~*Reality Check*~

Sometimes the future's many pathways blend and she clings to him so she won't become lost.

It was a quiet place, removed from much of the world by high, grassy walls and imposing, steep sides that even some of the feral animals couldn't find pawholds on.

Tranquility was a must in Blaze's life. She favored peace and loud silence that swallowed the world and made the stars shine that much brighter, made the moon's light seem warm instead of distant and cold. Oh yes, she was an avid fan of such things.

Regardless, she put up with some sounds because some were better than others.

They were in a crater, to put it bluntly. Something—perhaps a meteor, falling to earth in an explosion of rocky tears—had created a great dent in the ground. The rim rose around them, blocking out the view from anywhere besides up. It was full of vibrant life though, clustered with fragrant ferns with reaching tendrils, climbing emerald vines and mighty trees, complete with a small lake that seemed to catch any stray water.

Blaze was surprised. She picked a strand of grass near the shore and twirled the blade between her gloved fingers as if she could espy a secret within its interior. She had thought that such an indentation would overflow with water and become some massively deep pool. Perhaps there was a reason for that, but she was no scientist, merely inquisitive.

Her ear flapped once on her head, the only indication that she had heard Silver approach through the foliage. Pointedly ignoring him as she often did, the cat stared instead into the depths of the lake and didn't speak until she saw his reflection on its slowly rippling surface.

"I wonder sometimes how this is even possible."

She watched his brows rise over golden eyes, and he's curious, and of course she already knew he would be. Regardless, she waited for a response.

"What's possible?"

"The future with Iblis. How could we time travel backwards to fix the future? Shouldn't the future have been fixed, if we had succeeded? But of course, it couldn't have been 'fixed' if we hadn't gone back at all…" Blaze tossed the grass strip into the choppy waves, rumpled by the wind, and observed its motions as it bobbed.

Silver said nothing, and she knows he's worried, but she continues anyway.

"I think occasionally that I'm making myself see the world this way, and that I've gone insane somewhere in the dimension with Iblis, and you're still all alone back in the ruins of a city whose name most people have forgotten." This was stated in that matter of fact way that only the lilac cat was capable of doing properly. Her gaze is drawn to his reflection again as Silver's hands clench at his side, and again, she knows he's anxious and angry all at once.

"Don't think like that," he declared, stepping forward and reaching out as if to touch her shoulder. Blaze was very picky when it came to anyone having physical contact with her, even if it was meant to comfort, and she let the fur on the back of her neck bristle in warning.

He froze, and his gaze became unreadable briefly.

This, more than anything, frightened her. She had ever been able to read Silver's expressions as easily as if she was the one with psychic abilities and not him. It appeared that this wasn't the case all the time.

"I'm not going to go crazy. I'm sane, I assure you."

"Then why are you thinking like that?" He asked at last after a pause had stretched to breaking point. His arms fell to his sides but his eyes were still fixed on her.

"It's nothing." Blaze turned around and tried to give him a smile, since he looked so worried that she had been musing about something as melancholic as possible insanity.

Silver nodded at her, a grin of his own flashing to his face following a moment devoid of words. "So…obvious subject change here," he joked with a shrug. "But do you know where we are?"

"Verdant Crater. It's part of the Green Hill Zone, isn't it?" She didn't wait for a reply; instead, she sprang up to the branches of a tree in one swift, vertigo inducing jump. Even in high heels, her balance was impeccable, and as the limb wobbled dangerously she moved to another before it became a threat. In this way, the ground falling away from her, the cat arrived on the reasonably wide lip of the bowl. She stood that way, poised, as she waited for her comrade to catch up.

All around them was sheer beauty, and Blaze had the right kind of heart, eyes, and mind to appreciate it. The Green Hill Zone was famous for its scenic quality, the rolling shapes of the slopes that had given it its name going on in all direction. Here and there a palm tree or three broke into the landscape, and the sea crashed nearby, glowing like burning snow in the moon's light.

The more Blaze focused on the ocean, the more she got a distant, nagging sensation. Like something was itching in her purple pelt and she was unable to locate it.

I'm forgetting something, she thought with a blank expression quite unlike her. Something important. But what could it be? Hasn't it always been Silver and I?

Flames wreathed around her hands and she stared down at the crackling red and orange bands of fire that obeyed her every command. It was as if they were merely an extension of her consciousness, and she was moving another muscle in her body.

She had called the element into roaring life just so she could find comfort in their familiar touch. After all, how many times had fire saved her life?

Though it did destroy the future.

