#Shadow: ''Uh...Blaze? You ever wonder who Silver's descended from?''

[shadamyheadcanons]

Headcanon #272: Shellshock

This is the sequel to that headcanon with Blaze, Silver, Shadow, and Amy at the pizza place. They’re cross-posted as a set on AO3.

It’s such a shame that so many people only know Silver from Sonic ‘06 when he’s usually such a cute, lovable dork:

Shadow teleported to Seaside Hill, bringing Amy along with him. He held onto her hand as long as he felt he could without being too obvious about it, then let go and took a look around the empty beach. “How long do you think it’ll take Silver to get here?”

Amy checked the time on her phone. “Not too long. He’s punctual like we are. It’d be pretty ironic if the chronic time traveler always showed up late, right?”

Shadow’s heart fluttered at her charming smile. Secretly, he didn’t mind if Silver took his time, as he cherished every moment he got to spend one-on-one with Amy; he’d even shown up at her house a little early that morning just so he could spend a few extra minutes with her.

Oblivious to Shadow’s thoughts, Amy wandered off to take a look around, then made a small sound of excitement when she spotted something at the base of a cliff. Shadow followed her over and examined the plants she was admiring.

“These flowers are so pretty! I was in such a rush last time I was here that I never noticed them.” Amy grinned brightly, stooping down to inspect the plants more closely. “What do you think they are?”

“Rosemary,” Shadow replied easily. “It’s lucky that we’re here now. They only bloom for a couple months in the summertime.”

Amy turned her brilliant smile Shadow’s way. “You sure know a lot about plants!” She hopped back up and dug her toes into the sand, almost looking shy. “I’d love to stop by and see your garden again, if that’s alright. You take such good care of it!”

“I’d be honored,” Shadow answered immediately. He cleared his throat and tried to rein in his excitement. “I’m free this Sunday. If you want to, that is.”

She nodded. “I’d love to!”

Shadow considered leaving it there at the small victory, but he packed up his courage to add, “I’ve been growing some red roses lately. They made me think of you.” Suddenly afraid he’d spook her, he hurriedly added, “You know. Because of your last name.”

Any fear that he’d gone too far vanished when Amy beamed and playfully shoved him. “You’re too sweet!” He couldn’t hide his own smile.

After that, though, her expression turned distant. “You know, that actually would’ve fit my dad’s name better.”

Shadow’s ears perked up. Amy rarely spoke of her late parents. “So...your dad’s name was Red Rose?” Unexpectedly feminine, but I guess I don’t have much room to talk when it comes to unusual names.

“Mm...kind of. His first name was actually ‘Swift.’”

Shadow frowned in confusion. “’Swift’ is a fine name for a hedgehog. Why did he go by ‘Red?’”

“Because ‘Swift’ was also his dad’s name, and his grandfather’s, and his great-grandfather’s,” she explained. “It’s kind of a tradition at this point. They go...went...by their fur colors to clear things up: Red, cousin Crimson, Grandpa Vermilion, uncle Copper...heh. I even had an uncle Blaze. Threw me off when our Blaze turned out purple.” Amy’s smile turned sheepish. “It’s a little silly, isn’t it? You’d think they’d just pick something else! It’s a weird tradition, but...” She fiddled with her fingers. “If I ever have a son, I...kind of feel like I might do that, too. Just...to feel a little closer to them. Is that weird?”

“Not at all. I think it’s very meaningful that you have a way of connecting with your family.” He averted his gaze. “I wish I could have something like that. It sounds nice.”

Amy gazed at him for a moment, but then her sympathy made way for a grin. “So make one!”

“Huh?”

“When you start your own family someday! You’ve said you want kids, right?” He nodded slowly. “Then you’ll be able to start your own traditions. I’m sure you’ll do great!”

Shadow’s heart pounded. “...Thank you!” She nodded. He bit his lip. “That means a lot coming from you, because I’ve always thought...that you’d be...”

Silver appeared in a bright green flash, temporarily blinding Shadow. “Hi, guys!”

Damn it.

“Morning, Silver! You--” Amy gasped. “Oh, no!” She stepped forward and took his face in her hands. Shadow’s eye twitched. “Silver, you look exhausted! What happened?”

“Oh, I’m fine!” Silver brushed aside her concern. He grinned despite the bags under his eyes. “Tails showed me this game called Creature Crossing, and I’ve been playing it nonstop! You can grow plants, go fishing, dig for things, talk to these cute animal characters...”

You mean like in real life? Shadow thought, unimpressed.

Amy put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot rapidly. “I’m glad you’re having fun, but you need your sleep, Silver!” she scolded. “I know you get headaches when you’re tired. It could affect your powers. I don’t want you getting hurt!”

“Pfft, I can handle it. Today won’t be too tough!” She didn’t look convinced. He changed the subject. “I’ve been trying out those new quillstyles you showed me last weekend. Did I get it right?”

He gestured to his quills. The ones in the back looked the same as always, but he’d side-parted the ones in the front to frame his face.

I have to admit he does look better, Shadow thought. At least they’re actually doing something instead of just sticking up like usual.

“Hmm...” Amy scratched her chin. “Almost. Let me see...” Just as she had a few days ago, Amy ran her fingers through Silver’s quills to tweak them a bit.

“Amy, you don’t have to! I can do it!” Despite his words, Silver didn’t sound particularly upset and even leaned his head forward to give her more access. He was grinning fondly down at her.

“I won’t hear it! I know what this is like,” Amy reminded him, standing on her tiptoes as she worked. “I want to help you look your best!”

Shadow looked away pointedly. He scratched his chin, silently contemplating the possibility of purposely leaving his quills messy when Amy stopped by on Sunday in the hopes that he could enjoy her attentions, too. The concept warred fiercely with his compulsive need to keep his quills pristine at all times, and it worried him that the dumb idea held so much sway over him.

