Days later, Sonic finished delivering the reports about Glitch. Again, he had a hard time grasping the meaning of doors, and girls often called him to slow down for a tea with them. But there was no stopping him. He was the wind, never staying for too long.

Silver concentrated on mastering his newest attack he named Psy Bomb. The R&D team made special seals for him to form the sphere easier. He got better, and by the next evening, he did three of them before needing a rest.

However, all the spheres were too small and weak for his tastes. He needed destructive power to blow away his enemies. Finding how to eliminate the black hole effect or actually directing it seemed to be impossible.

The second morning, he checked on Amy and Eclipse. He had heard something about a new ability this demon had developed.

'It may prove useful,' he pondered as he walked through the corridor.

He soon reached the backfields. Few people trained there. There was nothing special, after all. Some may come here to relax or think, but right now Amy and Eclipse had a private training field here.

Silver hid behind a thick tree. 'Let's see.' He inserted his psychic powers into his ears, strengthening his sense.

"Okay, Eclipse," said Amy, holding a paper with a chessboard drawn onto it. "Tell me in what position I put the most energy."

The demon sat in front of her on a stone. His eyes turned purple. "It's A... Um... Six?" He got it wrong. He needed to stall for time, to pretend it's not such exceptional ability. His fingers dug into his tights. 'But for how long?'

Amy frowned a bit. "Eclipse... Please."

Eclipse's head hung down. "It's an E-Seven." He couldn't lie to her for too long. The pink hedgehog hugged his head.

"Don't be scared to be stronger."

The demon nodded.

"Ehm?" A voice interrupted them.

They both jerked.

"Silver? What are you doing here?" Amy stood in front of the shivering Eclipse when she noticed him coming from behind the tree.

"I have heard about Eclipse's new ability. I want to see it myself."

"Oh, really?" Amy doubted it was just that. "We are still working on that. Not everybody is a genius," she added with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

The psychic growled. "Wouldn't it be a shame if it would turn useless?"

Amy refused to back down from her staring contest. Silver wasn't any better.

"Mr. Silver," Eclipse whispered. "Can I help you with something?"

"Finally, an intelligent proposal." The psychic smiled.

Amy put her hand on Eclipse's shoulder.

"I want you to look at this," Silver added.

He put his hands in front of himself, the special seal embedded in his gloves shone. The air whirled around him as the sphere grew bigger. Bird's chirping came from inside of it as the sparks turned wilder each second.

Eclipse's eyes widened. He couldn't stop looking at the pure energy. He slowly walked closer on all fours from behind Amy, yet her grip stopped him from leaving her side.

Silver let the ball float away from him as sweat drenched his forehead. He stepped back.

'Good. I can still con--!'

He spoke too soon. His blueish energy was swallowed by a black hole. Amy yelped in surprise as the wind threatened to drag her inside. Silver dug his heels in the ground.

'Dang it!' His eyes darted toward Eclipse. 'What?'

The demon wasn't moving, and his purple eyes shone. He stared into the black hole. He saw the flow of both energies colliding.

'Is that black one like my brother's?' Eclipse thought.

The demon sucked the air when the ball exploded, sending them all down. Normally, Eclipse would protect his face, but right now his eyes followed the invisible wave. It washed over him like a blanket carried by the wind.

He got back on all fours, still watching the sky.

'Did the clouds change?'

He would swear there wasn't a clear patch above them.

"What did you see?"

The demon slowly turned around. Silver stared at him, demanding an answer. He ignored that Amy reached for her mace. The demon returned the stare but remained strangely calm.

"It was slow," he said.

"What was slow? Talk!" Silver barked.

Eclipse shivered, realizing who he was talking to.

"Would it hurt to ask nicely?" Amy rebuked the psychic.

Silver clenched his fists. He needed that answer. It kept eluding him. Why did the black hole keep appearing? Why he couldn't control it? What if this demon could see something he couldn't figure out?

"Your psychic energy was too slow," Eclipse continued, crouching. "The black hole wants to get out, so it eats your energy."

"Start making a sense." Silver almost bark those words.

"Can you show us again? That may help," Amy suggested.

The psychic nodded. All the eyes set on the glowing ball, but this time it grew slower.

"I can easily control it up to this point." The sphere was as big as a tennis ball. "But the explosive power is hardly anything useful. Unless I would want to blow paper houses." He bit his lip.

"Even a minor explosion can change the tide of the battle." Amy gave him a quick look. "Don't underestimate it."

Silver took a deep breath. Now, he didn't need a fortune cookie telling him what to do.

"Hey!" he barked at Eclipse as his hands hovered around the ball.

"Let it grow." His eyes fixed on the chirping ball. He saw the flow going from the surface to the center where the black hole gradually grew.

