ran up to the back doors of the bus and jabbed his palmed hand into the lock used his strength enhanced by his telekinesis to peel open the bus. Silver's eyes widened at what he saw inside come off it was... a little girl. Orange, fluffy tail, and curled up into a ball, their eyes barely poking out, she was scared. Silver only had a brief glance inside before the new horde was upon him. A beast hurled itself at Silver, attempting to crush the hedgehog. Silver struggle against the bear hug the beast had him in. The hedgehog’s quills pricked up and extended piercing through the stone mass, the monster fell back. Silver grabbed a quill off his shoulder and threw it like a throwing knife, hitting a beast square in the forehead, toppling it. A number of other rapidly approaching beasts tripped over the corpse, but the body didn't stop them much, if at all. They just scrambled over it.

Silver spoke up as confidently as he could, “Hold on! I'll get you out of here!”

Silver closed the doors to the bus and used his remaining energy to lift the entire bus out of the ditch and proceeded to take flight with it. The horde attempted to follow, piling up on top of each other, but they could not reach them. Silver sighed in relief, but perhaps a little too soon as his eyes caught the sight of his neon markings fading up his arms until only the teal circles at his palms remained aglow, as his power faded Silver gritted his teeth shrugging to maintain the weight above him. The full weight of the bus was upon him, and he screamed in pain. His markings flashed red. He inelegantly sat down the school bus, almost crushing himself under it. He had placed the vehicle of the old world on top a towered building, far from the horde’s reach. Silver peeled the doors open once more. And peered in.

“It's alright you're safe now. You can come out now.” He reached out his hand to the ball of fur inside, but the person did not move towards Silver. The scared creature saw a brief glimpse of Silver looming in the door frame, accentuated in his red markings. The small creature, that looked like a fox or a coyote from what Silver could tell, quickly scurried away from him to the far end of the bus. “No, no, no, please, I'm not going to hurt you! Please, I'm not a monster. I'm a person like you! Please no...” His hand was still reached out hoping they would reach out to him, but they didn't. “...Okay, you can stay here, if you feel safer in there. If you want to talk or some company, I’ll be right here, okay? I'll make some food, if you're hungry let me know... Alright.”

What Silver assumed was night, he spent roasting some cockroaches on a stick. Quite a fruitful meal laid ahead of him as Silver had found some seasoning and sprinkled a mix onto the cockroaches. Silver had no idea how to cook or prepare food in any way, but he did see the picture of a lady sprinkling some seasoning on food on the packaging. So, he thought that must have been how you did it. Silver turned back to the bus, waiting for the nice smell to waft into the bus. He had hoped and dreamed day after day of finding survivors, finding someone, anyone, to save him from his loneliness. This situation was not what he had invent - thought reality never seemed to live up to the dream. The boy sighed and lifted his head up to stared up into the sky, he leaned back against a small wall behind him. He quirked a brow, a lot of strange coincidences reared their heads out today; A new dream, a survivor, and now the clouds of darkness had parted ever so slightly, revealing the night sky and one singular star among the darkness and the emptiness of space glowing a faint purple-violet hue. Strange, it was rare to see clear skies, but it always seemed to open up for and above him. And he always locked eyes with the same purple star, all throughout his life, first time being when he was a little boy. It was one of his earliest memories, it was absolutely breath-taking.

All his life he knew there was something beyond the cage he was locked in, all his life he longed for escape. Escape to what? He wasn't quite sure, but there had to be something or somewhere better than this. The purple star symbolised a desire within him, to get out, to hold and to prosper. Silver star gazed as if locking eyes with someone distant, his eyes slightly watered, but he didn't quite understand why. And then it disappeared behind a veil of red-ish brown clouds. A sadness crept up on him, he suddenly felt heavier - more hopeless.

And it was then that Silver heard some shuffling, he turned to see a small furry form slowly prowl forward out of the school bus to the makeshift campfire. Their nose sniffed the air. Silver noticed she moved more when he wasn't looking at them, but he did get a better look at the new companion. Orange fur, a big fluffy tail like a paintbrush, covered in tattered rags and cloak. The little girl’s ears twitched and her tongue licked her teeth. Her eyes darted from the stick up to Silver back again. Silver used his telekinesis to toss the roasted cockroach over to the girl, who swiftly chomped down on it. She was starving and clearly hadn't eaten in days. Silver just smiled, seeing the girl well fed brought him much mirth and joy. Maybe he was good for something after all.

He'd go a little hungrier tonight, but to provide for someone else was worth starving. What he now saw as a young wolf wasn't much of a conversationalist, but Silver was starving for that more than anything. “Well, here goes attempt number two;” Silver awkwardly cleared his throat, “Look, if you don't want to talk that's alright, you don't have to. Just eat and rest. You don't have to stay either. But... well, I think we'd be safer together rather than alone.” The kid briefly took her eyes off of her meal to look at Silver, but said nothing, and her eyes returned downwards. Silver sighed. He waved his pointing finger which emanated a cyan glow that telekinetically raised the can of pineapples up to his forearm which pricked up a quill which he proceeded to use as a can opener. That caught the girl’s tension, her mouth a gape, eyes wide, amazed at what she saw. The first person to wield power that wasn't a monster, for her it was like seeing a real-life superhero. He floated the tin can over to her. “Here's some pineapples too, if you want to try. It used to be a fruit that grew on plants, people used to farm these in the old world. I read about them a lot, in the old library. I really like reading, it's one of my favourite hobbies. I can take you there if you’d like.” The girl just munched on her seasoned cockroach, her eyes jumped from the can to Silver and back again a few times before she took the tin with her own two hands and tipped it into her mouth and swallowed it rather effortlessly. She was very hungry. “Heh, oh-kay. You enjoy, or ugh- rest up. And then tomorrow we'll look for your parents.” The girl’s ears flopped down sadly at the mention, “If you need anything I'll be right here, star gazing. And relaxing.” He huffed. Silver reached for something within his rags, oh good, luckily he hadn't lost it in the battle, and pulled out a pair of headphones and music player. He leaned back and turned his eyes back to the sky. He could no longer see the stars, only the blackish grey blanket of smog, ash and pollution. But at least he knew they were there, just behind the clouds. He allowed the smooth soothing synthwaves of the headphones to gently carry him off to sleep as the tension faded from his body.

And so, he ventured back there where he went every night. But something was different this time, something new awaited him. There on the other end, in that unreal reality, Silver found himself on a beach. It was a sunny day. A warm breeze greeted his face, warm sand between his toes. He could feel a smile on his face. The sky was clear and blue, no star bare one – the beautiful, life-giving sun. All of it, the warmth, it was so pleasant, unlike the harsh heats he knew. Behind him was a field of tropical greenery, foliage - life! It was beautiful. This place, it was paradise.

