AUTHOR'S NOTE

This story was inspired by 'Abhorrence Under My Skin' by Zavraan.

The chapters felt a bit blank without an Author's Note, so here I am.

This was my first proper attempt at writing Fanfiction. I tried to plan everything so as to not divert on unnecessary 'sideplots' or get completed distracted by trivial details. Hope it turned out fine!

Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to SEGA.

CHAPTER ONE

"How?! How is this possible?! My robot was designed to be the epitome of evil perfection!"

Sitting in the cockpit of a fuming automaton was none other than the notorious Doctor Eggman, whining after his usual loss to the hedgehogs. He seemed to be madly smashing the buttons on his control panel, trying to move his machine surrounded by a faint, psychokinetic hue.

"There's no way you can win, Egghead! It'll always be the same result whatever you try!" jeered Sonic.

"Let's get this over with; Chaos Blast!" screamed Shadow.

In no time, the metallic behemoth broke into a million jagged pieces of scrap, and a certain rotund scientist hastily scampered away as the general crowd closed in, giving their thanks to Sonic and Shadow.

"Heh, no biggie!" exclaimed Sonic; he turned to Shadow, "Another easy win, 'eh?"

"Humph. It was barely a fight. A worthless victory."

After moments of triumph, the crowd slowly dispersed. The blue and black hedgehogs prepared to head home when they stopped and looked back. Sonic called, "Silver, we're going."

The ivory-coloured hedgehog was standing, motionless, at a distance, one hand softly clutching his chest in pain. Only seconds after the azure hedgehog's call did he suddenly jerk his head up, as if snapped back into reality, and responded, "Coming!"

It sounded half-hearted and unenthusiastic.

Silver jogged a few steps, then deliberately slowed to keep distance between him and his brothers. Troubled thoughts once again flooded his mind as he kept his head low, golden orbs fixated to the pavement.

Why did I never receive the applause, the attention I deserve?

Why is it always them?

It was Silver who tackled Sonic out of the way of Eggman's burning lasers, charring his own fur slightly; it was he who screamed "Over here, Egghead!" and took a few hits to the chest from the robot's swinging arm, to distract the enemy and buy his siblings some time; it was he who knocked Shadow to the side - as much as the ebony hedgehog was always careful and alert - just to be smashed in the chest, again. Most importantly, it was his psychokinesis that halted the robot, allowing the others to deliver the final blow of victory.

And yet, nobody seemed to appreciate his efforts and contribution to not just the battle moments ago, but the long list of missions he avidly participated in.

"Silver, come on!" yelled Sonic, a tinge of impatience in his voice.

"You're so slow!" shouted Shadow, a hint of exasperation in his tone.

"I'm coming!" he cried back. And this time, he broke into a sprint to catch up with the silhouettes of blue and black just as they vanished round the corner.

Meanwhile, the sun was disappearing beneath the horizon, and a beautiful twilight hung delicately on the edge of the darkening sky.

Sonic munched noisily on a microwaved chilli dog, occasionally receiving glares of irritation from Shadow, who merely drank a glass of milk. Silver had just finished his bowl of salad and was gazing dreamily into his own reflection in the concave container.

"I still can't believe -" Sonic gulped the last bits of his dinner down his throat, and burped loudly, "Sorry, heh; I still can't believe how Eggman never learns from his failures and mistakes."

Shadow growled in agreement.

"I mean," Sonic continued, overflowing with confidence, "It's almost as if he's purposely putting us into the spotlight!"

"We're all finished. Let's go," remarked Shadow monotonously, after a brief pause.

"Oh, right. Silver," Sonic interjected, as he cheerfully made his way up the stairs, "You're on kitchen duty tonight!"

The white hedgehog heaved a sigh.

"Don't forget to clean the table!"

"I know, I know…" he muttered dully; he stood up and began his duty.

The spotlight.

Silver frowned as he dusted the crumbs off the plates into the rubbish bin.

The next day, the three hedgehog brothers were lazily bathing under the sunlight in Central Park of Central City. Suddenly, tranquility was smashed into shards when an orange fox-boy came running in panic.

"Sonic, Shadow, you've got to help!"

"Tails?! What's the matter?"

"Eggman…he's back, again -"

"Already? Can't believe we're having some fun again so soon! We're on the case!" The Blue Blur zoomed into the distance, closely followed by his black counterpart; the two disappeared round the corner no sooner than when they started running.

The white hedgehog cleared his throat in dissatisfaction.

"Oh, hi, Silver," Tails said, in casual breathlessness, acknowledging his presence.

He grunted, and propelled himself through the air, glowing a hue of aquamarine. He zipped through the narrow streets until he saw a mechanical terror towering over blue and black. Inside its stomach - a cockpit - as expected, was the mastermind Eggman.