“Okay!” Amy’s peppy declaration snapped Shadow out of his silly thoughts. “Does everyone remember the mission?”

Shadow stayed quiet, secretly admiring Amy’s cute energy and trying not to look as smitten as he was. Silver raised his hand and stood on his tiptoes excitedly, looking just as excited as Amy. “I do!”

Amy giggled into her hand. Shadow tried to ignore how charmed she was by Silver’s antics. “You don’t have to raise your hand, Silver.”

Silver dropped his hand and rubbed his upper arm, but he didn’t stop smiling. “Sorry, I’m just excited. I’ve never seen a Seaside Sunshell turtle before, let alone a whole bunch of hatchlings.”

A hint of sadness crossed Amy’s face. “Not many people have. They’re critically endangered, after all.” She shook it off and brightened up. “But that’s why we’re here!”

Shadow nodded, and Silver pumped his fist in the air. “Yeah!”

“So what’s the plan, Amy?”

Her face turned serious. “We need to make sure as many of those hatchlings get to the water as possible. The conservationist I’ve been in contact with said the turtle nests are over there at the base of those cliffs,” she explained, pointing to a spot halfway down the beach. She pressed her fingers together. “Now...Sunshells are fragile and need to imprint on this sand specifically, so they have to make it to the ocean on their own. We can’t just pick them up and bring them to the water. And that is where you come in, Silver!” she said, turning to him. “You can use your psychokinesis to clear obstacles and help protect them on their way to the ocean!”

“Hmm.” Shadow glanced in the direction of the nests and eyed the soaring seagulls warily. “That’s a good idea. Baby turtles are prey for just about everything.” He turned back to Amy. “So what about the two of us?”

“You see the cracks on those cliffs?”

Shadow narrowed his eyes and spotted the crevices she was pointing to near the top. He nodded.

“For some reason, these cliffs have been weakening and crumbling in recent years, and no one’s sure why. It’s degrading the turtles’ habitats, and the rocks fall and crush them sometimes, too. It’s one of the biggest threats to their survival.” She clasped her hands in front of her sadly.

“What can I do to help?”

Shadow’s bluntness set her back on track. “There’s not much we can do about the crumbling, but I figure you can use your Chaos Spears to break up and deflect any falling rocks. You can also help scare off any predators. Just aim carefully, okay?”

“Hmph.” He waved off her concerns. “That won’t be an issue. I was built for precision.”

Amy giggled. “’Built for precision?’ You’re spending too much time with Omega!” Silver’s laughter joined hers. Shadow just shrugged, seeing no reason to feel insulted.

“So what’ll you be doing, Amy?” Silver asked after a moment.

“I’ll be keeping a lookout from the peak. Someone needs to redirect people away from the site.” She narrowed her eyes and scratched her chin. “And I’m hoping I can figure out what’s going on with the cliffs, too.”

Shadow’s heart sank as he examined the height of the cliffs and realized he wouldn’t be able to talk to her. She caught his look and pouted. “Is that alright?”

“Of course it is!” Silver answered for him. He threw an arm around Shadow’s shoulders. “Shadow and I can handle this!”

Shadow looked down at the arm around his shoulders and fixed Silver with an unimpressed look, the kind of blunt stare that would scare off most people. Silver kept beaming brightly at him, seemingly oblivious to his disapproval. Shadow sighed. “We’ll be fine.”

Amy’s bright smile tempered his disappointment. “That’s the spirit! We can do this!” She marched down the beach, and the other two followed her.

She scanned the ground as she went, clearly looking for something. “My contact couldn’t be here this morning, but she said she marked the locations of the nests so we could...aha!” She jogged over to a small shrub with a length of blue twine tied around its base. She knelt down beside it, holding up her arm in warning. “She said you can tell the hatching’s about to start when the sand collapses down like this,” she explained, gesturing to a sunken patch of sand about two feet in diameter. “And the other nest should be riiiight...there!” she added, pointing to another shrub a little ways down. She wrinkled her nose sadly. “I wish we could’ve found that last one...the conservationist said there were supposed to be three nests, but she could only find two.”

“What happened to the last one?” Silver asked, drooping noticeably in disappointment.

Amy crossed her arms. “I don’t know, but I’m not going to stop looking. And in the meantime, we can still help out the rest of them!” Silver perked up and nodded along.

Past them, Shadow heard a soft noise. He angled his ear toward the nest to listen more carefully. It was low and muffled by the sand, but he could hear it. His eyes widened. “Huh. So it is true.”

“What is?”

“Turtles vocalize to communicate with each other even when they’re still in their eggs,” Shadow explained. “They coordinate their hatching times so they can all come out at the same time. There’s safety in numbers.”

Amy and Silver both made intrigued noises. They bent down low to the ground to try and listen as well. Shadow shook his head. “You won’t be able to--”

“I can hear it!” Silver chimed in immediately, sounding excited.

Shadow remained skeptical. “You must be hearing something else. It’s way too quiet for normal Mobians to pick up on it.”

“What does it sound like?” Amy asked.

“It’s like a low chirping sound. It’s kind of cool!”

Shadow stopped and uncrossed his arms, baffled. “I have enhanced hearing. How can you hear it?”

Silver stood back up. “Just runs in my family. All our senses are off-the-charts for some reason.” Upon seeing Shadow was still staring at him in surprise, he shrugged and half-smiled. “It’s kind of overwhelming sometimes, isn’t it?”

Shadow hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. It really is.”

Amy glanced between the two of them and grinned. “Well, so long as you two are bonding, I should get going to do my part.”