Silver had his arms raised up over his head, his markings radiating bright neon, the sands shimmered with his colour. The sand rose up and formed numerous shapes; castles of sand towering high above them. And then there was the laughter, so cheerful, so joyous, the kind of giggling that would melt any cold heart. There were children, running about, playing knights within the castle. There was a little girl, orange, adorable, innocent, and playing tag with other kids. He didn’t know why but seeing her happy brought tears to his eyes. But not of sadness, but of joy.

And then there was… Her. She had retreated under the shade of an umbrella, to read a book of hers in peace. Once he caught the sight of her, he could not tear his gaze away, as if entranced or mesmerised. But she laid on her side, she was facing away from him. If only she could turn around, for just a moment.

And then he felt something rushing through his toes, a strange sensation, a clear blue liquid at his feet. Water. The tide had risen and it was washing everything away; the castle, the laughter, even the clear skies, the sun and eventually him to.

And then he was somewhere else, but where’d the tide taken him now? A distant shore, but no less beautiful. Silver was now within some palace, a ballroom. White marble pillars, a floor clean enough to see your own reflection, beautiful glass stained windows, and an ornate painted ceiling. And then there were the people dressed in elaborate expensive clothing. The kind he'd seen only in the history books he read. He felt out of place in this fanciful place, all covered in ash and soot, covered in cuts and bruises. Though his poncho blanket seemed to fit in more than he did. An orchestral tune began playing and everyone on him began to sway, and... dance. In pairs. And on the other end of the next blink, he found himself dancing too. And not alone. There was someone in his arms. Silver's heart almost leapt out of his chest when his golden eyes laid on hers.

There she was, he knew her, but from there? A dream? Or just imagination playing tricks on him? Would either of those options mean she was real? If not, why did she feel so real, or at least true. She was a warm comfort, even though he did not know who she was. She was a head shorter than him, when not wearing heels. But how did he know that? Her head was tucked in and cuddled against his chest, she was facing off to the side. He still couldn't see her face. But it mattered little, because he had never felt… so... at peace. So good. So right.

“I wish we had more time. I wish this paradise could last forever.” Tears welled up at the corner of his eyes, but they soon disappeared, evaporated... Where was all this heat coming from? The heat, it was no longer comforting and gentle. It was harsh and it stung. No. No, it was too soon. They never had enough time. “No. No. Just a little longer, please, don’t go yet.” He took her into his arms. “Who- Who are you? Why can I not see your face? Is this- Could any of this be real? Do I- Did I know you? Who a--” Silver finally got the mystery woman to turn, to face him. But there was a problem;

The man… had no face. Silver stared into a black void where her face should have been. As if a puzzle piece had been displaced. And then it all began to fade away. The windows shattered. Revealing red skies behind them, and black clouds lit up by lightning. The hot air seared the pale marble leaving blackened marks behind. The dancing pairs around them had vanished. The music, the colours, the joy - it was all gone. The tiled floor began to fall away revealing the lakes of lava underneath, and beneath IT something newly monstrously, something that stared back at him. And smiled.

Silver turned back to the woman, to hurry her to safety, but she was gone, it was all gone - no more than dust. The fire came next, blinding light as if a rising sun. Out of reach. Though that never stopped him from reaching out, trying to save her. Or at least have her stay. And she was gone.

He was back. His headphones fell down to his shoulders as his body jolted awake, once more reaching out for... something, tears streaming down his face. But the dream had already faded from memory. He could not remember once more. His awakening had alerted the girl and stirred her from her slumber. Evidently, she hadn't ran off while he slept. Mayhaps she had nowhere to go. Once again Silver had no idea if it was day or night, suppose it made no difference. No sun, no light, no society to enforce standard measurements of time, no need for days or nights. The girl was looking over at Silver, studying him, maybe still not sure what to make of him.

“Hey, uhm-- I'm going to scavenge for resources, keep looking for others, maybe find someone who can take care of you. If you want to come along with me, you're welcome to join me. I usually like to keep moving and not stay in one place for too long, this is usually about the time when--” The rooftop on which they stood began to crumble and shake, tilt and fall. A river of lava had eaten away at the foundations of the skyscraper, and there was some nether rock forming upwards through it.

The little wolf cub darted straight for Silver and grabbed hold of his arm in fear and panic. Silver quickly scooped the girl up and took flight. They hovered high above the building and watched it kick up clouds of smoke as it fell. Silver sighed in exhaustion. He had barely woken up and he already had to fight for his life. Silver brought them to the ground few miles away, far from the disaster. And they began to walk on foot when the girl spoke up for the first time.

“What’s your name?”

“Huh, so you’re not mute, good to know,” He smiled, “I’m Silver. How about you?”

“The girl remained silent once more for the next moment, her head turned back to watching her own feet. She finally spoke when she found her voice, “I don’t know yet. Haven’t decided. I don’t really like my name.”

“Okay, well, what do you want to be called? What speaks to you? I gotta call you something.”

Silence, again. From deep thought she returned with a proclamation, “Jordan.”

Silver smiled back, “It’s nice to meet you, Jordan. And it’s nice to finally talk to someone. I was feeling a little stir crazy.”

“It’s… nice to meet you too.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“…Yes. I’m sure.”

“Good to know.”

“…How did you get your name?”

Thus time it was Silver who remained quiet, he answered with an answer of his own, “My parents, I assume. How it usually works, isn’t it?”

“Really? Just like that?”

“Well, no, I guess. I guess I don’t really remember my parents or if they gave me my name.”

“You don’t remember your parents?”

“No, I’ve been alone for as long as I can remember, more or less. I don’t remember my parents, I just remember… being abandoned…”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. You can’t miss someone you never knew.” There was a shaky quiver in his voice.

“Are you sure?” Silver didn’t answer, “…‘more or less’?”

“I… I don’t know--” He was questioning whether or not to actually reveal more about himself, but as he said before, he really wanted to talk to someone, anyone, “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always had this… imaginary friend. She kept me company. In my dreams. Well, I think anyway… I have a poor memory, it fails me a lot. Sometimes I remember things and I don’t know if they’re things I’ve experienced of if I’m just making things up. Some things certainly couldn’t possibly be… But I have this feeling, that she named me.” He turned to Jordan at his side, “Because of my fur.”

“Oh… I-- Yeah-- I got it. A few homes ago I had a little stuffed fleki doll. My mom found it one day when she was searching a-- ah-- doctor place-- pharmacy. I talked to it sometimes when I was scared. It wasn’t real, but he was the best friend I ever had.”

“Let me guess, their name was Jordan.”

“He was brave, scared off the monsters, he made me brave. Does that sound silly?”

