Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The water moved ever so slightly, ripples coming across the steady pond. Emanating from a pole held by Big. Big the Cat was quite the avid fisherman. Always had his pole close by and a mark he was looking for. Today he was accompanied by quite the unusual friend. Silver the Hedgehog. Mirroring the cat, Silver had his own pole. The bobber slightly waved in the water. Swaying with the slight movements of fish that lie just beyond the surface. Until… “Woah!” 

The fishing rod almost dragged itself out of Silver’s hands. “I think I got one, Big!” He steadied himself in the small dinghy, as best he could at least. It was relatively cramped due to how big both of them were.

Silver wrestled for a moment with the rod. What could this possibly be? He started to teeter on the edge of the boat. It had some serious fight to it. The fish fought constantly just to survive, they weren’t too dissimilar to him or any of the other mobians that he found himself in company of. The life that persisted on earth was so beautiful. So emblematic of hope. Everything worked to survive. Of course now wasn’t the time to be gawking at the past was it?. With another firm tug he was flung off of the fishing boat, that was until he felt a firm arm grab around him.

“I gotcha buddy!” Thankfully Big had his back, now literally! Silver felt his shoes dig into the boat ever so slightly. This thing wasn’t going down without a fight. He closed his eyes, putting as much focus as he could into his hands, into his feet. He’d lift into the air. The steady breeze beating against him. “Uoah!” Big quickly let go of the now floating hedgehog. Landing with a thud back into the boat.

Before long a small green light would come from the water. Slowly breaking the surface of the water. Big saw something all too familiar to the denizens of South Island. A badnik. “Jaws”. Big’s smile slightly faded. These things were still around, likely forgotten remnants of eggman’s old schemes back here. 

Silver of course wasn’t as familiar as the locals were with these sad cages. He hadn’t gone back that far. At least not frequently enough to encounter these things. Inanimate affronts to the beauty of the land. Silver wanted to do nothing more than crush it and put it with the rest of the scrap that the Restoration liked to collect. But he knew better than that. The whole of the jaws lost its green shine, soon each bolt would be removed from it. Followed by the plates, then internals, wiring, and then a small capsule towards the center. 

Silver brought it to his hands. Bringing himself back down to the boat. He’d twist open the capsule. Inside being an old, sad fish. Silver would slowly bring it down towards the water. “Be free.” Silver only hoped such a majestic creature could return to full strength. It had survived this long, and its resilience couldn’t end here. Silver had steeled himself to that fact. He despised these foul machines. 

“Good catch!” Big’s hand knocked the air out of Silver’s lungs. “That was a big one!” He didn’t have that much time to ruminate. 

“Yeah! It sure was!” He shook away the fact that it was trapped. Afterall, now it was free. A smile found itself back on his face. He threw out his line again. This wasn’t some badnik hunting fishing trip, after all. This was just a time to enjoy the scenery.

Big had taken it upon himself to be the kids guide due to how busy Sonic had gotten. Showing him the landscape that he called home. His favorite fishing spots, his favorite restaurants. All the good stuff the ‘past’ had to offer him. 

Big thought back a little bit. This kid has been all over everything he’s seen. He thought back to the first time Silver stuck around with him. Watching the sunset. They were pretty kindred souls in that respect. Watching the world around’em in awe of it. 

He couldn’t help but take a fondness to Silver. He enjoyed the company. “Likin’ it all so far?”

“Its all so beautiful. The grass, the trees, the seas. All of you fighting here, working together, unity and comradery in spades. Every time I see it all, it reminds me of what I’m fighting for. To keep moving, keep trying. It gives me hope for a better future.” 

“Ooh yeah! The future! You’re from the future right? Whatzit like?” He placed the rod in its specified holder. Intently staring at Silver.  

Waiting for an answer.

…

The Future.

Crisis City crackled. The eternal hellfire that blanketed the streets roared in a continual rekindling. Each time a flame would waive two more would roar higher, hotter. Silver had learned to keep above it all flying with his “psychic” abilities. That's what the few people he knew called it. He couldn’t remember their faces.

Iblis was the sorry cause for all of the pain and agony that he had to face. That the world had to face. Before long the entirety of the future was overrun by its spawn. Creatures that wanted to further the destruction that they wrought. 