A part of Shadow ached at the impending loss of her company. He only felt sadder as something occurred to him. “If you leave now, you won’t get to see any of the baby turtles.”

“Oh...yeah, that’s right,” she realized, deflating. After a moment, though, she recovered. “It’s okay! This is more important than my desire to see baby turtles! Even if it would be adorable...” she lamented, pouting.

“If you want, I’ll switch places with you,” Shadow offered. “I’ve seen you break rocks with that hammer of yours.”

Amy’s eyes shone in gratitude and indecision. It warmed his heart. If she says yes, she’ll be spending time alone with another guy who’s clearly head over heels for her...but if it’ll make her this happy, it’s definitely worth it.

But she shook her head furiously instead. “No, no. It’s alright! Your Chaos Spears are much more precise than my hammer, and precision is essential here! I’ve got my role, and you two have yours.” She nodded definitively. Shadow’s heart softened further at her dedication.

“So selfless!” Silver gushed, echoing Shadow’s own thoughts.

Amy snorted good-naturedly and lightly punched his arm. “Don’t patronize me!”

“I wasn’t!”

She tried to wave it off, but Shadow was having none of it. “I agree with Silver. It’s generous of you to stick to the original plan.”

Despite her best efforts, a genuine smile spread across Amy’s face. She pulled the two of them into a quick, tight hug. “Thanks, guys.” She pulled away.

Shadow thought for a moment. “You could always stay for the first few and then get going,” he suggested.

Amy shook her head. “No can do. All it takes is one unsupervised dog off-leash for things to get out of control.”

“Very well.” Shadow looked back down at the sunken sand, then added, “I’ll take pictures for you.”

“Thanks, Shadow.” Her smile returned, and she clenched her fists eagerly. “Alright. It’s time. Good luck, you two!”

“Right!” Silver agreed, matching her enthusiasm. Shadow just nodded. Amy turned and started to leave, and Shadow watched her go. When she was about twenty feet away, though, she froze, as if remembering something. “Shadow! C’mere!” she called out.

Shadow glanced at Silver and exchanged a curious shrug with him. He jogged over to Amy.

When he got there, she took out a radio. “I almost forgot! I brought these so we can keep in touch.” She pressed it into his hand, but she didn’t let go afterward. After casting a furtive glance over Shadow’s shoulder, she took his upper arm to pull him closer. He ignored his heightened heartbeat as she spoke. “This is kind of silly, but...” she started, murmuring so they wouldn’t be overheard. “I know Silver’s older than me and he can look after himself, but I always kind of worry about him. It’s stupid, but I can’t help it for some reason. Do you think you could, um...” she trailed off.

“That’s not stupid.” He looked over his shoulder to see Silver was gazing dreamily around the admittedly scenic beach, not paying attention to his surroundings at all. Shadow scoffed. “Don’t know what it is, but I feel the same way sometimes.” She was looking up at him hopefully, so he added, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t try to make friends with a crab or anything.”

Amy sighed in obvious relief. “Thank you, Shadow. I know I don’t have to worry about you!” Pride swelled in his chest, and his stomach flipped when she grinned warmly and squeezed his hand in both of hers before dashing off. He gazed fondly after her for a moment, then turned back to Silver, who was grinning expectantly down at the nest, the very picture of innocent enthusiasm.

Maybe I’ve been too harsh on this kid lately. It’s not a crime to have great taste in women.

Silver gazed after Amy as well, then smiled up at him. “She’s the best, isn’t she?”

Shadow held back his feelings of jealousy and examined Silver’s expression more closely. “You really like her, don’t you?”

Silver’s smile turned sheepish. “Is it that obvious?”

Dammit. Dammit. Why did I have to say that? I don’t want to have this conversation! Shadow nodded in response, doing his best to hide his inner turmoil.

Silver scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. “This is a little weird, so don’t tell her, but...”

How should I react? Am I supposed to tell him I like her, too? What should I--

“She reminds me of my mom.”

Shadow’s thoughts ground to a halt. “What?”

Silver chuckled shyly. “It’s a little embarrassing.”

Shadow barely heard him as the pieces fell into place. She does act kind of motherly towards him, and he never seems to mind. Have I been stressed over nothing all this time?

Silver looked uncomfortable. “Is that weird?”

Realizing he’d been staring intensely at nothing, Shadow snapped out of it. “No, that makes sense. What is your mom like?”

Silver stooped down in front of the nest and gazed absently at it. His face was impossibly fond. “She was...amazing. I’ve never met anyone quite like her.”

Shadow winced in empathy. ‘Was?’ So he’s already lost his mom?

Silver’s affectionate smile didn’t fade as he spoke patiently of his lost loved one. “She was as compassionate as anyone I’ve ever known, but it was a fierce kindness. She wouldn’t just sympathize, she would fight for you. For anyone who was hurting.” He laughed softly. “Dad always said she was too forgiving, but she never let up. She always said that everyone--everyone--deserves a second chance.”

Shadow thought of his own history with Amy, and his heart softened with affection. That sounds exactly like her.

Silver picked up a stick and started drawing aimless patterns in the sand. His brow wrinkled in slight pain. “I was so young when I lost her. I wish I’d gotten to know her better.” His lips quirked into a half-smile. “I know I’ll never really have her back, but when I spend time with Amy, it makes me feel closer to her again.” He chuckled. “She even has the same soft green eyes Mom had.”

Shadow’s heart clenched. He squatted down opposite of Silver. “She sounds wonderful. I won’t tell Amy, but for the record, I think she’d feel honored to be compared to someone like that.”

Silver beamed up at him. “You might be right. My dad always told me I was a lot like her. It was the best compliment I could ever think of.”