"Fine." Silver poured more energy, and at that moment he knew it was getting out of control.

"Make holes! Spin it faster!"

"What do---?"

"Just do it! It will eat you otherwise!"

Silver shot a quick look at Eclipse before he made his energy flow faster. His gloves wrinkled as if the flames consumed them. The psychic wanted to yell, to throw the sphere away, but he couldn't.

"Keep it going!"

The hedgehog had no idea how Eclipse could guide him, but he pushed it back into his mind. Right now he could tell he was moving forward. His Psy Bomb was closer to completion!

"Look at this!" Amy exclaimed, holding her breath.

It was no longer a ball of blue light eaten by black, but a black mass rotating inside with streams of blue around it.

"A model of the atom," Silver gasped. With those words, he concentrated on giving it the finishing touches.

"That's it!" the demon barked. "Keep it this way!"

Silver closed his mind. All his efforts poured into keeping the insane speed. The sparks and slashes ripped his gloves seconds ago, cutting his flesh next.

The thin streams of blood entered the light show. It was a mesmerizing sight as the ball didn't squirm in his hands, trying to escape. Silver perfected the balance of both energies.

'Is my blood helping? Is it turning it smoother?'

"Make it go faster."

Silver listened. The blue streams fizzled like a teapot. He expected an explosion, but the black mass evaporated with no sound.

The wind caressed Silver's quills. However, it was him falling on the ground. His head hit the ground.

"Silver!" yelled Amy, kneeling next to him.

He only absentmindedly nodded. His body was void of his energy, but he didn't feel any pain. Not until he moved his fingers. His face twisted, and his body tensed. Scream slipped through the gaps between his clenched teeth. Sharp breaths escaped his throat.

The backslash would be worse if not for Amy healing him immediately. Her light spread through his body, relaxing him and taking the pain away. He let out his breath, panting for more. If he needed to change his clothes an hour ago, he now needed a shower.

He lifted his hands. The gloves torn in places, and his fingers bled. He needed only a glance to know normal medicine would hardly return him his touch. But The Order had the best medics. And there was Amy, too. Her fast reaction saved him hours of forced rest.

He lifted his head, seeing Eclipse collapsed on the grass.

"He will be alright," Amy noted. "He is just sleeping. His special sight drains him especially mentally."

"Tell him, I owe him a mountain of cookies."

"Any other catch?"

"No." He breathed, letting his hands down.

"Did you come here to let Eclipse do the dirty job for you?" She stated it, but the fire burned in her eyes.

"I..." He took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Why can't you just ask for help?" She strengthened her grip over his shoulder.

He hissed.

"Why do you treat others like dirt? Do you hate us so much?"

Silver couldn't look into her watery eyes.

"He is really trying, you know. He wants to get stronger but can't."

"Why?" Silver asked before he could think about it.

"Should I tell you?" she replied with a question. "Would you promise to treat him better?"

The psychic bit inside of his cheek. He couldn't promise that.

"I can try." He forced his body to sit up.

Amy moved to Eclipse, pouring her aura inside of his small body.

In moments like this, Silver felt miserable for treating others like garbage. He lifted his knees, resting his arms on them. "I have a hard time trusting others," he mumbled. "Gold is the only one I can count on."

The silver hedgehog bit his lip. He hated talking about himself. Anybody could use it against him.

"Is it because you were left alone and bullied?"

"How do you know?" he barked, almost biting his own tongue.

"Gold told me." She didn't look at him.

"Why?"

"She hoped it would help me understand where you are coming from, and why you are such a jerk to others."

Silver couldn't help but pout.

"It makes me ashamed."

His ears pricked.

"I thought I have it bad with my overprotecting parents, but there are children who have to worse." She stopped healing her partner. "Call me stupid or naïve, but I want to get stronger to help them. To guide them. And that includes Eclipse too."

She looked at him. Silver avoided her eyes, but he couldn't resist for too long. Inside of them was the gentleness that drove him crazy. He treated both of them like dirt. Yet she got only angry. There was no budding hatred inside of her. How could she remain so pure was beyond him.

But maybe it was the reason he was pulled towards her. Why he couldn't use his powers against her. Her words kept resonating in his head. Her touch could calm him, and she even changed his mind. That was something only Gold could do.

'Just who is this girl?' But the answer never came.

He got up. "As I've said, I owe Eclipse a mountain of cookies. What do you want?"

"Me?"

"Yes." He shifted his weight to the other leg. "You irritate me. I can't understand how you can ignore obvious danger..." He bit his tongue and covered half of his face. "But you keep taking care of my wounds. I will not ignore that."

Amy watched him for a bit before her face decorated an impish smile. Her eyes narrowed, sending a chill down Silver's spine.