“No. I don’t think so… I know exactly what you mean.” He suddenly reached out to Jordan and stopped her. He pointed at the floor ahead, “Wait. See that dark red floor ahead, a small waving mirage over it? It’s super-heated. I can protect my feet, but you’ll have to climb up on my shoulders. Is that okay?”

Jordan nodded and quickly scrambled up Silver and sat down on his shoulders, holding his head quills like bike handles. Silver protected his feet with his cyan aura. A well tread trick for him, the terrain across Crisis City was dangerous, and shoes were hard to come by. Silver noticed a familiar sight, he recognised the street they were at. “Wanna see something fun? See those steps leading downstairs? It leads to a basement bar, I found a karaoke machine there along with these headphones and music player. It's one of my favourite places ever!”

“Cooool… What's a karaoke?”

“Ehm, uh- it’s- well, I'm not totally sure myself. But from what I can tell it's like... singing badly... together, for fun. While listening to music.”

“That sounds fun... Can I listen to some of your music?”

“Sure.” Silver waved his pointing finger which caused his headphones to float into Jo's hands. “Enjoy, hand-picked the best of the best, my personal mix.” He announced proudly.

Jordan looked at the headphones studying them, “Sooo, you said you lived in a music basement. Did you make all of this music? Are you some sort of… music man?”

“Heh, no, they’re called musicians, and I'm not. And I don't live there. I don't live anywhere I enjoy or cherish... The Beast always finds me, and a home of mine never lasts long. The Beast seeks to torment me... speaking of which, you're not gonna be safe with me for long. We should start looking for your parents or anyone who can take care of you.”

Jordan fell silent, saddened, she hid her face by nestling it into the back of Silver's head. She murmured, “Silver. Can we keep walking? Just for a little bit more. Before… we start looking for... my parents.”
“Sure kiddo. Sure, we can keep going.”

Silver knew all he needed to know from the girl’s tone, the misery and pain in her voice. The poor girl. Now, they were alone together. The weight he carried with him had doubled, but so did his resolve.

“Hey, you wanna see something else cool? It's my favourite place on earth. Would that be fun?”

“...” She sniffled quietly and discreetly wiped away her tears, “Yeah, that’d be fun. I'd like that.”

Silver changed their heading, passing through the collapsed subway tracks, around a crumbling museum, and past the spiked fields of semi-melted steel girders. At the end of the trek they reached their destination; The library. Silver showed to Jordan the sidewall entrance that they crawled through, and into his favourite spot in the whole city – then again there weren’t many nice ones.

“Whoa, I've never seen this many books in my life! Have you read all of these?!”

“Several times over. Reading while listening to music is kind of how I keep my nerves down, and my gravitational powers under control and at bay.” His eyes shot wide open, he realised he perhaps overshared, he snapped turned to Jo, “But I- You're safe here, around me, don't worry it- it doesn't happen often.”

“It's okay. I believe you.” She began to hop and skip around the library aisles, excited to scour every section it had to offer. It brought a soft and warm smile to his face, this was the happiest he had seen her. Providing joy to a child in a world like this, it was worth all the riches and luxuries in the world. Silver watched her prance around examining book after book. He passed by his favourite spot in the library, he take off his blanket that he wore as a poncho, and sat it down on the floor and he lean against the eastern wall. Leaning against the chalk wall drawing of the purple girl in his mind's eye, depicting her facing away, leaning back as well. When sat down it looked like they were leaning against each other.

“Hey. I'm back... I found someone, I told you I would. You know I’d never give up until I did. I told you we weren't alone. There's always hope, we just have to hold onto it. We can't give up... I found someone... The question now being; How do I keep her safe while she's being kept safe by a walking omen?” He turned to her. “I wish... I wish I knew who you were, and... I- I wish you were here with me... So, what are we reading today?” And so presumably it was now her turn to tell him about her day, and Silver would always eagerly listen.

And so, Silver's daily routine continued, but altered slightly. The next few days were strange, but nice. Silver made two beds like he always did, but this time there was someone to fill that bed, every morning Silver made two meals, for someone who was there, every day he had someone to help scavenge, someone to talk to, someone to listen to music with, someone to read with. Silver was very protective of the girl, avoiding battle whenever possible, when inadvertently trapped in it he would fight harder than ever before. Silver finally had someone to sing karaoke with. There ‘book club’, quote unquote, was a daily occurrence they both looked forward to. Silver even taught Jo how to make her own playlist - she turned out to be quite the fan of chiptunes. They'd exchange songs, let each other know what new music they've discovered. Talk about what book had caught their attention. For the first time in a long time, life was manageable, and bearable.

They had once again returned to the library. But a cough had drawn Silver's attention worryingly over to the small orange wolf, who was currently on her tip toes reaching for a book on a shelf above her head.

“Are you okay?” He looked up from his book he had pulled from the science section.

“Yeah, I'm okay. Just a little winded after we ran away from that horde down Field Lane. Can you help me out here?”

Silver flicked his finger causing the book to fly into the girl's hands, “Yeah!” She erupted in joyous gremlin noises. “This is the book I told you about! It's the best book in the world!” Silver quirked his brow as he leaned down to read the title on the cover: ‘The Pirate Princess’ by a ‘Marine The Raccoon’, huh, never heard of them before.

“The Pirate Princess? Wouldn't you rather read something more... scientific? Like BOOM ‘The Science of The Solar System!”

“Nah, I like this one better, it has more kissing in it.” Jordan gave a grinchy smirk.

“Wa- Kissing? What- What aisle did you take that book from-” Silver did a double take in curiosity and scanned the top of the shelf and noticed the aisle’s genre, “-oh no-” The label read ‘Erotica’. He set the book down and attempted to reach over to Jordan, but the girl shot off giggling to herself. Silver, horrified, chased off after Jordan, shouting at the top of his lungs, “NO! HEY! NO! DON’T READ THAT! GIVE THAT BACK! Get back here! -huff-huff- oh God, how are you so fast with those tiny legs?!” The two chased each other all around the library, laughing and cackling like never before, Silver hadn't had this much fun in... ever. This was wonderful. If only this could have lasted forever. But unfortunately, Silver knew all too well that all good things must come to an end.

After a good few minutes of pure fun and hardy chuckling, the chase had come to an end when Jordan had stopped in the history aisle by her cough. It was heavy and dry, and hurtful enough to make her bend down and kneel on one knee and make her eyes water. Ever paranoid and anxious, Silver immediately knelt down and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Concern on his face.

“Jordan.”

“I'm okay.”

“JoJo. Danny.”

“No, really, I'm okay. I'm just tired. Just choked on air, a lot of ash flying around.” Silver looked sceptically at her, he waited a beat, “Honestly, I'm okay. Promise.” She gave him the puppy eyes and her signature pout.