His dad ‘told’ him? Past tense again? Don’t tell me this poor kid’s already lost both of his parents. Shadow was afraid to ask, so he just responded with a solemn nod and waited to see if Silver would add anything. He did.

“When I was really little, she used to sing this song to me when I couldn’t fall asleep. I wish I still remembered it. It was kind of sad but hopeful, if that makes sense...?” Shadow nodded, and Silver frowned in thought. “It was something about the stars and constellations, and how I’d always be okay...”

Shadow’s eyes lit up. Could it be...? He started to sing softly, experimentally.

“As the stars start to align I hope you take it as a sign That you’ll be okay Everything will be okay

And if the seven rings collapse Although the day could be my last You will be okay--”

Shadow stopped. “Silver? Are you alright?”

Silver had been staring at him with wide eyes. At Shadow’s words, he snapped out of it. He wiped a tear off his cheek and looked down at it in surprise. “Oh! Ah, sorry! I just haven’t heard that in a while, is all.” He laughed nervously and averted his gaze, hurriedly wiping off his face. Clearly embarrassed, he kept the topic moving. “How do you know that one? I’ve never heard anyone else sing it.”

“Professor Gerald taught it to Maria, and she sang it for me on the ARK whenever I was upset. It always calmed me down.” Silver was smiling again, but it still looked a bit strained. It tugged at Shadow’s heartstrings. He hesitated before adding, “...I don’t get to sing it very often. If you’d like, I can sing it for you some other time.” Maybe sometime when we both feel comfortable crying.

Silver’s grin turned sincere. “I’d really like that.” Shadow nodded.

Just then, the little squeaks under the sand grew louder, drawing Shadow and Silver’s attention. They spotted a bit of movement on the ground between them. The sand sank and shifted just slightly at first, then made way for a tiny, wrinkled head. The baby turtle lazily blinked its eyes open.

Silver gasped. His eyes went wide. His gaze snapped briefly up. “Shadow, it’s happening!” He looked right back down as the turtle started pushing its way up, sluggishly trying to shake off the sand as it went. “This is incredible!”

Shadow kept quiet, though he couldn’t help but agree. Remembering his promise to Amy, he took a few pictures as more tiny turtle heads pushed their way up. Flippers emerged to drag the turtles up through the sand, and the turtles started working together to fight gravity. Soon enough, ten or fifteen turtles had escaped the nest and were dragging themselves determinedly toward the water as one, aside from one or two confused, misdirected stragglers. Shadow peeked over his shoulder and found a few turtles were escaping from the other nest, too. Silver was completely captivated by the sight, but Shadow focused on the challenges ahead.

“We should clear some of the rocks and vegetation if we can. It’ll give the turtles a clear shot.”

At his words, Silver snapped back to the task at hand. “Right!” They worked together to shift boulders out of the way--Silver with his psychokinesis, Shadow with his strength. Shadow looked back at the cliffs behind him when a low hum emitted from them. He frowned as he felt a slight vibration.

“Do you hear that?” Silver asked. Shadow didn’t answer. He was too preoccupied with the crack that grew along the top of the cliff. Soon enough, a large hunk of rock fell. Shadow gritted his teeth.

“Chaos Spear!”

Shadow flicked his wrist as he hurled the projectile, making it curve to smash through the rock and hook away from the fragile cliffs at the last second. He threw a few smaller spears in the same way to break up the larger chunks until only harmless dust fell to the beach.

“Wow, nice job!”

“Stay focused,” Shadow shot back, brushing off the compliment and pointing to some seagulls that were swooping in. Silver turned around and quickly projected a barrier to deflect them, keeping it malleable to push the gulls away without hurting them with the impact. Shadow relaxed and activated his radio.

“Amy? You there?”

“Yup! Any turtles yet?”

Shadow sighed in relief. “Yeah. They’re safe so far, but the cliffs are crumbling, just like you said. Avoid the edges if you can.”

“Aww, thanks! I’ll be careful,” she replied, sounding endeared.

Shadow opened his mouth to say something along the lines of ‘I wouldn’t be able to stand it if something happened to you’ or ‘I’ll always be there to catch you if you fall,’ but he lost his nerve and instead opted for a simple, “Good. Shadow out.”

With the excitement out of the way, Silver squatted back down to admire the baby turtles as they scuttled toward the sea. He held up a hand to maintain the forcefield above his head, while he leaned his free elbow against his knee and rested his chin in his palm. He smiled dreamily at the cute, determined little creatures, each adorned with the vaguely sun-shaped pattern on their backs that gave Sunshells their name.

Shadow rolled the remaining boulders into place to block the turtles from going the wrong direction. He snapped a few more photos before addressing Silver. “You’re really fond of them, aren’t you?” Silver nodded absently. Shadow’s expression grew concerned as he kept working. “I can tell why you want to help them so much. They’re still rare in your time, aren’t they?”

Silver’s smile barely changed. “They’re extinct.”

Shadow’s head whipped over to him. After a few seconds of silence, Silver looked up at him and panicked. “Oh--oh, crap! Sorry! Uh...pretend I didn’t say that!” He hid his face in his hands and groaned. “Man, Blaze is right. I really am going to break something, aren’t I?”

Shadow shook off his surprise. “That’s...uh...” He paused, then asked, “What do you mean, ‘break something?’”

Silver looked back up. He was cringing. “Yeah, as in, breaking the timeline. She’s always stepping in to keep me from telling people things they’re not supposed to know. It’s really hard to let everyone make the mistakes they need to make, you know?” He let out a laugh that was half affectionate and half embarrassed. “I sometimes say that I’m useless without her. It’s not entirely a joke.”

Shadow wasn’t so sure about that, but he shifted the topic out of curiosity. “If they’re extinct in your time, why are you bothering with this now? You know it’s pointless.”

