Review Replies:

Mitha Sentro - Thank you! I had fun coming up with a way to describe Silver using his powers; there wasn't really boundaries put in place by the canon, so I got to have a little creative freedom. Also, as a triple s fan myself, I get where you're coming from, but don't worry, Sonic is sure to show up in some form or another. :)

Itsmepeme - Thanks so much! I'm looking forward to continuing writing this story too!

Note: Sorry if this chapter's a little short / boring, I had really bad writer's block for a couple of days. Next one's sure to be more exciting!

Unanswered Questions

The room seemed to darken as ringing in my ears became louder, and my heart pounded in my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut, fists clenching the empty air. Through the anguish, it struck me once again just how lonely I truly was. Alone and desperate for an explanation.

Slumping against the cold metal, I stared into the darkness, letting the thoughts I had held back break free. There was only one way to look at this, that being from an analytical standpoint (that's what Blaze would've done). Here's what made sense: The Solaris Project couldn't have happened. That whole timeline had been erased. Mephiles and Iblis were wiped out of existence, so there would have been no reason for the experiment to happen in the first place. It never happened.

And yet, the evidence was right in front of me, throwing any logic out the window. This was Kingdom Valley; I was sure of it. And that was the room where Solaris had been split. And then there was the flashback, the room was obviously a trigger, leaving no doubt that the project had, in fact, still happened.

It didn't make sense. And for someone that had lived a life of unanswered questions, to be stuck back at square one...It broke me a little.

I ran a hand through my quills and tried in vain to dout my panic. This incessant rambling that echoed in my mind continued, leaving me devoid of any sense of reasoning. There has to be a reason, an explanation or something. I couldn't have just...failed-

No. There was no way after quite literally destroying a timeline that Solaris could still be here. Yet, something in the back of my mind kept nagging at me, taunting that maybe Mephiles was still out there, waiting to strike again. Biding his time before he was strong enough to destroy the world. Again.

I groaned in fearful exasperation, breaking the tense silence of the hall. Ignorance is bliss, is it not?

Well, I sure as heck didn't think so.

I didn't know how long it was that I sat there, my knees tucked to my chest and blank stare burning into the darkness. Minutes, an hour, two hours? The same, endless cycle of thoughts invaded my mind. Why did the experiment happen? Was Solaris still alive? How was I even alive? It didn't matter; no matter how many times I thought about it, the questions pertaining to just how any of this existed led me back to the same, infuriating conclusion; I had no idea.

Letting out a rattled sigh, I blinked a couple of times, finally able to break free from the storm raging in my mind; it was chaotic, so contrasting to the hollow, silent steel that encaged me. I couldn't just stay here. I had to try something, anything at all to quench the confusion. A plan. I bit my lip. For a brief moment, a horrible feeling came over me. I envied my past self, so sure of what I wanted, confident that my destiny was to defeat Iblis. To erase Solaris. I scolded myself for even just thinking it. This was a blessing, being able to live free of the fiery hatred of my doomed world. Because this is my absolution...

Right?

Pushing against the rusting wall, I turned back, leaving behind the wreckage of the experiment and hopefully, my worry. I needed to get away, the smoke must've been playing with my head. Yeah, that was it. Definitely not having a mental breakdown. Nope.

I watched my cyan aura light the cracks in the flaking metal, continuing my trek through the dark labyrinth. The corridors looked more foreboding this time around, now that I knew what their significance was. Now that I knew why they were so empty. My pulse quickened as footfalls pounded on the grates below, accentuating the hallways speeding past. I hadn't realized I was running, and an invisible blush formed, warming my cheeks. I just felt...almost jumpy, the urge to escape from the claustrophobic underground taking hold. Reluctantly, I slowed to a more manageable pace while a plan started forming in my mind.

I have to find civilization. Like somewhere populated, somewhere I can get clues as to where or, maybe more importantly, when, I am.

Considering that in Sonic's world, Kingdom Valley was fairly close to Soleanna, I could try to search from the air to look for it. Of course, that also came with its fair share of difficulties. Like whether there was anyone left in the city (or the planet), or whether the city even existed to begin with, but it was a start. Focusing back on my surroundings, I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. The walls became a mix of monotonous gray as I sped past, running this time not out of fear, but instead, determination.

xxx

Meanwhile...