“Okay. Okay. There's been a lot of excitement today. Maybe some good rest will help.” He forced a smile onto his face, both for her and himself, staying strong for both of them. Jordan nodded in agreement and playfully hopped to her blanket and makeshift bed. “Any bedtime stories today?”

Jo hummed to herself as she tapped her chin, “Hmm, how about… The Pirate Princess?” Her voice peaked as she raised the book up to her face, peeking over it.

Silver rolled his eyes, “I don't knooow.”

Danni squeezed her eyes shut and clapped her hands together, begging Silver, “Please, Silver! Pleasepleaseplease a million! At least just read it on your own - I need – NEED to talk to someone about it!”

“Hehe, okay, okay. I'll give it a try. But if I get hyper-fixated, I blame you.”

“Deal.” Jordan grinned cutely, her ears wiggled and covered herself like a burrito in the blanket. And then immediately flung it off herself, because it was so incredibly hot and they were staying near a lake of fire. Silver however DID wrap himself up in a blanket. “How can you sleep with a blanket? There's lava flowing through the streets, it's boiling hot!”

Silver thought about it, thought about how he always felt that something was missing, about how he yearned for a specific gentle warmth that he couldn't feel in this world. He simply remarked, “I guess I just feel cold.” They drifted off back to sleep. And the cycle began once again, but this time the nightmare was interrupted.

Silver always set up Jordan’s bed far off away from his own to make her feel more comfortable. But JoJo clearly must've moved herself closer to Silver. Perhaps she was more afraid of being alone then Silver's night terrors. Danni had clearly done that and it was her who woke him up. When Silver opened his eyes he was levitating a few feet off the ground around a whirlwind of glowing objects levitating around the room. His eyes met Jordan’s which betrayed concern. And then everything stopped spinning and dropped to the floor. Her eyes betrayed what Silver interpreted as fear, but was really concern.
“Danni, I'm- Are you okay?” He asked panickily, worried he had accidentally hurt her in some way. But luckily that did not happen.

“Y- You were glowing and things were flying around. And you were crying in your sleep. Saying... you lost someone.” Silver just looked at her mournfully. It seemed like wearing his heart on his sleeve had finally left him open and vulnerable. “Your imaginary friend?” Jo asked.

Silver bowed his head and at that point the tears began to pour down his face. He clutched the white blanket and held it close to his chest. To Jordan Silver was speaking in nonsense and riddles, barely managing to get the words out in between the quiet whimpers and sobs, “I know it's me who lets her go. It's me who seals her fate. I killed her. I'm a coward and a weakling. I deserve all of this. I'm sorry Danni, for all of this, this world, it is the way it is because of me. It's my punishment. He said so - The Beast -his voice is in my mind.” He looked up at her, “I'm sorry.”

Jordan leapt onto him and gave Silver a tight hug, cuddling her muzzle into his chest fluff, “This isn't your fault, Silver. You didn't do this. You can't let that bad voice bother you. You're not you're intrusive thoughts. I like to think that I know you Silver, and I know you're a good person. And you're my friend.”

He sniffled, “...Thanks kiddo. I'll try my best to live up to that.”

And from then on Jordan slept closer to Silver at night – to keep an eye on him, watch over him – his guardian angel. And for a while then night terrors and nightmares subsided and sleep improved. For a while. Life carried on. But so did the threats. They had stayed within the library for too long and too often, and the next day the monsters had found them. They woke up to the roars and scratching and the stampede of beasts outside the walls of their beloved sanctum. Silver signalled to Jo to remain quiet and calm, by placing a finger against his lips. They scrambled to the hole in the eastern wall and swiftly exited hoping to lead the horde away.

Their first steps were on the ground and then Silver took them to the sky. The swarm of rock-like monsters chased beneath them, climbing over each other like waves crashing onto the shore. Jordan held onto Silver like a koala onto bamboo, her head poking over his shoulder, she watched the black ocean writhe underneath them - it was horrid. Of course, it was the plan, to lead them away. Silver often avoided making contact with the earth and the soil because he theorised a while back that The Beast could sense his footsteps through it. So, he often chose to stick to the rooftops. This time they did it on purpose, supposedly proving his theory correct.-

“Silver, LOOK OUT!” Jo pointed to the side at the blurry image of a dark beast blasting through a skyscraper window, which tackled Silver – bringing them crashing down to earth, into what might’ve once been a construction site, but who could tell the difference nowadays. Jordan safely levitated down to the ground in a glowing cyan bubble like a feather.

“Jo! Go! Hide!” In the same breath Silver growled as he ripped a steel girder out from a wall and skewered the monster through the chest. He didn’t have much time to take a breath and easy off as the horde had caught up with him. Leaping at him, maws wide open, fire travelling up their throats.

Silver thought fast, he reached behind him with an open hand and disassembled a wall he was backed against into individual bricks and with each hand motion flung it at the incoming attackers, tearing them to shreds like paper. Bricks imbedded in their thick, rocky hides. One lodged into a monster’s eye. Another brick dislodged another’s jaw. But the monsters kept coming. One finally landed a hit on Silver and sent him back. Landing into what was left of the bricks. He gritted his teeth and his eyes lit up. The environment around his right arms swirled around; bricks, rock, steel, fencing and metal posts all mangled and molded into two huge replicas of his fists and forearms, which corresponded to the motions of his own.

He swung slug after slug, breaking the beasts apart. He knocked a beast’s head off, broke another in half, each hit wore down the telekinetic constructs. Until they were nothing but stumps. A creature body slammed onto Silver pinning him down in the dirt. So, Silver focused the totality of his telekinetic power into his palm and punched through the monster’s chest, it took a few hits, but he got through. He was met with flame, streaming from the herds’ mouths. He shielded himself with a barrier. But the force broke through it and sent him flying back through the half-constructed building. The silver lining was it put some distance between them. Suddenly, out of nowhere Jordan ran up to him, picked up Silver from under his arms and dragged him away.

“No. Danni, you need to go. Leave me.”

“I- ugh- ack- Can’t do that, sorry. Bad things happened to people when I leave them.” She managed to drag him next to an old tanker truck trapped in a sinkhole. She ran to it, picked up a sharp rock off the ground on the way. And struck the tank causing the black tar to spill out all over the ground and running down the road. Which had a manhole cover down its middle. “I’m sorry, this isn’t going to be pleasant. Remember when you told me your theory about The Beast sensing our footsteps through the soil? So, let’s mask ourselves from its sight.”

She dragged Silver into the tar and then to the manhole cover. She tried to lift the heavy metal lid with her tiny baby arms. She pulled, huffed and puffed, and eventually relented once she couldn’t feel her wibbly wobbly stick figure arms. “Gyah! No! I can’t! Stupid nerd arms! They can still see us normally. We need to hide!”