It wasn’t a time for peace, for thriving. Dark clouded infernal skies blanketed the landscape. Crumbling remnants of the civilizations that blanketed the “Present”. The foundations had all crumbled to give way for more and more molten rock. The mountains all turned volcanic just to help Iblis spew more and more flame.

He had grown up in this turbulent ‘future’. The flames of disaster helped temper him into what he was today. He learned to utilize the powers he had to the best of his ability, for his sake and for those around him. He learned to put out flames and bring the weak to higher ground, all the while keeping himself from falling into the inferno that threatened them. With the regular headcounts showing the dread of decline, it was easy to feel like it was all for nothing, and even easier to let himself fall into that fire.

But there was something in him that just couldn’t let him falter. Seeing those that were left just fueled his ambition. The hope inside him burned brighter than Iblis ever could. He needed to keep going. Even if there was no one waiting for him, he had to keep himself afloat. Silver would do everything he could to see the day the flames finally died out. He wanted to watch the world recover without the constant fires obliterating every attempt at life. When that day came, Silver would finally be able to rest.

Until then, Silver couldn’t afford to stop fighting for those that would come after him. The world needed him and as much as he wished someone would come down and fix it all, he knew he was fighting this battle alone. Even if he was the last person left alive, Silver would do what he had to do. Not a moment was wasted energy or strength. 

One day. He could swear he saw something- or someone- appear out of thin air. The next thing he could remember after that was something unbelievable to him. Something seemingly impossible. 

The skies were blue.

The fire was gone.

He spent days just wandering around in awe. Some kind of miracle had to have happened and he wasn’t going to take it for granted. He did what he could to help rebuild what was left. Each day was a blessing, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to rest, not when there was so much more work to be done. 

Housing was finished first, then followed by crops, the soil that was left behind was viable for growth. And before he knew it, Silver was already starting to see the budding dawn of a new dawn. 

Sadly the peace wasn’t consistent. A scientist by the name of Eggman Nega had gone around turning people into cards. Silver, as the sole protector of this new community, knew he had to help deal with this. He would follow the interdimensional caper through a portal he had left behind.

Silver would then find himself in the past, a past that was like nothing he had ever seen before. 

He would quickly help with Eggman Nega before going back to the ‘future’

Before Silver knew it he was getting ping-ponged back and forth through time when it was ordained that he was needed. A mysterious force guiding him back and forth. He met people oddly familiar to him, some of the most important being people like Blaze, Sonic, and Shadow 

They all had this air to them, Silver just couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.

What he could figure out was that they were some great people! Blaze was kind and determined to work for a better future, just like he was! Sonic found himself as the protector of those he held dear, and then there was Shadow. Shadow was a lone wolf who couldn’t help but hurt. They all had their own problems, just like him. It was comforting, knowing how all of these issues were so timeless. 

By now he had stopped keeping track of the exact times that he had inhabited. He was never really certain of where or when he’d be brought. 

He kept being brought back again and again, helping in the past to make sure that there’d be a brighter future to go back to. Again, and again, and again, and again. It blurred quickly around him. But the only way to protect the sanctity of the future was to spend more time in the past. Living alongside those who needed him- actively needed him- most.

At least here he didn’t have to feel the ripples of the past slowly catching up to the future. He was able to sleep, to rest properly. But every now and then. When he closed his eyes. 

He could still feel the blazing inferno at his feet.

Blaze?

“Earth to Silver?” 

Silver snapped into place. He was in the ruins of Emeraldville, in his garden. The watering pan in his hands felt so much lighter than it had a moment prior.

“Silver, you've been drowning the tomatoes.”

Silver raised his hand to his head. “Sorry!” He quickly knelt down by the tomatoes. Oh well, there was only so much he could do now, he supposed. One small mistake wouldn’t kill the garden. He simply needed to be more wary when he watered them next-

He felt a hand grasp his shoulder. Soon Blaze would lower herself to his level. “Silver. This is supposed to be a vacation. Whatever’s troubling you, we can work through it together.”  