At that, Silver stood back up and squared his shoulders. “’Pointless.’ People always say that, and I’m tired of it. They say one little misstep can ruin the whole timeline, but they never believe that good deeds can do the opposite!” Shadow blinked in surprise at the switch in his demeanor. He stayed quiet while Silver continued. “If I can mess up the future with just a few words, then why can’t I fix things just as easily?” Silver noticed that one turtle had gotten flipped over onto its back and was flailing its flippers uselessly. He made a hill out of sand with his psychokinesis to flip it back over. “I’ll change the future with my own two hands!” He lifted more sand behind the turtle, making it slide down. The turtle flailed for a moment, but then it used its momentum to resume its scramble to the sea. Silver put his hands on his hips and nodded proudly.

Shadow just gaped like a fish for a moment, thrown off by the powerful, optimistic message--coming from the mouth of such a normally goofy hedgehog, no less.

He really is a good kid.

Oblivious to Shadow’s feelings, Silver scratched his chin, then grinned. He started pulling the waves farther up the beach to meet more of the turtles halfway, helping them into the ocean. Shadow took a step forward and watched him work.

“You’re well-suited to this. You could probably handle the whole job by yourself.”

Silver beamed, flattered, but his smile turned sheepish. “Thanks, but...no. I’d get way too distracted. I can never get over how beautiful nature is from your time period.” A soft noise on the sand nearby drew both of their attention, and they turned to see a hermit crab scuttle over toward the turtles. Silver’s eyes lit up. “Oh, how cool!”

He held out a finger and tried to get closer, but Shadow stepped in front of him. “Hmph.” He carefully threw a small Chaos Spear near the crab, aiming it just in front of the animal to startle it without actually hitting it. The scared crustacean scurried away.

Silver looked heartbroken. “Why’d you scare it off?”

“Crabs are one of the worst predators of baby sea turtles,” Shadow replied, crossing his arms.

“Oh.”

Shadow examined Silver’s slumped shoulders and disappointed expression. He shook his head. I was kidding about you befriending a crab. I really can’t leave you alone with this job, can I?

Silver scratched the back of his head. “I don’t like working alone anyway,” he admitted, mirroring Shadow’s thoughts. “I get too lonely. I’ve spent way too much time fighting by myself.”

The way Silver held himself after he said that called out to Shadow, prompting him to respond in a way that surprised even him.

“I can understand that.” Silver looked up in confusion. Shadow looked away and smoothed down a lump of sand that a few turtles had gotten stuck on. “Nature on the ARK was practically nonexistent. When I first came to Earth, I was floored by every plant and animal I came across, and I hunted down every scrap of information I could find about them.”

Silver’s eyes widened. “You, too?!”

Shadow nodded. “My past and your future aren’t so different.” He paused. Before he could stop himself, he added, “I tend to a garden at home. It’s pretty expansive. Amy’s visiting me on Sunday to take a look at it. You can join us if you want.”

Silver smiled wider than he had all day. “You mean it?!” Shadow nodded. “I’d love to!” He sprang to his feet and jogged in place in excitement.

Inwardly, Shadow nearly facepalmed. Hums and vibrations emitted from the cliffs behind them, alerting Shadow to more falling rocks, and he welcomed the distraction of shattering them once more.

I can’t believe I just did that. I gave up a chance to spend time alone with Amy--and in a romantic setting, no less! He looked back to where Silver was pumping his fist, still giddy over the simple invitation.

Why am I being so nice to this kid? Do I just feel bad for him? He watched as Silver hurriedly re-conjured the forcefield he’d accidentally dropped in his delight, blocking a rogue seagull in the process. I guess it’s kind of hard not to. He acts like a lost puppy, and he probably hasn’t ever seen half the flowers I look after. Shadow sighed in sympathy. I think I’m starting to understand why he likes “Creature Crossing” so much.

“Thanks again, Shadow!” Silver enthused, having run over to stand close to him while he was distracted. Shadow took an automatic step backward at the proximity. “Hmph.” He roughly ruffled Silver’s quills to distract him in response.

“Hey, Amy just fixed those!” Silver laughed as he tried to preen them back in place himself.

Shadow heard a giggle over the radio before Amy chimed in. “Did you know you two groom your quills exactly the same way?”

Shadow blinked in confusion, then realized he’d been subconsciously mimicking Silver’s motions. He took his hands away, then smirked as he replied. “Can’t take your eyes off me, can you?”

Amy laughed again. “I can’t help it! There’s nothing to do up here. No one’s come by at all,” she whined.

Shadow grinned at the opportunity. “Come down here.”

“Hmmm, I dunno...”

While she hemmed and hawed, Silver jogged over to Shadow, taking the radio from him to reply, “I can help! I’ve been working on a new skill lately. I can sense the presence of other life forms. I can pick up on anyone passing by for you!”

Amy squealed in excitement. “Oo, that’s so cool!”

Shadow glared and snatched the radio back. “Yeah. How useful.” Would’ve been nice to know that twenty minutes ago. We could’ve been spending time with Amy this whole time!

“That settles it, then. Incoming!”

Shadow was confused until Silver pointed up at the cliff. Amy leapt off of it. Before Shadow could panic, she whipped out her hammer and spun, using it to glide down slowly. She landed gracefully in the sand at the base of the cliff. Shadow relaxed, at least until he felt the hum and bizarre vibrations once more. The rocks above Amy started to crumble, then fell.

“Amy!” Shadow and Silver cried out in alarm.

Shadow instantly hurled a Chaos Spear, neatly splitting the biggest boulder in half. “Silver!”