“Step back. I got it.” Silver lifted himself up on his own two feet and flicked the cover into the horizon with his fingers. And they descended downwards, and hid. The tar pouring in after them. They listened in on the herd scramble past them. After a few minutes of stillness and silence, both of them exhaled a sigh of relief.

A beat later Silver spoke up as he slumped backwards down against the sewer wall. “That was very brave and smart. But also very stupid. You should’ve ran. You could’ve died.” Jordan bowed her head down in saddness. Silver finished, “Stupid, but incredibly brave. Thank you.”

“Well, you know, no problem- I can’t let the only person I have left get hurt.” She retreated into a into a foetal position, hugging her legs, resting her head on her knees.

Silver’s expression soured, they were about to have THE talk, “Your parents… They aren’t out there, are they?” Jordan remained quiet, looking away, “I just want you to know, that whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault. This world took them away. And you can’t control the world.”

“…My parents always wanted for me to have a ‘normal’ childhood. They’d pretend like the world wasn’t on fire and like we didn’t have to hide in the gutters and cracks in the pavement. They’d play pretend with me, we’d play games – to keep my mind off of the fact that we were at the end of the world. My favourite were always these fun treasure hunts we’d do. Hide silly little things; wrenches, plushie toys, we never had anything of worth, we’d leave little clues for each other. I’d always find them; I was good at it. Those there nice days. They were obsessed with treasure hunts too. My parents died chasing a rumour. They were dedicated to finding ‘The Garden’, a magical super special place, an oasis, where dreams came true; where water falls down from the sky, where food grows from the ground, and the heat doesn’t hurt. They always told me about it just before bed. I don’t know if I believed in it, but I think I believed it FOR THEM. They even found a map that led to it. We were looking for it, we were going to go there. Well, I guess we never made it there… I wanted to make the best treasure hunt ever for them, I went out to set it up, a treasure hunt to find the treasure map. Because of course I took it. I was proud of it too… I went back to our hideout, all smiles… until I found our home collapsed and overrun by monsters. And then I ran and ran and ran. And now all I have left is that stupid map… They were good people, good parents… And I miss them a lot.”

“…I’m sorry, Danni… I’m gonna keep you safe.”

“Heh, I’M gonna keep YOU safe.”

“Ha, thx, I’ll appreciate it, I’m sure… I- I’m going to get you out of here.”

“?... Heh, out of where, Silver? Out TO where?”

Life carried on, they now had two times as much to move from home to home, which fortunately, I guess, still wasn’t much. On this particular day and or night Silver allowed Jordan to take point and lead their scavenging party. All the while Silver hung back, indulging in the new playlist Jo had compiled for him when last they were at the karaoke. But the all too brief moment ended when Silver witnessed Jordan fall down onto her knees as the sound of muffled coughs reached his ear. He had never moved faster, and almost instantly was holding the little wolf, gently. She didn’t stop coughing, it just got louder and dryer.

“Jo. Jordan.” He asked mortified. “I knew it, it was getting worse.”

“No. No. I’m okay, I swear-”

“Don’t lie to me!” He sounded hurt. “Okayokayokay. Think Silver think. There’s an old pharmacy near here, and a hospital two blocks down. Maybe we can find something there.” He was panicking.

“That's why I brought us here. My parents always scavenged meds for me in here, that's why I hid the map in here. I thought, I don't know, maybe we could have... Never mind.”

“So, what?! You were just going to get a grab bag of pills while I wasn’t looking?! Danni what were you thinking?!”

“No! No! I know what pills my parents picked up! I wasn’t going to do anything dangerous! I promise!” She looked up at him with big wet eyes.

Silver closed his eyes, inhaled and exhaled, “Okay... Okay. Let's get your map, your medication, and go home. AND You never- NEVER keep things like this away from me. Understood? Okay?”

Jordan nodded wordlessly, ashamed and sad, with a pout on her face. Silver didn't like being this strong and stern with her normally, but he needed to discipline the girl, for her own good, right?

They descended into the pharmacy. The wolf scampered over to a mismatched floor tile, the only white square among the red grid. She lifted it and dislodged it. She reached in and rummaged around with her tongue out, and finally pulled out the map, dusty and rolled up like a scroll. While Silver searched the entire complex, shelf by shelf, cabinet after cabinet, he searched the entire floor. He even extended his aura to cover the entire surface of the pharmacy to see if he could feel it anywhere. Nothing. But Silver wasn't going to give up that easily. He never did. Silver's greatest power wasn't his telekinesis, it was his willpower, his indomitable spirit. And so, they set off, Silver zoomed and zipped across the dark and red sky, moving almost as fast as light. He looked everywhere, two of the hospital ruins within the city, Jo's parents’ old hideout, eventually Silver got desperate enough to start searching random store by store on the ground even if it was unrelated to pharmaceuticals in any way - just hoping for there'd be something, anything.

Medicine was near to impossible to find in the ruins of this world. There were times where Silver would have gone for months without finding a single med-kit. And the cough was worsening. And now he needed it more than ever, now he had someone to take care of. It felt like Silver had scoured the entire city, any idea or lead he had, he followed. The grey hedgehog was running out of nooks and crannies to search, he had been at it for hours and he was getting tired. But he wasn’t stopping. Jordan begged for him to rest, but Silver didn't listen.

“--Okay, maybe- maybe- The city always shifts like tectonic plates every day or so, maybe I can try scavenging again tomorrow. Or! Maybe I can try outside the city, never ventured out that fa-”

“Or, we can try option three.” She raised up and unscrolled the map. “There were legends about a magic crystal gem hidden in The Garden. It’s said to be able to work miracles and grant wishes. I was thinking... maybe... it could help me. I don't know.”

“Jordan, I don't know. I know this is important to you, but this is just hearsay. We don't even know if this thing's real.”

“Come on, Sil. We live in the apocalypse! Ruled by a monstekhheh.” A cough interrupted her mid-sentence, “Is this really that far-fetched.” Another cough followed, longer and louder, and it brought her down to her knees once more. Silver gently held her up as if that would help. Silver just watched on mortified, at the little girl, helplessly, out of ideas. He had never felt so useless. He took another look at the map and then at Jo. Through the coughing and tearful eyes, she whimpered, “please.”

He huffed, “... Okay... why not. Let's try.” He smiled, “For you.” He playfully squeezed her little nose between his pointing and middle fingers. Which caused her to chuckle as she wiped away tears. His earlier words echoed in the back of his head; ‘I'm going to get you out of here’. He wondered about that…

And so the next day they departed out the city following the directions of the map. Crossing the valley which once was a beautiful flowing river, but no more. Silver and Jordan found themselves setting up camp below a bridge left standing. Which provided shelter from acid rain and rogue lightning bolts. Which was how they managed to charge the few electronic devices they had, the lightning that is, not the acid rain, acid rain was good for nothing. The map was leading them out of the city, which would have explained why Silver had never stumbled over this supposed oasis, so there was a, slim, possibility that it could have been real. But he was more than sceptical. But in the meantime, Silver was preoccupied with a different scrap of paper.

