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"You ready, Silver?"
Sonic had this big grin on his face, eyes warm and hand extended to Silver. His other hand was to Shadow, who immediately took it, turning golden. Their energy blazed on the platform they had found themselves on, bright stars on their final minutes before death.
It was an energy unfamiliar to Silver. His psychokinesis didn't stem from Chaos Energy, not like Shadow's entire being. It buzzed on his fingertips the closer he brought his hand to Sonic's.
He hadn't even figured out how he could do Chaos Control without that energy flowing in his veins.
Solaris roared above them, and Silver knew, whether he was ready or not, that now was the time to hold Sonic's hand.
The Energy busted every vein in his body at the transfer. Non-stop movement, ricocheting under his skin. The battle between Chaos Energy and his psychokinesis thundered in his skull, pulling his limbs apart for an inch of dominance.
He placed his hand against his head, grunting in pain. Sonic squeezed his hand. Silver shoot him a glance, and the grin that turned into a smile fuzzed the insides of his stomach. With that simple smile, the Chaos Energy lessened its hold over his psychokinesis.
Another hand reached for his free one. Silver looked at Shadow, frown forever present, but his warmth bundled him, letting the Energy flow in all three bodies. He briefly wondered if he was worth the trust they put on him, to wield the power of the Chaos Emeralds.
Blaze appeared in the back of his eyes, her smile as she dusted into another dimension. It didn't matter whether he was worthy or not. They all needed him. His limbs stayed steady in the hold of the other two hedgehogs, and he squeezed their hands in reassurance.
"Let's do this," he smiled at the other two.
Shadow nodded curtly and Sonic smirked. They rose to face Solaris, golden trail evaporating the clouds in their wake. Silver's job had been simple. Using the debris in space to damage Solaris and his shield. Without his shield, Sonic and Shadow have a much better chance at damaging the god.
Using his psychokinesis both felt easier and harder in this form. His psychokinetic abilities were unconscious muscles, activating whenever Silver needed them. The Super Form, on the other hand, strained his muscles, and ate up energy he didn't even know he had. Yet, the range of his abilities multiplied to a degree that intensive training could never reach.
Grabbing the debris was an instinct, eyes shifting left and right to catch them in his shield. He threw them at repetition. One second, he had a debris, the next, it bolted to Solaris, who bellowed at every hit.
Solaris didn't stand there and take it. He sent spikes and boulders to the three hedgehogs. Every time one hit Silver, his entire body exploded, and the Chaos Energy burst on his skin, fuzzing his concentration over his psychokinetic abilities.
Silver didn't know how Sonic and Shadow handled the hits. His body stretched like an elastic, and dodging became harder with every second that passed. Every time it happened, visions of Blaze appeared in his eyes, with her smile and her encouragements.
He grunted, "For the future!"
And for Blaze.
Sonic and Shadow weren't visible to him, but he knew they had damaged Solaris severally when it let out an ear piercing roar. Everything flashed white, and Silver raised his hands to protect his face. When wings flapping caught his attention, he peeked through his hands and saw Solaris had taken a new form, matching their golden hue. Silver wasn't sure if the flip in his stomach came from fear or from how drained he felt.
Still, he pushed through the pain, and let out a warrior cry as a rain of debris fell on the god. In a moment, Solaris was there, and in the next, he had vanished, leaving nothing behind, not even a flame.
The Chaos Energy kept slipping from Silver's grasp as he landed on the platform, where Sonic and Shadow waited for him, along with their friends. They were still golden, set ablaze despite their arduous fight.
Once Silver's feet touched the ground, his entire body weight made him face-plant forward. The Chaos Energy became quiet in his mind, letting the psychokinesis take back its rightful place. A pair of red shoes approached his vision. He groaned and sat back on his ankles with difficulty.
He raised his head, and saw Sonic flick his nose, that confident smirk on his face.
"You okay, Silver?"
His muscles ached, his ribcage constricted around his lungs, his skin was on fire, and his heart threatened to spill out of his mouth. He smiled at Sonic, knuckles white as his hands gripped his knees.
"I'll be alright."
Silver didn't know how Sonic was still burning golden. A grunt made him snap his head to its owner. Shadow had his arms crossed in front of his chest, hands gripping his biceps. It looked like flames drew a halo around him, a star burning alive, on the verge of death.
Silver felt like he was on the verge of death, with how hard taking a breath was.
Sonic quirked an eyebrow, "Something to share with the class, Shadow?"
Shadow's frown deepened, as if that was possible. "He's not in-tune with Chaos Energy, not like us."
Silver sheepishly looked to the side. Sonic snorted.
"You think my first time using the Chaos Emeralds didn't make me want to puke my guts out?"
Shadow scoffed, "They could've hurt him."
"He's still up and kicking. Right?"
Sonic said that to Silver, hand held out. Face confident, radiating. It wasn't because of the golden hue, his smile could rival the sun, something Silver had discovered in his time-travel journey. The sun was warm, the sun was beautiful, the sun was dangerous.
Silver grabbed his hand before he could spiral further, and stood up with a slight grunt. His legs almost gave out at the sudden weight on them, with his psychokinesis stopped the fall. Surprisingly, he didn't turn Super.
"R-right," he answered.
Sonic snickered and pat him behind his back.
"Man, I wish I could just float like that."
"And be unable to run on the air?" Shadow scoffed. "As if."
"Okay, fine, maybe I would miss running. Sue me, psychokinesis is pretty cool."
"Thanks," Silver chuckled nervously.
"Sonic," Tails called out, running towards the three hedgehogs. "You have to see Princess Elise. She wants to talk to you."
"Be right with you, bud."
Sonic glanced at Shadow, who nodded and followed Tails to their group. Silver was about to join until Sonic placed a hand on his shoulder, halting him. The handprint burned his fur, sending shock waves throughout his body.
"Sonic?"
"Take care of yourself, Silver. If you don't, not many will."
Before Silver could retort, Sonic joined the others. He observed how Sonic took Princess Elise's hand, and how the world flashed white. He closed his eyes, protecting his face with his arms. Then, darkness.
It rang loudly in his ears, until utter silence cut off the noise. Silver opened his eyes, and in front of him was no longer Crisis City. The sun shined through the clouds, and the ground had green patches. The buildings stood tall, no longer on the verge of collapse.
Soleanna New City glowed with pride. As he looked at the sky as beautiful as Sonic, a tingle ran across his body. He smiled.
Being torn apart by an unfamiliar energy was worth the magnificent landscape in front of him.