"Didn't expect me to be back so quickly, did you, Sonic and Shadow!"

"Are you back for another well-deserved beating?!" seethed Shadow.

"Yeah! You came back so quickly because you couldn't stand not being defeated by us for such a long period of time, right, Egghead?" joined Sonic.

"Grrr…I'll show you -"

And a comet of aqua rammed into the ferrous body of the machine, its sheer speed causing it to almost topple over, if only the scientist hadn't been grabbing tightly on the lever that controlled the movement of his robot, pulling it as he jerked to the side. When he recovered consciousness, he looked up.

"Oh, Silver the Hedgehog! Didn't expect to see you here!"

"Ha! Neither did I, Eggman! Prepare to be defeated again!" Silver declared resolutely. For a brief moment, he felt like a hero. "Guys! Let's do this -" and he looked back down to where Sonic and Shadow initially stood.

They weren't there anymore.

Exacerbating this awkwardness, Eggman sneered, "Oh, it appears that your brothers have abandoned you! I wonder where they went -"

And the machine trembled again. This time, the scientist lost his grip on the lever, and the automaton toppled over to Silver's side. He darted to the side and watched as it crashed onto the road - where he was hovering seconds ago - with a deafening boom.

"Easy enough!" Sonic called, standing atop of the fallen machine, drawing a few gasps of admiration from the congregating crowd of citizens. Shadow emerged alongside his brother.

"You can't get to me this time!" Eggman shouted hysterically, "My armour is unbreakable, impregnable, invincible! I can still attack, even on my side…!" The robotic arms began to gyrate wildly - with significant difficulty - in the air, its range not even close to its targets.

"No, you can't," stated Shadow, matter-of-factly, as he launched a barrage of Chaos Lance attacks at the rotating limb. It snapped off with unexpected ease, smashing into the machine itself, creating a visible dent. Then, it dropped to the floor, almost landing on top of several innocent observers. They cried frantically.

"Silver!" shouted Sonic, "You go protect the citizens!"

"Got it!"

"Shadow, let's do this."

"Anytime."

Balls of blue and black repeatedly launched themselves at the helpless mass of metal, with the sideways-scientist jabbing at his controls with a growing madness. No more than a few simple homing attacks did the job to the 'unbreakable, impregnable, invincible' armour as it gradually broke into pieces. Again, Eggman escaped into the distance. The crowd erupted with cheering and clapping, exalting the hedgehog heroes who saved the day as if it were part of their daily routine.

Silver stood fairly away from the crowd. The very few citizens he 'escorted to safety' (in the form of yelling a command, "Stand behind me!",) ran past him and filtered into the large group of the uninvolved. The exhilaration of the fight was long over, and cold, melancholic water washed over his heart.

Tails had called, "Sonic, Shadow, you've got to help!"

But not Silver. He didn't need to help.

Even Eggman had remarked, "Oh, Silver the Hedgehog! Didn't expect to see you here!" Even Eggman, his archenemy.

And on top of that, Sonic and Shadow seemed to have ignored him ramming into the machine; they then sent the robot toppling over to his side. His brothers were closer to crushing him than Eggman himself.

Not to mention that he barely made a contribution to saving the innocent citizens, let alone the battle.

Silver squeezed his eyes shut, calling for calm and darkness.

That evening, Silver sat alone at the dinner table, staring blankly at his sandwich and wondering where Sonic and Shadow went…

The door flew open, and his two brothers barged in, their faces sweaty with perspiration, but with a smug grin of victory.

"Where were you guys?" asked Silver.

"Silver - you wouldn't believe it - Eggman came again! In the same day, twice!" replied Sonic, unable to contain his triumphant enthusiasm.

"And, as per usual, we sent him crawling home," added Shadow.

"Oh. How great…" faltered the hoary hedgehog. Now he completely lost all his appetite, as much as the sandwich looked delicious. "How great…" he kept muttering.

"I know right!" Sonic seemed to not have noticed his apparent lack of excitement. "Anyways, I'm absolutely starving. Silver, can you microwave a chilli dog from the cupboard for me? Set the timer to thirty seconds, please! I'll be right down." And he rushed up the stairs.

"Sure, no problem…" sighed Silver. Shadow still stood in front of the doorway, arms cross in a proud and aloof manner. He finally stepped in and closed the door.

"Shadow, what are you having for dinner?" the white hedgehog asked absentmindedly.

But he received no reply as the ebony hedgehog wordlessly strode past him and disappeared up the stairs.

The park was mostly shrouded in the darkness of the nightlight. Only a few scarce road lights illuminated discrete patches of road and grass alike. Under one of the especially dimmer lights was a wooden bench. Silver walked towards the bench and sat down. He took deep breaths, sucking in the cool night air, hoping to control the hot sensations of indignity stirring to life inside him.