The closer he got to Soleanna, the stronger the pull of pure, Chaotic energy became. It hadn't taken nearly as long as he'd expected to get the two Emeralds that G.U.N. had allowed him from the vault in Central City, and the higher-ups there had seemed a little on-edge, despite their futile attempts to hide their fear from him. Shadow understood why, of course. Although he would never admit it out loud, the agent was more than a bit nervous himself. Maybe that was why he had decided to take his motorcycle instead of using the pair of Chaos Emeralds to teleport there. He wasn't sure, nor willing to dwell on the possibility.

Speeding down the empty back-roads that served as a shortcut to the city, the question of just what could have caused this massive of a disturbance plagued him, hovering above like a storm cloud. As much as he had tried to push the thought back, it seemed to be something his mind wouldn't let go of. Knowing the area's history, he doubted it was a fluke; Soleanna was, at least to him, notorious for being the epicenter of supernatural happenings, especially those involving Chaos energy. He frowned slightly, remembering the worst of them all that, at the same time, never even happened to begin with.

It was a conundrum, the Solaris event. Never again spoken of, hell, he wasn't even sure if anyone but him knew of it; all those even close to being involved were...well...gone. Lost to time, or, in the case of a few, the timeline. However, the hedgehog remembered those times as clear as if they had happened yesterday. He often wondered why he and Faker had remembered when everyone else was oblivious. Ignorance is bliss, is it not?

Chaos, what he would have given to forget...

It had all started decades ago, when a king hoped to use the power of the sun god, Solaris, in vain, dividing the creature into two. The power, Iblis, and the mind, Mephiles. Thankfully, they were contained with little effort. Ten years passed, and they weren't so easy to bring down.

A jumbled mess of time-travel, deception, fighting, and all-out destruction of the timeline later and Solaris was gone, but the universe rewrote itself, removing the entire event from history. He shouldn't remember it, there was just no reason for him to. Yet, the memories were still engraved in his history, constant and unchanging.

Expressionless, he flipped a switch on the bike to turn some music on on; a hard rock song by Crush 40 blared from the speakers. He turned it up, letting the bass drown out the noise in his head. He welcomed the distraction and kept driving, watching as paved road turned to dirt. It winded across the side of a cliff, the steep drop-off below filled with crashing ocean waves. Shadow absentmindedly wondered why there wasn't a guard rail on the left side, being that one could easily drive off it.

"Someone needs to fix that."

Shrugging, he looked down at the GPS. Soleanna wasn't too far now. Just a couple of miles and-

"ARGHHHH!"

A wave of energy pulsed through the air, and Shadow nearly yelped in pain, his bike swerving to the right as he clutched the sides of his head, skull splitting in two. His vision swam, a greenish tint veiling his eyes while his pulse jumped. It felt like the very fibers of his being were being ripped apart by an invisible force, strong and unforgiving. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the feeling vanished. He slammed on the brakes, and chunks of gravel were flung away from the tires as the bike skidded to a stop, leaving him face to face with the side of the mountain, gasping for breath.

As the seconds ticked by, Shadow started to regain control, the initial shock of burst subsiding. The sensation left him with a searing ache, every muscle tensed and quills risen in defense. Except there was nothing there. At least, not anymore.

Chaos energy...

I've never felt it so intense, so strong.

For the first time in a long time, raw, untamed fear shuddered through his spine. He had always been able to sense the presence of Chaos energy, but it never caused him actual, physical pain. It never made him cower before its might. Yet here he kneeled, succumbing to the wrath of Chaos. It wasn't natural, and it was almost certainly a threat. He was afraid of what that could mean. Was it a warning? A message of some kind?

The Emeralds...

In an instant, he grabbed the two Chaos Emeralds from behind him, one green and one scarlet. Holding them out, he could see that the gems were unscathed, though they glowed with an otherworldly light, dim, yet nonetheless there. Shadow could feel their steady pulse of energy; it flickered across their surfaces like lightning, the sparking power crackling on his fingertips. He felt a sense of unease as he stared into their depths. Another source was nearby. Something that could possibly be more powerful than the Master Emerald itself.

His stomach twisted itself up in knots. All he had were questions. And all he felt was ice-cold dread, panic and fear stirring inside him.

What did Soleanna and the 'meteor' have to do with this?

A single, awful name slipped into his mind.

Solaris.