Jordan asked him about it, “What is that? What are you sketching?” She peeked out from over her book, which was, of course, the one and only ‘The Pirate Princess’.

Silver didn't look up from his paper, “Well, it started off with me trying to map out all of Crisis City, years ago, until I found out that the city was different every day, endlessly shifting. As if it was mocking me. So eventually I gave up on that, and decided to map out something else, something that didn't spit in my face.”

“Oh yeah? What's that?”

Silver looked up at the cloudy sky, “The stars.”

Jo followed Silver’s eye line up to the sky, confused, and then looked back down at Silver, “...What are stars?”

Silver looked at her bewildered, he blinked in this belief, “You don't know what stars are?” She shook her head, clueless. “You've never heard of stars? You must have at least seen one in the night sky.” Danni just pouted, her head tilted slightly to the side. “A fixed luminous point in the night sky, like the sun?... A spheroid of plasma held together by its own immense gravity?... You're looking at me like I’M crazy.”

Jo looked concerned for him, “So, you're saying there's, like, lights, in the sky, in the clouds, like thunder?”

“Lightning, and no; above the clouds, behind them!”

“There’re things behind the clouds? Like balls of fire?”

“No, not fire. You were closer with your first guess, they're made of hyper hot plasma, it's the fourth state of matter! And they're incalculably bigger than our planet!”

“WHAT!? Are they dangerous!?”

“No. I mean, yes, but don't worry they’re light years away, unfathomably far away, separated by the vacuum of space; a realm of nothingness where we all are suspended in celestial harmony! It's all so fascinating! I read about it in the science books!”

“Wow.” Jordan murmured, captivated. Then she turned her nose up to him, “I mean, no way, you're just trying to trick me into reading your boring books.”

“It's all true! I've seen them, catalogued them down onto here. Like the sun, it's the closest star to us here on Mobius, a G-type main-sequence star, approximately 4.6 billion years old. 149,600,000 kilometres away from us! Its light used to help plants and through them; food to grow from the soil!” He proclaimed excitedly.

“Gasp. Like in The Garden... but, what happened then? You know, to make the world not do that anymore.”

Silver looked down, his smile faded, “I don't know. No one knows. The Beast appeared one day. And burned everything down. But if you ask me, my theory is; People made it. They couldn't stand having something out of their reach. So, they decided to bring the sun here, out of greed. Prometheus fire and all that.”

“Prometheus?”

“Never mind, story for another time.”

She quirked a brow at him, “I don't believe you. Not until I see it.”

Silver caught on to the silence with his ear. The acid rain had halted. He smiled. He turned back to his ward. He couldn't wait to ‘I told you so’ her. “Alright. Come on.”

“What? Where?”

“Up. I'm gonna prove it to you.” She, of course, trusted him, she was curious, and hungry for adventure. She leapt into his arms and he held her up. And encapsulated her in a protective bubble. “Hold on.”
He launched like a rocket at take-off and rocketed upward, breaking the sound barrier, and piercing the dark clouds. Jo had closed her eyes and held onto Silver tightly, trusting but scared. She heard the wind rushing around and past them, felt them blasting through the stratosphere. And then everything stopped. “You can open now.” Silver informed her.

Jordan obliged and opened her eyes. They had broken through the clouds. And the sight that greeted her took her breath away. She actually gasped out loud in awe and wonder. She gazed at the black canvas, it looked like an ocean at night, housing shimmering and twinkling specks of light. An ocean of stars welcomed the travellers. What took her aback the most was how... peaceful it was. Undisturbed. Silent. Still. Untouched by the chaos below. “Whoa, this is awesome.” She quietly muttered to herself, entranced and mesmerised. Silver just looked at her, all smiles, proud of himself. Turns out there was still beauty in this world. “Do they have names?”

“Yeah, they all do. That there is Orion's Belt. There's the Dippers. And Polaris The North Star. All named, and mapped out. Know ‘em all... Except for that one.” Silver pointed to a lonely mysterious purple star at the centre of the night sky.

“Why? What’s that one?”

“I don't know. I couldn't find it anywhere in the books. Nowhere in the star charts. It's a mystery. But it's my favourite. I don't know why, I can't explain it. But it feels... comforting. Like it's watching out for me, watching over me. It's this pretty, gorgeous shade of purple, think it might be my favourite colour. I sometimes just imagine reaching out for it, and it takes my hand. Invites us in. Onto some alien world, where they welcome us in as one of their own.”

“With ground made out of bouncy bed mattresses! And butts for faces!?”

“Yeah, definitely.” They remained up there for a moment, before Silver felt himself fade and stumble. He looked at the markings on his hands, the greenish light lines depleted and faded, like a decreasing health bar in a video game. He was running out of stamina. “Alright. We gotta get going. I'm running low.”

“Aww, can't we stay a little longer?”

“Not unless you wanna fall out of the sky.”

They returned back to solid ground, and from then on Jo's eyes were practically glued to the sky. “Can we- What did you call it?”

“Stargaze.”

“Yeah, can we star gaze tomorrow?”

“’Course.”

“And can I borrow you space book?”

“Absolutely.”

He laid down on a pillow which was just his blanket rolled up and tucked under his head. Closed his eyes and sought to regain his strength for further encounters. He rested there for a moment before Jordan spoke up again and asked for his attention, “Silver?”

“Hmm?”

“... If the world wasn’t... if we weren't trapped here; What would you want to do? Who would you want to be?”

Silver pondered on it for while, “...I'd grow a garden. I'd be a gardener. Have a farm. I'd farm fruits and vegetables; turnips, carrots, radishes, onions, tomatoes, anything really. Maybe some flowers too. You?”

“I'd be an adventurer! Raid tombs! Sail on voyages! Discover ancient cursed artifacts! Fight evil pirates! Just like Princess Polara! When I'm older I'll be rich from all the treasures, and I'll buy you the biggest farm in the world! And we can sail on adventures together! Fight undead skeletons, and dinosaurs trapped under the earth's crust. You'll always be welcome as part of my crew!"

“Thanks Danny. We'll hook it up.”

“Man, I'm hungry... I'd really like to taste your fruits and vegetables, I bet they'd be the best.” Silver didn't respond, Jordan looked over to him and saw Silver asleep peacefully, his chest rising and falling slowly as quiet snores escaped his throat. Jordan tried to lay down and go to sleep, but couldn't seem to find the Sandman. She was just too excited, and had more she wanted to talk about. So, the young wolf cub did something completely reasonable: She crawled on all fours up close to Silver and raised her voice to get him to wake up, “Psst! Silver? Silver?! Are you asleep?!”

