The first thing in the morning, Silver presented his own report in great details. The part where he entrusted the secret communication method was the most embarrassing one. He started to question his sanity and how bad influence that pink lass had on him. Surprisingly, Mr. Nigel didn't chew him out for it.

His eyes wandered toward a small box on the wall where all emergency papers would land. There was still nothing. No message from Steelar. However, it was too soon to expect anything. It wasn't even a day since they separated.

The psychic left the office, heading to get some breakfast. He hoped to speak with Gold, but she still didn't return. Mr. Nigel also refused to include any details about her well-being, only that she was well and her mission was proceeding smoothly.

'If it goes according to the plan, why she isn't here?' he barked in his mind.

This was taking too long. For far too long they were separated. He needed her. Her voice was the only one able to soothe him. Only her smile could lift his mood. Nobody else's touch was able to calm him down.

In the canteen, he took the morning meal, sitting away from everyone. His amber eyes failed to find the pink girl. That made him happy, she was already after the breakfast or still sleeping. Either way, she wasn't there to bother him.

He chewed slowly his third menu, constantly replaying the last events. Mr. Nigel was happy to hear he had developed a new attack that worked against the Black Arms. However, it was risky to pull.

He had no control over it, and it sucked most of his reserves. Those monsters wouldn't wait for him to finish charging or recover for the next attack. He needed to throw them at ease.

He cleaned his lips with a napkin and nodded. This was his plan for today. He got up and put the dirty dishes at the collecting place.

On his way outside, he was thinking about where to go as he wanted to be alone. Everybody would be just in his way. He had his uniform as he rarely wore any other clothes. He decided to walk to think about his new technique and to clear his head of useless thoughts. The cake-shop with cheesecake on the display didn't help him.

He growled and put his hands in the pockets of his jacket. His heart skipped a beat. There was a paper in his left pocket. He knew there was nothing when he left. His ears pricked, but there was no suspicious sound.

People around him walked and chatted like in any other settlement. Not even his nose or eyes picked anything unusual. Was he overreacting? He might have just forgotten he put some note there. Then why were his fingers tingling?

He stopped at the first corner of a side alley and took out his hand. The paper ended up crumpled, but it wasn't damaged. It looked normal and innocent. Maybe it was some love-letter he used to get during his school years. Each week he had to throw about ten of them.

He opened the folded note and read. He clenched his teeth, and blood boiled inside of him. He grasped the paper in his hand. Who could send it? Nobody was supposed to know this information! His eyes sharply looked in front of himself.

'Let's see what you are made of.'

He ran toward the edge of the city. The meeting place was close but beyond the defense circles, Albion was protected with. Once he was behind the walls, he flew.

It took hit about ten minutes to reach the place mentioned in the letter. He searched it from above, but the trees were too thick to find any figure. He gradually landed, twitching his ears to all sides. He didn't doubt an ambush was awaiting him. Whoever called him for a duel must have tens of men prepared to keep him busy.

'Too bad,' Silver thought. 'That won't help you.'

He stood for a bit, enclosed by endless greenery. The forest was serene, filled with relaxing sounds and whisper of leaves as they danced in the wind. Right now it could conceal an enemy.

He walked forward, getting closer to the place. His eyes were used to discover traps, but so far nothing appeared. With the name that was left inside the note, there was no way it was just a joke. Whoever sent it was serious, and so was Silver.

Finally, he reached the place mentioned in the letter. The tall stone wall stood in front of him like a gate. Its rough surface was smoothed by moss, and if his eyes didn't play a trick on him, he saw a bird nest at the top.

His hearing informed him all the birds turned silent, and the insect hid as if they expected a disaster. The tension was in the air, and his brain sent out the first dose of adrenaline in his veins.

He was ready.

"So, you have come," said a voice he didn't recognize.

"I assume you are that idiot," replied Silver, looking over his shoulder.

A hedgehog with a cloak was sitting on a tree branch. His face turned red as he barked, "Who you call an idiot?"

"Only an idiot throws his only chance for a surprise attack." The psychic turned towards him.

Glitch bit his lip. His fingers dug into the branch, crushing the bark. "I don't need cheap tricks to kill you!" He jumped on the branch. The cloak surged, revealing long gloves covered by chains and long unbuttoned vest. His legs were covered by chains too that it was hard to tell where the trousers ended, and his feet were bare with small scars all over the toes.

"I'll make you speak for your crimes!" The gray and green hedgehog pointed at him.

"My words," Silver agreed. "I'll make you tell me everything about your little note you have sent me." Poison dripped from those words. There was no way he was going to let this fellow escape.

He threw his hand forward and wrapped Glitch with his power. The other hedgehog wriggled, unable to get out. If Silver wouldn't tune his brain in murder mode, he would slightly smile as it was hilarious. He moved his next victim closer.

