Tick, Tick, Tick (a Cybersphere One-Shot)
Author’s Note: Silver is a precious metal and a precious character, and it really did hurt to do this to him. --- In Sonic's defense, it had been the best option at the time. Silver was a dangerous hedgehog, and to be on the business end of his power was not something the blue blur wanted to go through again, even if it was for his own good. So when the time traveler stopped by, he had to think fast. Thankfully, Silver had dropped a plan right into his lap. "Sonic! I'm so glad I caught up with you. We got another future catastrophe to avoid." The hedgehog turned to the voice, dressed in a red and black jumpsuit. "Heya, Silver. Another one? Are you sure it's our fault this time?" Silver smiled slightly. "Most things are," he joked, hovering upside-down briefly before landing on his feet. "In all seriousness. I don't know where it came from, but I wanted to check here first and work my way closer to or father from this point in time depending on how it goes. Do you have time to help me?" Sonic leaned against a tree. "Sure. Just what are we looking for?" "Destruction's Core. A superweapon currently being used by one of Eggman's descendants to terrorize the planet. I don't know anything about how to counter it. Or where it might be." Silver held up a photo. A stormy orb that rather resembled a skull. Sonic cringed. "Okay... this is gonna suck to find, but I can help you, man. Let's start with the basics..." The Green Hill Zone didn't have it. Neither did Aquatic Run or the Marble Zone. Or really, any zone the pair checked. They fought badniks, mercenaries, and even the Deadly Six during their search, which visibly tired Silver out a little, but he wouldn't stop. Not now. The Core was too dangerous. So he carried on, burning himself out as Sonic helped him track down the weapon. Eventually, their search led them to the Mystic Cave Zone. Silver, of course, did a lot of the work moving boulders and gems out of the way, clearing the path for Sonic (who really needed to not run if he wanted to notice anything important, now that he thought about it). The caverns were long and winding, and there were deeper and deeper paths the two could go through. But Sonic was eventually the one to find the right one. "HEY SILVER! C'MERE!" he called, staring at the Core. It practically radiated malice and death; even the eyes in the skull looked sunken in and bore a sickly orange glow. Silver floated in, looking at it and seeming to go pale. "Oh... yep. That's it, alright. It looks so much worse up close..." "I bet," Sonic replied. "It's terrifying. A real game changer. Good thing we found it, huh?" And then he tackled Silver. The gray hedgehog tried to throw Sonic off, but the blue blur held his hands down and cuffed him. Of course, this prompted a shocked, "What the hell are you doing?!" "Listen. Silver. I can't explain everything right now, but big changes are coming soon, and if they happen the way things are now, I'll never see you again. And I don't want that. So I have to do this before I destroy that Core." "Do what?!" Sonic sighed. "I'm going to cut you off from the flow of time. And it's going to hurt. A lot. But I swear, you'll feel and BE better once I'm done. And you'll be immune to timeline changes." "Wh- You're insane! That's not even possible!" Silver protested. To which Sonic replied with a slow change in appearance, starting with an antenna poking out behind his ear. "Maybe for anyone else." One of his gloves turned black and the other disappeared, revealing a robotic hand. "But here's the thing." The sweatsuit twisted and warped into a black cape, revealing a red X on his chest with a silver circle in the center. "I've been running with a new crowd recently." His long, black boots retracted, revealing robotic versions of his lower legs along with black stripes where the white had been. "And they specialize in all the things no one should be able to do." A red visor grew from one side of Sonic's head to the other, and a red halo flared to life behind him, making him look like a dark angel. "So yes, I can do that." The silver circle on his chest opened, revealing a piercing red eye that stared right into Silver's own. Silver, understandably, tried to speak up. "Wait-" But Sonic just sighed, muted his hearing sense, and went to work. Time bent and broke around them. Space writhed and twisted. The universe was dragged into submission as Sonic violently tore Silver away from its laws. Even with the muted hearing, Sonic could hear Silver's ear-splitting cries just from the look on his face and the way his body was flashing and scrambling itself, then unscrambling itself. And it was terrible. But Sonic wouldn't back down. He couldn't. He didn't want to lose a friend. Finally the process ended. Silver lay weakly on the ground, holding his side, and Sonic cradled him, soothing him. "You did good, buddy... I'm so sorry. I wish it didn't have to hurt. It'll make sense soon, I promise. Just... just let me take you home." The blue hedgehog picked Silver up gently and put him to sleep (Sedative power was amazing). Then he looked at the Core. Arms made of shadow swarmed it and covered it. It took five seconds to grind the thing to dust. It had served its purpose, and he couldn't risk anyone else getting a hold of it. Sonic carried Silver into darkness and disappeared. humming a lullaby to the time traveler in his arms. It would be fine. Cybernet would make it fine.