Silver came back up to his feet. Right! Right. “Thanks, Blaze.” He put back on his happy face and kept trucking. He moved from the tomatoes to the asparagus, then to the basil, then to the lettuce. It was nice to see how far it's come from just a small chemically destroyed plot of land hasn’t it?

Blaze and Silver had both resolved to take proper vacations from their separate dwellings within space and time. Both choose to reside in the ‘present’. Blaze’s kingdom still enjoying prosperity like no other, and Silver’s future could be returned to at any moment. So they were here, spending their time exploring the world, yet ready to return to action when needed- granted the gang all tended to leave the two of them be, no matter how drastic things seemed. They respected the “Vacation” they were both on for the most part. 

How much the two of them respected their own vacation was up to a lot more scrutiny. Blaze took some time to enjoy the alternate world she found herself in. Silver had become great fishing buddies with Big. Now he was expanding the garden, making sure a whole orchard could flourish here. They were both busy bodies by nature, nobody was going to stop them from having some fun.

They didn’t just want to settle with fun forever. They noticed the increased aggression that Eggman was showing. He was getting more dangerous. They both agreed to do what they could to help; primarily helping bring around supplies. They were some of the best the restoration could ask for deliveries and defense. 

It was almost a vacation in itself. It's not like Eggman directly attacked the restoration often. It was mostly whatever rigmarole found itself willing to destroy the way of life of fairly beaten down individuals that they had to deal with. That was easy enough work for the two of them. Petty criminals were nothing compared to Eggman nor Eggman Nega. 

Eggman had been planning something big, it was the only thing they could hear through the halls of the restoration. All about how “Sonic was surely going to handle it!” It was nice to hear people with a bit of hope behind them. But they were shocked that neither of them had been notified.

Blaze wasn’t one to let such a possible blunder go unquestioned. As such she sought it fit to bring it up to the most rational one of those she heard to be a part of the operation. Amy Rose.

Blaze knocked on the door of Amy’s residence within the restoration. Impatiently tapping along as she waited for her to get the door. 

“Rose residence to who- Oh. Blaze! Hi! Come on in!”

Amy quickly grabbed Blaze's hand and led her inside, leaving her by her couch.

“Take a seat!” She gave a small wave from her place at the counter. Blaze could hear the sounds of cabinets being opened and closed, the regular clinking of glass, and before long Amy walked back out, sitting by Blaze's side on the couch, placing a tray with 2 cups of tea on the coffee table in front of them.

Blaze had expected a fairly warm welcome from her, no matter what was going on she always seemed to have a soft spot for the people around her. She was a people person by nature. Sure she could be a bit hands on at times but Blaze figured that it was part of her charm.

She took a sip of the tea laid out in front of her. “This is quite nice, what kind of tea is this?”

“Oh, it's rose hip tea. I got it when I was picking up some supplies recently.” She looked proud of herself. Amy was always happy to share in her little treats. “So, what brings you around?”

“I wanted to talk about the upcoming mission. I assumed you were the one organizing it. I wanted to ask why you didn’t notify me nor Silver. We would be valuable assets to achieving whatever goal this mission is seeking.”

Amy couldn’t help but chuckle a small bit. “Well first, I’m not leading it, just part of the team! But we all figured that you guys wouldn’t be needed. Plus, you’re on vacation! It's not life or death or anything you know?”

Blaze took another sip. “You’re really starting to sound like Sonic. Please understand that if you need any kind of assistance in your task, we will be at the ready. I need at least one hedgehog with their head on straight.”

Amy sat there for a second, laughing off the near deathly tone Blaze tended to put on. “We’re already so far into planning, I don’t think there’s any way to get you two in on it! There’s only so much room on the Tornado, y’know? But! I’ll keep it in mind Blaze. If anything goes wrong you’ll be the first one to hear about it, ‘kay?”

Blaze sighed. “Thank you.” Taking another sip of her tea. Maybe Amy was right. Everyone had been buzzing about, talking about this mission as if it were some huge event but maybe they were all overinflating it. Blaze joining the mass hysteria wasn’t going to help anyone. 

Amy cut the small silence. “So how's the cabin? Anything new to fix up?”

Blaze couldn’t stifle her laughter. “It’s standing. We recently got Tails to install A/C. Silver’s been overjoyed.” The two had resolved to share joint lodging. They’ve made a cabin just outside of the ruins of Emeraldville. It’d been a constant effort but both have been content with it for the past year or so. It's finally become a real home to the two of them.

