Ka_Gt

Silver stumbles out of the portal a little worse for wear than he usually is, but not so much that he thinks it'll be noticeable. He gets to test that hypothesis immediately, because his friends and allies are all already gathered, staring at him as he steps through the portal and floats slowly down to the ground.

"Now that's scary timing," Sonic says, faking a shiver.

Silver grins at him, taking that to mean he arrived exactly when needed. He accepts everybody's enthusiastic greetings—and Shadow's less than enthused one—before allowing his eyes to slide over to the small group on the outskirts of the welcoming committee.

Eggman, flanked by Orbot and Cubot. Slightly in front of him, one of Eggman's large hands on his shoulder, stands Metal Sonic.

Silver can't quite suppress a shiver, nor does he manage to stop his smile from slipping.

It's always odd, seeing Metal in this time. Seeing him so subservient, almost to the point of lifelessness—it's enough that Silver would wonder if he's even sentient, if he didn't know better.

He thinks back to mere minutes ago, when he was embroiled in a one-on-one battle with the robot. Metal is plenty ferocious even under Eggman's command, but in the future, when he's free... It's different. Hardly even comparable, really. Silver has fought monsters and even gods, yet Metal is arguably the greatest threat to the world in his time. Certainly, he's one of the most difficult opponents he's ever faced.

Metal looks up unexpectedly. His red eyes meet Silver's. Silver shivers again. His wounds throb. He crosses his arms, surreptitiously fingering the edge of the wounds on his arms to feel the sting.

It's unnerving, the different between the Metal from this time and the Metal Silver knows. It's not like he enjoys fighting Metal—even if it is often a much-needed break to the monotony of an otherwise peaceful existence—but seeing him like this...

It's a little painful. Silver doesn't miss his Metal, but he certainly pities this sad shadow of the powerful robot he knows.

His attention is drawn away when Sonic speaks. Silver turns to face him, digging his fingers harder into the wounds left behind by Metal's claws.

It's fine. Once whatever crisis he's here to help with has passed, he'll go back to his own time—and he'll be able to see Metal again. The real Metal.