"Oh, crud," he whispered.

"On the double," she added.

He sighed. "Let me guess, I have just signed a deal with the devil."

"No, just with a cute hedgehog who needs to relax after hard training." She looked at Eclipse. "Not to mention, he will sleep for an hour or two now."

Silver lifted Eclipse's body. "Then let's go."

If he was to have a date in hell, he wanted to have it behind himself as soon as possible.

"So, what do you want?"

She giggled. "You will know soon enough. I'll wait for you in front of the headquarters. Don't forget to take a shower."

She took Eclipse once they reached the back door and headed to her room and Silver to his. Before the psychic entered the shower, he checked the other room. Gold still hadn't arrived. It saddened him, but there was nothing he could do.

After the shower and changing the clothes, he headed outside. He didn't see Amy at first. She actually took a more casual dress. It had white frills around the edges. The primary color was close to a darker pink, with a hint of different shades around the edges.

'That hell-cat... Can look elegant?' Silver had to smack himself in his head. It was just a ruse. Just a way to let his guard down. Unfortunately, he could tell it was working.

"You came," she said when she turned back.

"I made a promise. I will not break it." He kept his tone void of any emotions. He preferred it that way. "So, where are we going?"

"You will see soon enough." Amy slightly offered him her forearm.

Silver's fingers twitched a bit, but he accepted. As they walked down the street, the psychic had to look around. He usually ignored everything unrelated to his mission. However, now he had nothing to concentrate on.

Amy remained silent. With Gold, he would discuss the spells, barriers, inscriptions, or anything related to their past and upcoming missions. He had no topic for Amy.

'Dang it! Can't I really have a normal conversation?'

His eyes darted toward the opposite side of the road. There were three girls chatting above a tea with half-eaten cakes. Silver only picked words like clothes, boyfriend, and fashion. And neither interested him. He gritted his teeth.

"Um..." both hedgehogs chorused.

It startled them, and their eyes widened.

"Y-You first," Amy mumbled.

Silver gulped. He completely forgot what he wanted to say. "Ehm... It's just..." He stopped, his eyes jumping from one object to another. "A nice weather..." he added weakly.

"Yes, it is." Amy looked up.

The early summer was at its peak. The clouds strolled the sky, providing patches of shades.

The psychic bit his lip. He didn't want their conversation to die at this point.

"You are bad in small talks, aren't you?"

Silver let out a sigh. He nodded. There was no point in denying it. His shoulders slumped down, and his usual confident self dissipated.

"It's alright." She moved her other hand over his fingers around her forearm. "What food do you like?"

'Don't screw this!' He shouted at himself, frowning. But nothing came to his mind. He could eat anything as long as it filled his stomach.

"Is there anything that makes you happy seeing it on your plate?"

Silver pondered about it for a few seconds. "A broccoli."

Amy's eyes shot open. The psychic pouted, expecting a burst of laughter or some ridiculous remark.

"That's amazing!"

His head shot towards her.

"I actually don't like broccoli." The pink hedgehog stuck her tongue out. "It tastes weird."

"It's full of important vitamins and nutritious for your body."

"I still don't like it." This time Amy pouted.

Silver smirked a bit. 'This small talk... may not be so bad.'

"Is there anything else?"

His hand scratched his quills. Amy then proceeded by listing him various meals or food she could think of. That made Silver's decision much easier. Strangely, he even realized he didn't like too salty meals, but anything with a high amount of sugar appealed to him. Amy knew all the sugar went into his brain. How else he could stay so thin?

"Here we are," Amy announced once she stopped before clothes shop Honey's Paradise.

It was one of the fancier shops selling top quality dresses and clothes for all age groups.

'I should have known this.' He sighed. 'Gold also loves to check on clothes to relax.'

They entered. The later afternoon hour ensured the main room was full of people. Silver counted three-man inside, including himself. The other two read newspapers in the corner of the relaxing area.

'I hope they have something I haven't read yet.' He left Amy to wander around. She would find him after a couple of hours. He assumed his place and picked one paper.

It didn't take long and Amy stood next to him. At first, he didn't react.

"Are you finished?" he asked her, unable to believe it.

"Kind of." She smiled.

Silver folded the newspapers and returned them. "So, nothing nice?" He stood up.

"I'm not looking for a dress." She caught his hand and lead him to the changing room.

"Then what are you...?" His question died down when he saw the inside of the cabin hung men's clothes. "You can't..."

Amy grinned at him.

"I have clothes," he argued.

"If you mean that one set multiplied by one hundred, then no."

Her smile coated in poison gave Silver shivers. He gulped. "I hate you," he mumbled through his gritted teeth.

"Do you know Eclipse can try ten sets without complaining?"