And of course Amy was eating it up. She’d been bothering the two whenever she could, half of the furniture in the place was due to her. She wanted to help them feel as home as she could. They were her friends! It was the least she could do. Plus, seeing the two of them together got her inner matchmaker working on overdrive, two starcrossed people from across space and time, brought together under one roof? Classic set up. She couldn’t not love it.  

“I appreciate the worry Blaze. I’m glad to know the two of you are waiting in the wings, alright? Don’t worry too much and relax! It’s the reason why both of you’re here, anyways. We can handle it!” Amy punctuated it with a very gleeful thumbs up.

Blaze couldn’t help but feel at ease. Granted the tea was likely doing a lot of heavy lifting. “I understand. I’ll be on my way then.” She placed her teacup down. Standing, stretching after the rather lengthy conversation she got stuck on. “Goodluck Amy. Give them my regards.” She gave a small wave as she left the room.

Chapter Text

Blaze made her way home. Thankfully their ‘humble abode’ wasn’t too far away from the Restoration's current main base of operations. She was relieved and Silver would be too. At least they had the knowledge that they could be called upon. She could continue her duty, protecting a fair few of those she held dear.

It wasn’t long before she found herself at the front door. Knuckle’s handiwork hadn’t faltered yet. Espio made sure that it was up to snuff after all. Ensuring that it had a small squeak when opened. ‘As every door must’ he said. Both of them placated him, neither particularly enjoying the now frequent squeak. They assumed they’d grow numb to it, key word being assumed. She gave it a small knock before entering. Not to alert Silver, more just to hear the sound of a knock on wood. “I’m home.”

Silver's head quickly popped out from their kitchen. “Oh! That was fast!” 

“Faster than usual, yes. What’re you making?”

Silver walked out from the kitchen, having donned his now ritualistic apron. He learned to love cooking. Using the bounties they could harvest from his garden to feed the restoration was the original goal, but made a habit of diverting a few crops here and there to himself. “Tonight, I’ve got goulash! It’ll still take a minute or two.”

Blaze gave a solemn thumbs up, walking back to the bedroom, placing her bag down on the small coat rack they’d managed to nab from the ruins.

“So what’d she say?” Silver chimed in from the kitchen.

“We’re on call.”

“Ah. Gotcha!” That's about what he figured. This seemed like a fairly urgent plan anyways. Last minute alterations were Sonic’s style sure, but that doesn’t mean they’d get seats on the Tornado just because they asked. ‘There's a system’ or whatever. At least he assumed there was? Silver had been out of the loop.

It wasn’t long before Blaze made her way to the table, Silver set the plating and the tablesets out, as usual. Together, they formed this routine. It had been like clockwork, and this was Silver’s favorite part. Dinner.

“So, we just wait?” Silver lifted his fork, using it as a small extension of himself as he talked

“We wait for our orders. If everything goes to plan we assumedly won’t be contacted.”

“Mhm. Alright what else is on the schedule?”

“We’re set to protect a shipment to Spiral Hill on Tuesday." 

“Alright, so we have a few days, Nice!” Silver smiled. Having this much time to themselves, unbarred by the shackles of responsibility, was odd to the two of them despite it having been the norm for the past couple of years. Having to find ways to help time pass instead of just hoping for the day to end was no easy task.

Silver quickly finished up his food, placing the now empty bowl into the sink. He’d handle whatever dishes were needed later. “I’m going to go out for a run, I want to stretch my legs a bit.”

Blaze gave him a small affirmative thumbs up. She’d noticed the small pattern emerging. He’d been doing this about once a week for the past month or so. She had consistently resisted the urge to bring it up to him, but she figured that Silver did just need the fresh air from time to time. She couldn’t think of any downside to it, even if it was rather odd that it's been so scheduled.

“Stay safe.”

“I won’t be out too long.” Silver gave her a smile before leaving.

Silver had wandered off into the ruins of Emeraldville. Or formerly ruins at least. It truly had started to get better, back into being a proper settlement where people could live instead of just hiding underneath it. He hadn’t made too much effort to explore that part of town outside of helping the efforts to rebuild.