“On it!” Silver constructed a hasty, wedge-shaped barrier over Amy’s head. It redirected the rocks to land on either side of her with blunt thuds in the sand.

Amy looked on with wide eyes. She then vanished the hammer she’d planned on using to defend herself and dashed toward them. “Wow! Thank you! You two make a great team.” Silver beamed proudly. Shadow responded with a simple nod. Amy pouted. “I wish we knew the source of the crumbling, but we’ve got nothing to go on.”

Shadow rubbed his chin. “What about those weird hums and vibrations that always happen beforehand?”

Amy cocked her head. “What vibrations?”

“I can feel them, too,” Silver chimed in. “It happens every time.”

The three of them thought for a moment, but then Shadow frowned. Wait a minute... He looked up. “G.U.N. sent us on an underground mission not too long ago--literally underground--to investigate minor recurring earthquakes that were damaging Sunset Heights. We found out Eggman was using this new, updated, more mole-shaped version of his old Burrobots to drill around down there, undermining foundations and generally wreaking havoc.” He growled as he remembered the pests. “Every time we got a lock on one, it just burrowed back into the ground, and more would pop up. It was hell trying to eradicate them without weakening the ground further.”

At this, a fire lit behind Amy’s eyes. “I’ll take care of this!”

“Are you sure you don’t want help?”

She shook her head furiously and conjured her hammer, posing proudly. “No need, Shadow. I've got the perfect weapon!”

Shadow hid his disappointment. “Can’t argue with that,” he admitted fondly. Amy nodded and ran back toward the cliffs. Shadow raced after her and kept a wary eye above her.

Amy ran her hands along the wall. “If they’re drilling around in here, there’s gotta be a way in...” She slid along the wall, lightly tapping her knuckles against the rock as she went. Her ears perked up when the rock emitted a more hollow sound. She excitedly wound up her hammer, then stopped when Silver put a hand on her shoulder.

“Ah...that might be overkill,” he pointed out. “Let me...”

Amy stepped back. He lifted his hands and levitated the boulders that had just fallen and set them aside, revealing a small crack that had appeared in the wall, leaving a tiny crevice behind. “Alright!” Amy exclaimed.

Shadow was more apprehensive than she was. “Are you sure you feel safe doing this alone?” Silver nodded in agreement.

Amy crossed her arms, clearly unimpressed. “Shadow, if there’s anyone who’s equipped for this, it’s me. You guys have been doing all the work so far, so it’s time I do my part! Besides, there’s no way you two can fit through that hole, and we can’t risk widening it with another hit.”

Shadow examined the crevice. As much as he wanted to argue, he couldn’t; with her petite frame and lack of back spines, Amy was clearly the only one small enough to fit. He sighed reluctantly. “Alright. Radio us if there’s anything we can do.”

“Don’t worry, you two. Have no fear, Amy Rose is here!” All three of them couldn’t help but laugh at her cheesy old catchphrase, even Shadow. She turned toward the wall and stooped down as if to crawl into the hole, then paused and peeked over her shoulder at them awkwardly. Shadow looked down at her dress and caught her meaning. His ears reddened. He took Silver’s arm and hastily turned him back around. “Let’s get back to work,” he insisted. The oblivious look remained on Silver’s face, but he shrugged and let Shadow lead him back to the turtles.

Their gazes immediately landed on a raccoon that had hopped over the rock barrier into the path of the turtles. It had picked up one of the hatchlings in its tiny paws. Before Shadow could react, Silver cried out, “No!” He swung his arm forward to shower the raccoon with a array of green sparks, leaving it dazed and disoriented. It dropped the hatchling and looked around in confusion. Silver took hold of the clump of sand under the raccoon with his psychokinesis and rapidly swept it away, sending it down toward the far end of the beach. Silver slumped and sighed in relief.

Shadow looked between Silver and the distant raccoon, impressed. “That was pretty fast.” For you, at least, he thought wryly. He kept that part to himself.

Silver crossed his arms and nodded proudly. “Swift’s my name and my game!”

Shadow stared at him blankly. “Your name is Silver.”

Silver cocked his head, then laughed. “Oh, right! I guess you wouldn’t know, huh? Silver’s just a nickname. My real name is ‘Swift.’”

Shadow froze, then slowly looked back at Silver in trepidation. “What did you just say?”

“Yeah! It’s actually ‘Swift.’ Weird, huh?” he replied, oblivious to Shadow’s turbulent thoughts.

“Why do you go by ‘Silver’...?” Shadow spoke slowly.

“Because ‘Swift’ was my grandpa’s name, and my great-grandpa’s name, and a bunch of my uncles’, too,” he explained, counting off his relatives on his fingers as he spoke. “We just go by our fur colors to clear things up. It’s a little silly, isn’t it? You’d think they’d just use a different name, but it’s tradition at this point.”

Shadow stared off into space as the pieces fell into place. She’s just like his mom. They have the same quill-line. They both have psychic-based powers. They’re both naïve, optimistic, and passionate about justice...dear Chaos, they even have the same smile, now that I think of it! How the hell have I never noticed this before?!

“Uh...Shadow? You okay?”

Silver’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He opened his mouth, deliberated, and then said, “...Don’t ever tell Amy your real name.”

His nose wrinkled in confusion--exactly the way Amy’s always did, his brain pointed out. “Why not?”

Shadow gritted his teeth. “Because you’ll break something.”

Silver kept frowning, but then he lifted his shoulders. “I guess asking why would defeat the purpose, huh?” Shadow nodded. Silver sighed. “Will I at least know in the future?”

“I’ll tell you someday.”

“Are you sure you won’t forget?”

Shadow let out a sudden bark of laughter, startling them both. “Trust me, I will never forget this.”

