[Silver’s POV]

I sighed as I walked through the cobblestone streets. The skyscrapers were a lot bigger than I remember them being, but that might’ve just been because I was in the past for so long. Looking up, I could see the stars, but I didn’t waste too much time looking at them. I was on a mission.

Hardly anybody was out, as it was pretty late into the night. It made it easier for me to do what I was about to do.

Coming up towards the center of the city, I found exactly what I was looking for.

The statue hasn’t changed.

Sighing, I sat onto a nearby bench, looking up to the smiling face I never truly recognized until now. “Hey, dad…. It’s been a while, huh? I mean, maybe not for you, time hasn’t really changed too much here….”

I coughed awkwardly. It was one thing when I only knew that this was my dad, but it’s another to know exactly who he was. I put my legs up on the bench, wrapping my arms around them. “I really messed things up back there, didn’t I? I just wanted to help, but….” I sighed. “I should’ve known better than to intervene…. Now I’m stuck here, and everybody needs my help back there.”

I took a second to stare at the memorial. “I’ve always wanted to meet you; I’m glad that I could finally do so. You’re just as amazing as the stories they tell of you….” I smiled, looking up to the sky and watching the stars as I spoke. “Same with… other dad? I should probably call you different things? I mean, I’ve never had to before, but now that I know you both… hm….” I sat up. “I’ll figure it out later; I need to find a way to get back to the past… with… Knuckles….” My eyes widened a bit. “Wait! The Master Emerald! It has more power than all of the chaos emeralds, maybe I can send myself back!”

I quickly stood up. “I’ll see you later- or earlier?” I shook my head. “Either way, I’ll see you soon, dad!” And I ran off, leaving the memorial statue of a hero.

_________________

[Dark’s POV]

"Dark, stop it!" Sonic called.

“No, you stop; you’re giving me a headache.” I grunted as I ran.

I hated to do this to the kid, but there was no other choice in the matter. It was for his own good. Besides, I knew he was worried about his friend, and I’m not just going to let him worry himself into an early grave! What kind of parent would I be then?

I soon found myself looking up at Angel Island. A quick jump should do to make it over there, but I’d have to be careful. Taking a couple steps back, I burst forth, but something threw off my concentration.

“Sonic!?”

I had to try to skid to a stop, almost falling off the cliff and into the water. Just like Sonic, I couldn’t necessarily swim. That didn’t mean I was scared of it like him, but I wasn’t going to plummet into an ocean. Breathing a bit heavily from the close call, I turned around to see the source of my ruined concentration.

‘Tails….’ Sonic breathed out, and I knew I was in a tough situation now.

The fox was staring at me, wide eyed. I tried my best at not looking intimidating, but that’s kind of hard when I literally have no pupils. I ended up just coughing awkwardly. “Um… hey, Tails….”

“Sonic?” He took a step closer. “Is that really you?”

“No, not really. I mean, this is his body, but um….” I realized I was just making this worse. ‘He’s gonna think I’m possessing you or something….’

“You kinda are.” Sonic answered.

‘Not in the bad kind of way!’ I quickly defended. ‘I’m just trying to help you!’

I looked to Tails. “Um… okay please don’t give me that look; I promise I’m not doing anything bad. I’ve sorta been living inside his brain since he was born, and I’m just trying to help him out for a second.”

“Smooth.”

‘Oh, shut up.’

Tails gave me a cautious glance before stepping forward slightly. “How can I be sure your not just trying to trick me?”

“Um…” I frowned in thought. ‘If only Exe were here…. He’d know exactly what to do….’

“Well, what would Exe tell you to do?”

‘I don’t know! Just because I’ve lived with the guy for 16 years doesn’t mean I know him that well!’ I sighed. ‘If he was here in the first place, this probably wouldn’t have even happened.’

I took a deep breath and stood up straight. “I’m just trying to help him find his friend; Knuckles could be in danger.”

“Knuckles?” Tails’ ears perked up. “What’s wrong with Knuckles.”

I smiled, glad I got the fox’s attention diverted from me. “Well, we don’t exactly know. He’s been gone a while, and I decided to check out Angel Island.” I took a step forward without thinking, and Tails took a step back.

“I still don’t trust you!” He got into a fighting position, and I quickly held my hands up.

“Woah, woah, calm down. I can explain, but only if Sonic wants me to.” I kept frozen as a silence washed over us. ‘Well?’

Sonic was completely silent.

‘Sonic?’ My eyes widened a bit. ‘Please don’t tell me you’re gone too!’

Tails must’ve noticed my fear because he took a cautious step forward. “Is everything alright?”

The silence in my mind was deafening. My thoughts turned outward. “Sonic!? Sonic, answer me!”

Tails’ eyes widened. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

I felt my heart speed up in panic. “Sonic! Sonic, this isn’t funny!”

I felt Tails grab my arm, and I realized that I was shaking.

“He’s not answering me!” I gasped out. My vision was blurry, and I realized that those were tears.

I felt Tails leading me to a tree, and I gently rested against it, my breathing uneven. He rubbed my arm a bit. “Take deep breaths; you’re okay.”

He was wrong, but I tried to calm down anyways. It took a bit, but by the time I was calmed down, I was sitting down, a worried Tails beside me.

“What happened?” He asked after a while.

I frowned. “It’s a bit of a long story, and Sonic should really be the one telling you it.”

“If there’s something wrong with Sonic, I want to know. I don’t care how long it is, or who should be telling me it, I have to know what’s wrong.”

I felt a small smile appear on my muzzle. “That’s why you’ve been my favorite friend for my boy.” I chuckled a bit. “Alright, I’ll tell you, but don’t point the blame to me if Sonic gets mad about it.”

“I don’t care if he gets mad; I want to help.”