There was an undignified rustling as Silver arrived in a spray of falling leaves and shimmering teal energy. The telekinetic hedgehog landed unsteadily, arms flailing, and she swiftly pulled him to safety. "What was that about?" She inquired, only mildly surprised. She was more grateful for the welcome distraction than anything.

The ghosts of the past are after me tonight, she thought darkly. Or are they of the future? The present?

"Heh, well…" Silver scratched the back of his head, nervously averting his gaze. "I was trying to mimic you, and I almost fell, so I shot myself back up—"

"And almost over the crater ledge," Blaze finished. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. "You're going to get yourself killed one day."

"Everyone dies sometime."

Her ears, tail, fur, and eyebrows all shot up in shock. The response was so unlike Silver that again she was a bit scared. He was a never say die kind of person. "Is something the matter, Silver?"

He sat down, legs swinging over empty air, and she sat close beside him. His fingers were gripping his knees firmly, and she took that as a bad sign.

"I was thinking about what you said," he began, but she raised a hand.

"Stop. Don't. I was just being—"

"No, I mean it!" Silver insisted, biting his lip before continuing. "I wonder if Sonic is okay, and Shadow, or if they've had their past ruined. Or their present. Point being, I mean, what if we're just some alternate future and there's a Blaze and Silver fighting Iblis in another dimension, and we're—"

She didn't speak, just gave him a trademark skeptical look.

"Really! All of this is could be an alternate future. Do you ever think…all of this could just be an illusion?"

"Okay," Blaze interrupted, tail lashing in agitation behind her. "I'm genuinely concerned for you now. At this rate you'll end up as a theorist in an asylum whose mind has long been gone."

Silver opened his mouth, closed it, and then furrowed his brows and leaned back on his hands, thoughtful.

Blaze focused on the stars and moon against the black velvet background of the summer sky, tracing familiar constellations with her eyes. Leo, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Gemini, Libra…She didn't believe in the Zodiac, didn't believe that planets ruled over their lives, but at the same time she did believe in things like destiny.

She glanced at her friend, his posture slumped more than it usually was, shoulders sagging as he probably tormented himself with things that would never be.

Like I had. Nice one, Blaze.

Sighing, she twitched a whisker as an idea formed in her head. "Silver."

"Huh?" The reply was distracted, and he didn't even dignify her by facing her.

"You think this dimension could be an illusion?"

"Maybe, I—"

"I asked one question," she remarked coolly, but in a severe tone that meant don't argue with me.

"Yeah. Crazy, right?"

"What do I have to do to convince you otherwise?"

"I don't know." Silver's sunray eyes were dull with the weight of morbid musings.

I wonder why my words in particular affected him so badly. He's acting so strange. Must have something to do with me…maybe he thinks I'm the strong one, and if I start questioning things, he should too?

Sudden affection made her heart as warm as the fire burning within her.

He's so naïve.

Leaning over, she kissed him full on the lips. She was more nervous about it than he was surprised, so she pulled away after two heartbeats had passed. She was certain that the heat on her cheeks had nothing to do with her internal flames.

Silver stared. Then he stared some more. Then with a delighted grin he announced, "I don't think even crazy me would imagine you doing something like that."

She smiled a little. "Really?" Amusement laced her voice.

"Hmm, so it must be real." His gaze landed on hers with a glint she was unfamiliar with.

"I must be pretty boring in your mental world."

"No, but you're reserved, you know."

"I'm reserved so I can pull stunts like that and get reactions like yours."

"I'd probably get a similar reaction if you tried that again."

His tone was so hopeful that it made her giggle like she hadn't in ages. She was mortified a moment later but she decided it was okay, it was all right, because she was alone in the world with Silver and no one else could see or hear.

"Maybe, Silver." Blaze leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes halfway so she could still see the sea with its forgotten memories and the hills she imagined was still being run on by the specter of a hedgehog that would forever be the fastest thing the world had ever known.

He was blushing, and she knew this because she knows him so well, but he was probably grinning, too. "Er—okay. We should leave Verdant Crater soon; it makes us act so weird."

"I actually want to stay a bit longer," she murmured, her tail landing on his without her realizing it. (It just showed her tired she was, since she was usually always aware of her actions.)

"Sure. Anything you want."

He sounded content.

Then so was she.

Blaze let her lids completely fall, blocking out remnants of a past she couldn't fully recall, and reminded herself that nothing else mattered as much as the naïve hedgehog that was her one stable point in a hectic universe.

Written at three AM due to writer's block on something else. Random Silvaze for you all!

Reviews are appreciated, sorry if this sucked. XD