“Mmm, no, not anymore.”

“Oh good!” And so she just launched into whatever she was going to talk about before Silver fell asleep, while also kicking her feet as she laid on her belly, “I've been reading more of The Pirate Princess! Have you been reading it, like you promised? How far are you in?! Have you gotten to the part where the princess brings her ghost-lover back from the afterlife? And they fight the Krakken zombies?!! What’s your favourite chapter? Who's your favourite character?!”

“Eh, heh, no, I haven't gotten that far. I don't know... I don't know who my favourite character is, I'm still early on in the book...”

Jordan just impatiently waited for an answer. Blink. Blink. “... I think the princess is my favourite.” She answered her own question cheerfully.

Silver smiled, “I like the Princess too.”

Sleep took them away and the next day they set off on their voyage once more. They trudged through the desert wasteland, nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. So, it was true – the whole of Mobius was dead. Partially as to why Silver never ventured out of the city was because he didn't want to know that the rest of the world was just the same as his hellish city. He wanted to hope that there was some piece of the world untouched by the devastation. But no. It was not so.

They continued. Passed wreck after wreck; Planes, boats, ships, cars, trains, submarines, all stopped in their tracks on the day of The Cataclysm. Jordan had fun poking her head into the various remains and remnants, ‘hunting for treasure’ she called it. And so, they walked and walked. Silver was surprised to see no monsters anywhere around them, maybe the constant shifting sand grains obfuscated their presence here from The Beast, Silver wondered.

“Silver, have you ever met other people? Before me, I mean.”

“I... I'm not sure... my memory is very poor. Like a fog. Hard to remember. There's just... huge chunks of my life that are... gone. Sometimes I can't remember yesterdays, but I can somehow see the tomorrows. Heh, sometimes I forget the thing I'm actually looking for is in my hand. Or why I just walked into a room... But I obviously know what people are, what they look like, how they act... and I somehow sense… that I wouldn't have fit in. Maybe I'm blocking something out, I don't know. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason. I was just going to ask you what they were like.”

“...They were mean.” He looked down. He did not elaborate. “Maybe it's better this way.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think... I'm bad for people...”

“...I guess we have that in common.” She smiled at him.

…

Jordan wanted to say something else, but the sharp pain in her gut made her forget what it was. She felt her eyes watering as the pain travelled up her lungs and throat. She stopped keeping pace with Silver, and began to lag behind, before falling to her knees once more, only this time she did not stand back up. The cough... the sound that came out of her, I dare not describe or say what came out. It was as if she was throwing her bloody lungs up and out of her body. Her vision was blurry and her body was numb and shaking. But she felt the comforting and reliable touch of Silver who held her in his strong arms, against his soft chest. He was screaming something, may the crying. But she couldn't see, couldn't tell. He was wiping her mouth clean gently. Then the ringing in her ears subsided and she could hear him again, “Nonononononononono, this was a mistake, I knew it. It was getting worse. We have to turn back. Maybe- Maybe I can try look for the pills again, the city should have shifted again by now maybe-”

“There are no pills.” She whispered. Silver just... stopped, everything, talking, thinking, his heart felt like it had stopped beating.

“...What?... How long-”

“I always knew. My parents never told me outright, but I knew, I figured it out.” She could feel the drip drop of tears falling onto her, but she didn't know if it was his or hers.

“Please Silver, we can't turn back now. We're so close. Please, I want to go on one last adventure, please Sil, my last wish.” She smiled. “Like Princess Polara.” Her voice was barely a whisper now.

A silent moment passed between them, he sniffled, and stood up, “Okay.” Silver tried to wipe away the tears, but they wouldn't stop coming. He was barely keeping it together. He flew onwards, the rest of the way. Every second he picked up more and more speed. Was the garden real? He didn't even think about it anymore. He couldn't. There was a chance, so he went for it.

“Do you think she'll be there?”

“Who?”

“You know. Your friend. From the dreams. Maybe she'll meet us there.”

“Yeah... maybe.”

“What was she like?”

“I- I don't know, I- I can't remember.”

“Yes, you can, come on, what was she like?”

“...Warm. But in a pleasant way. When she slept she'd purr, and her purple fur would dance in sync with her breathing. When she’d get annoyed she’d scrunch up her nose and her ponytail would burst into flames. She'd snort when she laughed. She's smart, smarter than I could ever be. She's always so serious and stern and pouty, in a cute way. Composed in the worst of times. I always envied her self-control, her ‘mastery over self’, she called it. She was the coolest, most amazing, most inspirational, spectacular, beautiful, amazing, did I already say amazing? Heh, well, she was. My hero. You'd like her. Of course I don't know how I would know that. I guess... I guess some things are deeper than skin.” Look at him, he was smiling like an idiot, she actually managed to make him smile, even in this moment where all was lost. And then once he realised that, the tears came back, in force.

“Silver-” She cut herself off as another cough rocketed out their throat. She covered her mouth.

“No, don't talk. Don't talk. Save your strength. We're almost there. Just hold on a little longer.”

“...Silver.”

“... I promised I'd get you out of here. I- I promised.” He stuttered through the sobs.

“S- Silver? Can I leave you here? I'm tired. I don't think I can make it the rest of the way. Will you be lonely? Like you were without your friend? Like you were before me? I don't want to leave you here alone. Are you going to be okay, here, on your own?” Danni was nestled into Silver's chest, not looking onward in front of them. Shock had brought her to this state, but strangely enough, now all she was was numb. As if some hunger had spread from her belly to the rest of her body. “Silver-I can't see anym- Is she here? Your friend? Is she here?”

He sobbed uncontrollably, choking up on his own breaths. The words struggled to leave his throat, “Yes- Yes, she's here, she's here to meet us. She came all this way to meet you. And The Garden’s here too. It's beautiful. So green and full of life. Delicious fruits and vegetables everywhere. You'll have enough to eat to never be hungry again. And water as far as the eye can see. We made it, Danni. You made it. You led us here. I'm so proud of you.”

“Heh, wow, cool... I knew it.”

“A- And yes- Yes, I'll be alright. You- You can rest now. Just close your eyes and drift away peacefully and rest... I lo-” Silver was too choked up to speak. He never finished that sentence. She never got to hear it.

Now, I wish I could tell you that this story had a happy ending, that Jordan made it, that they made it out together, that Blaze got to hold her second daughter, that Marine got to play with the sister she never knew... But I can't. I never told you this was a happy story.

And so, silently, Jordan slipped away, in Silver's arms.

Silver found a lonely shovel laying on the ground, and began to dig.

-

The Sol Dimension – The Past, In The Future

The head of the shovel hit the ground embedding itself firmly in the soil. Silver, now a few years older, let go of the wooden handle, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was a beautiful, perfect day. The sun was beaming down. The birds were chirping. A cool breeze blew through their quills. The leaves and blades of grass were rustling and dancing.