It just wasn't right.

It just wasn't fair.

Okay, he said to himself, Calm down, Silver; whatever they do, they're still your brothers. Don't take it so seriously. They're just like that - they're made for the spotlight. Be compassionate. Be forgiving. Be appreciative of yourself. Be -

And a figure appeared next to where he was sitting. A squeal of terror escaped his throat as he jerked up, but upon recognising who she was, Silver slouched back down again, mostly relieved.

"Hi, Blaze," he said.

"Hey, Silver. What are you doing here?" replied the feline.

"I…don't know," he stated blankly.

"You seem troubled. Again."

"No, I'm fine," the ivory hedgehog dismissed her remark hurriedly, "What are you doing here?"

"Never mind me; you are troubled. What is it this time?"

Silver knew there was no changing topic; Blaze had effectively backed him into a corner - as always, when she interrogated him of his worries. He made one last effort to evade her suspicions, "Blaze, I really am fine." He even tried flashing a childish smile at his best friend, though half of it turned out to be a twisted frown.

Blaze chuckled softly; in return, she gave Silver a proper smile, saying gently, "Silver, you're a terrible liar."

"Yeah, I really am…fine…" He sighed audibly, looking to the ground where the patch of light met its end at the point of darkness.

"No, Silver, don't sigh," Blaze put her hand on the shoulder of the depressed hedgehog, "Talk to me; it'll make you feel better - what's wrong?"

Silver swallowed; "It's…Sonic and Shadow. Again."

"I thought so. What were they up to this time?"

"The usual things, you know…"

"Do tell a story, Silver."

Silver grunted. He didn't feel like talking anymore. But Blaze's golden irises shone with encouragement under the nightlight, beaming into his own. He moved a tiny inch closer to her.

"Um…Eggman came three times between the now and yesterday afternoon."

"Three?! That's quite astonishing."

"Yeah, but it only gave them more opportunities to snatch away the spotlight from me." Already, Silver was growing mad with anger.

"Tell me more."

"Well, yesterday, I sacrificed myself multiple times as their shield and a distraction to Eggman, and they make no mention of it at all afterwards. Not a single remark of appreciation!" The white hedgehog was unconsciously raising his voice, and he spoke faster and faster. "And people don't seem to notice me - I literally don't exist! This morning, Tails came over to call Sonic and Shadow to defend the city against Eggman's attack, but not me, even though I was standing right next to them. Later, even Eggman didn't notice my presence; only after having rammed into his machine did he see me! But the worst thing was - Sonic and Shadow almost killed me -"

"Silver, stop," The purple cat gave her unstable friend a warm squeeze on the arm. "Don't keep talking until you're relaxed and feel calm enough to continue." Silver paused, almost out of breath, panting frantically in fury. His eyes felt warm.

"I-I'm sorry, Blaze," he whispered shamefully.

"Don't be sorry," she said supportively, "Take your time."

After a while, the hedgehog's breathing become more even and inaudible, and he continued his story.

"So, my brothers almost crushed me to death, and all they said to me was to go protect the citizens while they dealt the final blows…" He paused with uncertainty, and decided to finish his narrative here.

But Blaze did not overlook the small details; "What about the third fight?"

The ivory hedgehog looked into his lap and closed his eyes.

"I-I…I wasn't even involved," he spat venomously, "I wasn't involved. I was simply excluded. They ran off to save the city once again, this time without even telling me! This is too much! This is absolute betrayal! It's unfair, unjust, uncouth! It's selfishness! It's theft of my personal glory and pride!" He was yelling, wailing, resentment resonating into the unilluminated landscape around.

"Silver! That's enough." Blaze had to deliberately project her voice to stop the ranting hedgehog. He looked at her with remorse, and she recoiled slightly.

"Silver, you're crying."

"Oh…am I?" he croaked, realising how dry and tired his voice was.

"Yes, you are," she delicately wiped the narrow stream of tears from his cheeks. Silver flushed.

She's just like a sister to me. At least, a proper sibling…

"What should I do?" he asked naïvely; his golden orbs, gleaming with wetness, looked into hers.

"I think you should take things less seriously, as per usual," she said, smiling, "After all, nothing can change the fact that they're your brothers, am I right?"

"Yeah…"

"And don't ever forget," added Blaze with confident words, "The spotlight may be theirs, but the nightlight is yours and yours forever."

"The nightlight…" He paused for a moment, and smiled childishly. "Thank you, Blaze. You always make me happy."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Poor Silver. At least there's Blaze...(Silvaze, anyone? Wait, no. It's not meant to be like that. No. Not at all, no.) I hope everything turns out alright for him.

(Spoiler: It doesn't. *insert evil laugh*)

Hope you enjoyed Chapter 1. Do read on if you please. :D