"Now, talk," he growled.

Their eyes locked. Silver was about to put more pressure on the captured body when Glitch smirked.

"Think again."

The psychic's eyes turned wide open. His victim effortlessly broke the psionic prison. Silver's hand closed, but the link was severed. In the next second, the psychic's body was pushed with tremendous power that it buried into the rock wall.

A silent hiss escaped through Silver's bared teeth. The amber eyes didn't lose Glitch for a moment. That smirk was irritating him. He engulfed his enemy for the second time, but it had the same result. Except for the crushed part as the next punch missed Silver who rolled into safety.

Glitch's fist widened the crater in the wall. This enemy wasn't ordinary. Silver once more avoided his next punch. He wasn't fast or elaborated about his moves. It was almost laughable how straightforward they were.

Nevertheless, the psychic remained cautious. Nobody had ever broken from his grasp. That couldn't be the only trick in Glitch's sleeves.

The hedgehog threw the cloak away. His body seemed to be fragile as it didn't have visible muscles. However, the blows his fists delivered spoke otherwise. He had enough power to smash rocks and stone walls like nothing.

Glitched clashed his fists, ringing with the chains. Silver was curious what purpose they had, but that had to wait as he jumped back to avoid another punch. The fight was turning boring with those simple attacks. When he thought that, the psychic was hit by a shock wave.

It sent him toward trees, but the agent backflipped and landed on the trunk. His body moved to the side, avoiding a kick in the last second. Silver once more captured the fellow.

"Is this all you've got?" Glitched barked as his body twitched and the psionic energy dispersed.

Silver's eyes narrowed. He knew it wouldn't work. He wanted to observe the mechanism behind the breaking. A slight glint pulsated from the chains, so they were equipped with inscriptions. Another reason to drag this fool with him. Whoever made the chains had to be good.

'Like Finitevus,' Silver thought.

Glitch leaped at him, and the agent created a shield, blocking the kick. The gray hedgehog jumped away into the air, and Silver waved his hand down. Glitch jerked his head up, noticing too late the dozen of lances raining at him.

He crossed his arms, bracing for the impact. The land exploded, tearing the grass and dirt apart. Silver's face was decorated with a smug. He stepped closer, the shield still in his hand.

The smoke was suddenly blown away by a burst of energy that hit the agent hard. The shield turned into dust before it could provide any protection. Silver's lungs screamed for oxygen as everything was pushed out.

His amber eyes stared at the disappearing figure. However, it was he who was getting further into the forest, his body smashing trees until it burrowed into another one.

The crackling deafened him alongside the blood pulsating in his ears. His eye almost fell out, and his throat ached, unable to produce a single sound. Undefinable thoughts swirled inside of his brain, but none could be put in words. His mind was too busy pushing the sensation of the pain away.

His head limped down, staring at bent grass and branches all over the ground. At the edge of his vision, he noticed fallen trees ripped into pieces.

"How it feels to be toyed?" Glitch asked as he came closer.

Silver's fingers twitched. He was in front of him. He needed to do something.

"G-at?" The agent barely spoke a word, but he needed to play for the time he needed to recover.

"So you don't remember me?" the gray hedgehog inquired. A silent sigh escaped me. "I'm not actually surprised. You were always so high-and-mighty."

The psychic relocated his energy to supply his limbs while he tried to remember anybody from his school years. It was hard, he already erased their faces. There was too many of them anyway. He managed to snatch all star posts in all lessons. There wasn't a living soul not hating him.

"No," Silver this time answered clearly, swallowing the minimum of saliva to soothe his throat.

Glitch started to laugh. It vibrated with his body so much, he needed to hug himself to keep steady. Silver used this chance to control his breathing, speeding his recovery.

The other hedgehog calmed after a few more seconds. "Isn't this cute," he mocked. "A genius needs a hint from an idiot."

Silver had a spicy answer on his tongue but kept himself from spitting it out. He needed him to talk more.

"Alright, let's start with a nice story. It's about a small village." His smile gradually disappeared from his face as his eyes darkened. "After one storm, the local priest found a small kid lost in the woods."

For some reason, Silver found this familiar.

"He was a kind man, loved by the whole village, so he took the child and decided to take care of it until the parents would find it. He spent days in search, sleepless nights guarding the kid." A venom was noticeable in his voice.

"What do you think? How the child behaved?" The red eyes pierced Silver.

Now the psychic knew what this story was about, and it was written all over his darkened face.

"It's nice to see you remember, you monster!" Glitch snapped the last words.

Blood boiled inside of Silver. How could he forget the main bully? The one who told him his mother forsake him! The one who pushed him over the limit!