Silver never stopped being a workaholic, never allowing himself to rest. That's partially what the garden was for. To help him relax. He just took a deep breath in and out, and smelled the clean, fresh, crisp air. As he proudly looked over his garden, full of various vegetables; Cabbage, onions, tomatoes, leak, radishes, and carrots. Everything and anything under the sun.

The garden grew larger and more impressive every month, his personal pet project and relaxing leisurely hobby. A creator and life-bringer whom came from a land of death and ruin. He was putting something into the world. It made him feel good. He'd be thankful to Blaze for the rest of his days, for allowing and appointing him as The Sol Palace’s Royal Gardener. The garden had expanded much in the last month, Silver had planted several apple saplings, one from each Queendom in The Sol Isles. An endeavour of ‘cultural unification’, or at least that was how Blaze sold it to her advisors.

And, of course, there was his pride and joy, the arboretum - A collection of flowers, not only from different regions of Sol, but each from a different timeline. Each devastated future he had visited and prevented - There was always some minute speck of beauty left to cherish, he took each in honour and remembrance of each world. Eventually, he came around to creating his own. The very same flower he was tending to in that very moment. A new breed of rose, displaying beautiful orangey whitish petals.

Silver was completely out of his element, that is to say, comfortable. He was at ease. He wore his head quills in a bun. His eye bags were fading away ever so slightly. He wore a cold shoulder top, grey, with a black shoulder strap. The words on the shirt read: ‘I'm Worth It’ clearly a top his friend Amy had picked out for him. He loved it, but he'd never admit it to her. She'd try anything to help raise his self-worth and self-esteem. Friends, that was new to him too. Below that a pair of black shorts for summertime. And, of course, a pair of his Princess Blaze-themed flip flops, never left home without them. His normal boots and gauntlets were left behind at the castle, leaving his natural light lines exposed along with all his wounds and scars, especially those around his hands and fingers. In this place he had nothing to hide, he felt completely free.

Then suddenly he felt something leap onto his back from behind. The gremlin cackle quickly gave his attacker away. Marine The Raccoon had scrambled up onto him and attempted to encircle him with her small arms. He found that her laughter was often infectious, and so a giggle sprung from within him as well.

He arched a brow at the young sailor, “Hehehe, what is this? A hug?”

Marine grinned mischievously at him, “No. It's a chokehold!” She swiftly wrapped her arms around the hedgehog's neck and used her body weight to fall and try to choke him out. A friendly wrestling match, something Marine greeted him with every time he returned after disappearing for a long period of time. Silver just laughed. Blazey had taught her well.

And speaking of Blaze, there she was. A speedster yet still arriving behind the small rascal. Once Silver caught the sight of her, the world suddenly came into focus, the colours grew brighter and more vibrant, and it was like beauty itself had returned to the world. A smile just automatically appeared on his face the moment he saw her.

She had her hair in a ponytail, bound by her favourite red hair band. A brand new ear piercing on her left ear. A pair of headphones around her shoulders, ones she had borrowed from Silver in the middle of listening to the birthday mix Silver had gifted her. She wore a black leather jacket with the same matching shirt underneath. And a red dress with her own pair of sandals.

“Mari, let him go!” She always carried the same authority and might even when in a casual situation, but even she couldn't hide her smile at the sight of them two playing around together. It was a rare treat for her to wear informal clothing and so she tried to make the best of this treat of a day. “You've seen him for less than 10 seconds and you're already picking fights with him?”

“Oh, come on, B! I was just playing!” She let go of Silver, and sped off in search of something else to hold her attention. Silver awkwardly leaned on his shovel as Blaze approached.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

They both looked tired.

“How did you sleep?”

“Better. Not great, but better.” He looked into her eyes, “Better, thanks to you. Every day’s a little better.”

Blaze smiled as she gently took hold of his hands, “That- is good to hear.”

They both awkwardly attempted to avoid eye contact while also blushing bright red like a pair of freshly picked tomatoes. Silver took the initiative, “So? What has our intrepid adventurer planned for us today?”

And right on cue Marine returned to climb up Silver like monkey bars on a playground, holding a butterfly she was chasing a second ago, peacefully perched on her finger, “I'm glad you asked! I have a lot planned on the docket for today!” She grabbed hold of Silver's head quills and yanked them back and forth like levers. “You promised we could go explore The Unsubmerged Valley! I heard it's haunted! It's gonna be awesome! Maybe we can punch some ghosts in the face! And then we can go to the beach and you can help me win the sandcastle building competition, and rub it into Cream’s face, HA!”
Blaze rolled her eyes, “Cheating is never the way to win.”

Marine then turned to Blaze with a wicked smile, “And then The Polaris Ball is coming up, some light dancing, who knows where the night will take us! Hehehe!”

“That's enough out of you pipsqueak.” Blaze waved her ward off dismissively. It was then that Marine’s eye caught the new flower Silver was standing over, so she disembarked the hedgehog and inspected it from up close, “Wow, cool is this the new flower you talked about? I've never seen this one before here.”

“Heh, yeah... I made it myself. I call it; The Jordan... after...” Silver fell silence momentarily. Blaze placed her chin on top his shoulder, and wrapped her arms around his waist, “...Well, you know... a very important smart young girl, without whom I would have never made it out. Like you, MarMar. You would have really liked her. You two would have gotten along like a house on fire.”

Silver knelt down to face the flower, he gently caressed it with his right hand, while watering it with the nearby watering can with his left. His first timeline was the one reality he did not have represented within his garden, and so what was more beautiful in that world, then her. He spoke softly to the flower which danced in the breeze sunbathing in the gorgeous sunlight, “See, Danni, you made it... We made it. Our dream come true.” Now she could watch over him whenever he worked. Exist in the paradise she deserved.

Blaze placed a reassuring hand on Silver's shoulder. He rose back up and faced her. Words could not describe how much he loved her. How much she meant to him. Their hands and fingers intertwined once more, they lived for each others’ touch.

He could feel Blaze’s body temperature rise the longer they kept their eyes on each other. Blaze spoke up, “Where to first? The valley or the beach?”

“Anywhere you wish, Jalapeno. I'll follow you anywhere. Just as long as we're together.”

“Aw, Sunflower, you're so naive.” She turned away from him, but fell into his arms and leaned into his chest fluff, “I… I just want to make sure you're okay. With the ‘dreams’.” She remarked in a combination of concern and fluster. “A- And I want you to know that I care for you, and that you are... appreciated and welcome and lo- and I hope you know that.”

“I do, Blazey. I know what you're thinking, but this isn't me beating myself up.” He squeezed her hand softly, “This. This is a good dream.”

The End