Silver still seemed curious, but he chuckled and set it aside. “Honestly, I’m fine just being called Silver. ‘Swift’ doesn’t really fit me. It’s kind of embarrassing to be a slow hedgehog.” He rubbed his arm shyly.

“I don’t know about that. Amy’s a hedgehog, too, and you’re about the same speed as her.” Shadow flinched as he felt the similarities continue to pile up. Of course they’re the same speed...

“Yeah, but it’s not like my whole family is like that,” Silver pointed out. “My grandpa Blue was as fast as they come! He could’ve given you and Sonic a run for your money.” He winked cheekily.

Shadow barely noticed. He felt his heart shatter. “Did you say...‘Blue?’”

Silver nodded happily, not picking up on Shadow’s pain. “Yup! I have a few blue relatives. Grandpa Blue, Uncle Cobalt, my cousin Sky...you get the picture!”

Shadow clenched the fur on his chest tightly. Of course she’s going to marry Sonic. Everyone knew that would happen.

Shadow heard sounds of metal clashing from inside the cliffs. When he felt vibrations again, he welcomed the chance to smash more rocks, throwing much more aggression into his Chaos Spears than before.

Everyone knew that...except for me.

Evidently spooked by Shadow’s sudden anger, Silver laughed nervously and tried to diffuse the tension. “You know, my family was actually relieved when I turned out silver. They were starting to run out of synonyms for blue and black.”

Shadow froze again. His head snapped back up. “Wait...you have black relatives, too?!”

Silver tilted his head. “Uh, yeah! There was my Great-Grandpa Black...my Uncle Pitch...heh. I even had an Uncle Jet. I was thrown off when I met present-Jet for the first time and he was covered in green feathers--”

Shadow rushed forward to grab Silver’s upper arms, startling him with his intensity. “Were there others?”

Silver snorted, thrown off by Shadow’s uncharacteristic enthusiasm. “Actually, my mom was black, too. She just didn’t need a nickname.” He chuckled again. “My dad always got the impression that her family was relieved when she married him because he was a white mink so we weren’t adding more blue or black to the family, but they never actually said it out loud because you can’t just say ‘Thank Chaos you married a white guy,’ haha! You know?”

Blue...and black...what does that mean? Do our kids marry each other somewhere down the line? What if she doesn’t marry either of us?! It could be anyone who’s blue or black...but I’ve never heard of any other blue hedgehogs...but what if it’s not a hedgehog at all?! Is there any chance in hell that it’s me? How can I win against him?!

“Uh, Shadow...? This is starting to hurt...”

Silver’s strained voice brought him back to reality. He realized he’d been staring intensely at him and gripping his arms too tightly. He immediately let go of him and stepped away. “...Sorry.”

“Are you okay?”

Shadow held Silver’s nervous gaze with his own for a moment, then sighed and looked away. “I’m fine. I just spaced out.”

If I keep interrogating this kid about his genetics, I’LL probably break something.

Shadow was spared the burden of explaining himself fully when a triumphant cry erupted from the cliffs.

“HAHAAAAAA!!!!!!!”

A boulder was effortlessly hurled aside. Amy stepped out of a hole in the rocky wall and thrust her arm above her head in a dramatic pose. She was holding a metal object in her upraised hand. She whacked it away with her hammer and let out a satisfied cackle of victory.

The object landed at Shadow’s feet. He recognized it as the disembodied head of one of the mole robots. Silver recoiled at the morbid sight. “Eugh!”

Shadow’s heart thumped a little faster as he looked between the head and Amy’s proud stance and smile.

She’s incredible.

Amy strolled over to them. “I hope you guys know you just missed the best game of whack-a-mole in history. I was on fire!”

Silver shuddered, most likely relieved he hadn’t been there. Shadow didn’t feel the same way. “I wish I’d been there. No one fights Badniks like you do.”

Amy held her hammer behind her back bashfully. “Aww, thank you! I do wish I could’ve found that last nest, but at least we solved one mystery!”

“I wish I could’ve been more help in finding the Badniks, but I can only sense organic beings, not robots,” Silver lamented.

Amy paused. “Wait...” She placed a hand on Silver’s shoulder. “What beings are you sensing on this beach?”

Silver pressed his first two fingers to his temple and squinted one eye shut. His tongue poked out of the side of his mouth endearingly as he concentrated, just as Amy’s did whenever she was focusing on something. “Well, there are the baby turtles,” he started, nodding to the few determined stragglers. “I can feel you two, plus the seagulls, hermit crabs, and that one raccoon...and there’s one spot farther down the beach where there are a whole bunch of little ones! I’ve been wondering about that all morning.”

The other two exchanged a look. Shadow facepalmed. Amy partially covered her face and sighed. “Silver? Sweetie?”

“Hm?”

Amy dragged her hands down to address him. “Why don’t you bring us over there?” Her smile held all the patience only a mother could have.

Or a great-great-great-grandmother, Shadow thought wryly.

Silver glanced over his shoulder. The last few turtles seemed to have things under control. “Alright! Why not?”

Silver led the way down the beach, pressing his fingers to his temple for guidance. He stopped at the base of a cliff just in front of some large ferns. He knelt to the ground and squinted. “I can feel it! They’re right in front of me, but they’re...underground...?”

Shadow and Amy looked at each other, dumbfounded. Amy pulled the ferns aside, while Shadow carefully removed a few boulders that had fallen. Thankfully, they’d landed in such a way that they’d propped each other up instead of falling directly at the ground, sparing the dip in the sand and its residents from damage.

“Wait a minute...” Silver pressed his ear to the ground, and his eyes widened. “I can hear it again! The–” He gasped and looked up at the other two. “No way!”

Amy giggled, and Shadow fixed him with a blank stare. This kid...