He preferred to explore the vast ruins still left untouched by the restoration. Whether it be the destroyed buildings, the old shops left desolate by the war or the old park that was barely keeping itself together. He found himself pacing around these more isolated areas of Emeraldville more. Tonight, he was at the park.

He pressed his hand against the rusted gate that led into the park. He could picture the groves of people flocking here, children laughing and playing, people taking their afternoon jogs, people just sitting back and enjoying the view. 

The old swing made a familiar metallic groan as Silver sat on it. The metal on the chains was still of a silver complexion. Silver took time to take in the moonlight. The silence that blanketed this part of town was as soothing as it was unnerving. Nobody came around here, much less at this hour.

Granted, Silver assumed the sight of a glowing figure in the middle of the night would scare off any hoodlums that’d try to bother him. 

It was a small oasis, one that would soon hopefully be brought back better than it was now.

It reminded Silver a lot of home. 

Silver wasn’t too different to the heroes of the present, he couldn’t manage to sit still. He’d bounce around between the parks and the shops. Seeing if there were any remnants of what was here worth remembering. Silver had a small habit of taking nick-knacks and commodities home with him. It was a pleasant surprise to find what worked that was left among the rubble

It wasn’t long before he found himself atop one of the many buildings that towered over the city. It was nice. He could see the house from here, the apple saplings not too far from it. The orchard was starting to finally look worthy of the title.   

Hopefully Crisis City was fine while he was gone. He’d left it looking beautiful as ever. And here he was, still protecting it in at least some way. He had been so ready for something, anything, but night after night it was peaceful. Calm. A smile would creep across his face. He was starting to doubt that it was even worth it to come out this much in the first place, he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling. What good is a vigilante when there's nobody causing problems? 

Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of something speeding along the ground. Silver could feel the breeze beat against him from here- granted it could’ve just been the wind.

Silver would float down, placing himself in the path of the blur coming towards him. By now, he knew just who would be running around like that at this hour.

Sonic came to a halt in front of Silver. His heels left stripes in the ground behind him. The gust of wind brought with him kicked the dirt forward a fair few yards ahead of where the two of them stood. Silver admired it a bit, Sonic was a force of nature. Half the time he wondered why he was brought to the past so often with someone like Sonic around.

“Hey man, what's up? Did I step on a butterfly or something?”

Silver laughed along to the joke, “Nope! Just checking in, you’re out pretty late you know, trying to get some laps in before whatever ‘mission’ you guys are going on?”

“Haha. No. Just. Getting some fresh air! Hah…” He stands for a second, grabbing a bit at his glove. “Well! What about you! The whole dark knight bit is a lot more Shadow than Silver y’know.” he laughed a bit to himself. “It’s pretty easy to see you up there.”

“Eh, Same old same old, I’m doing the same. Not a whole lot to look out for anyways.” Silver looked out into the landscape, tracing along the crumbling skyline and the forests beyond. “It's a pretty nice night out!”

“I don’t know man.” Sonic pointed dramatically up at the moon. “Full moon, I’d be careful for werewolves if I were you. Or were-whatevers.”

“Werewhat-”

Sonic took off, continuing down the well trodden path that he typically went down before he could finish his question. Silver stood dumbfounded as to what he meant. Guess it was a past thing? He’d have to ask Blaze or something. Sometimes the lingo that the people of the past- well, the lingo that Sonic used, confused him.

Silver had had his fill of the night. It was time to return home. It had to have been just past ten when he found himself walking through the doorway to their home. He found Blaze sitting down next to the fireplace, she’d been reading. “Welcome home.”

“Thanks, Sonic wanted to give you his regards.”

“You and I both know he didn’t.”

“Yeah. I’m sure he would if he’d care to stop for more than a minute.” He scratched the back of his head.

“Well give him mine the next time you see him. Lest I have to do it myself.” She wore a tight smirk, the one that quite regularly scared Silver. He shook off the shivers and gave her a little nod before he moved into the kitchen.

He quickly finished up the dishes from earlier and placed them all in the dishwasher.

It wasn’t long before they both found themselves in bed. Waiting for sleep to take the two of them to tomorrow.