Soon enough, another set of turtle heads started poking up from the ground. Amy squealed, happy that she’d get to see some turtles hatch after all. Her enthusiasm was contagious.

--

With the late start, it took until the afternoon to get the rest of the turtles to their destination. The later time brought more predators, but with the cliffs standing strong and all three of them working together, they didn’t have much trouble. The conservationist showed up just as they were finishing escorting the last of the turtles to the sea.

“Oh, you three have done wonderfully! I knew I could count on you, Amy!”

Amy hopped forward and shook the human’s hand. “All in a day’s work, Myrtle!”

Silver poked his head around Amy to lock eyes with Myrtle. “How do you know it went well? Was Amy keeping you updated or something?”

Myrtle looked confused. “Oh, no! I was keeping up with the livestream on my way back here. The way you used your powers to save the cliffs and escort the turtles safely was a sight to behold!”

Shadow and Silver gaped and exchanged a nervous look. “’Livestream?!’” they chorused.

Amy giggled. “Sorry, guys! I never told you because I was afraid you’d get camera shy if you knew.”

Silver cringed. “You’re probably right. I don’t operate well under that kind of pressure.” Shadow had to agree. His eyes flicked around the beach, wondering where the cameras were hidden.

“We’ve been trying to raise as much awareness as possible about the Sunshells lately, and this year, I think we’ve finally done it!” Myrtle took out her phone and opened an app showing the tail end of a livestream. The last few turtles were dragging themselves to the sea. There was no sound from their location, only ambient music, and Shadow breathed a sigh of relief that their conversations hadn’t been broadcast.

Myrtle scrolled down to show them some of the comments.

“OMG, this is so. Cool!” “Aww, they’re so cute!” “Those hedgehogs make such a good team!” “The pink one’s cute--oh, God, did she decapitate that robot?!” “Awesome!” “Adorable!” “Amazing!” “I can’t believe Sunshells are endangered. They’re incredible.”

Myrtle beamed and closed the app. “Between the cuteness of the turtles and your dedication, you’ve inspired people to support us more than ever. Donations and volunteers have been pouring in! We’ll finally have the support and funding to give the turtles the resources they need!”

“You can thank Silver for that,” Amy said, taking one of his hands in her own. “He’s the one who found the third nest!”

“And he protected the turtles better than anyone else could have,” Shadow added, placing a hand on Silver’s shoulder. “No one else could have done this the way he did.”

“Aww, you guys are making me blush!”

Myrtle bent down to shake Silver’s free hand. “If that’s true, Silver, then thank you. I can tell today is the turning point for the Sunshells. We’ve got all we need to bring them back from the brink now!”

Silver, Amy, and Myrtle all smiled brilliantly. Even Shadow wore a small grin.

I guess you were right, Silver. One kid really can make all the difference.

--

Silver waved goodbye and teleported away with Chaos Control. Shadow took Amy’s hand to do the same, warping them both to her front doorstep.

Amy squeezed his hand instead of letting go. “Thanks for all your help today, Shadow! And it was really sweet of you to invite Silver to join us on Sunday. I can’t wait!”

“It was my pleasure. I’m looking forward to it as well. I...”

When he trailed off and didn’t let go of her hand, Amy frowned in confusion.

Shadow deliberated for quite some time. Silver’s sentiments from earlier echoed in his mind, enriched by the possibilities he now knew existed. He took a deep breath.

Time to shape my own future.

“Amy...I’ve...developed some feelings for you. Romantic ones.” He knew she could feel his hands shaking in hers, but he persevered, keeping his eyes shut solemnly. “I’d like to take you out sometime on a date, if you’d be interested.”

He slowly opened his eyes again. Her soft green eyes shone up at him in genuine surprise. It was several seconds--the longest several seconds of Shadow’s life, he’d later decide--before a casual smile spread across her face.

“You know what? Yeah! Why not?”

A wide grin spread unbidden across Shadow’s face. He pushed down the light, elated feeling in his heart long enough to say, “Yeah! Great! Um...can we figure out the details later?”

Truth be told, the confession was spur-of-the-moment and he hadn’t expected her to say yes, so he had nothing prepared. Luckily, she didn’t mind. She nodded, and he contained his excitement long enough to make sure she got into her house. He teleported back home and celebrated properly, mirroring Silver’s own jubilation from earlier in the day.

--

For those who need more proof:

Semi-edgy bois *almost* swearing to keep it E-rated. Like father, like son...kind of.

The song Shadow sings is “You Will Be Okay” from Helluva Boss. @w0lp3rtinger introduced it to me ages ago, and it still makes me cry.

[abutterflyobsession]

Doctor Who AU: Part 12

the plot fails to progress because I’m tired

prelude/one/two/three/four/five/six/seven/eight/nine/ten/eleven/ao3

The sky was on fire.

But on the ground it was dark, shadows layered with a dim orange light.

And there was screaming.

Running.

The shadows seethed with people, people running for their lives.

A city stood dark against the blazing sky, buildings glowing a dull orange as they began to break apart, pieces falling, screams rising sharply in response, then cutting off when the rubble smashed into the ground.

Children.

Children were crying, lost and frightened, caught in a war that they had no part in making. Casualties of their elders' poor choices.

Nothing could save the children.

“No!”

The sound of the voice cast ripples across the burning world, washing away the flames, the sound of feet scrambling across the rubble fading away into silence.

The silence when the wind died down, letting the dust settle, leaving only the crunch of your boots on the ground, the dry sound as you swallow, holding your breath, afraid it would give you away.

The silence that isn't really silence.

It's full of the noise of your comrade's boots, the rattling of gear, the pounding of your hearts.

Waiting for the signal.

Waiting for the order.

Because it had been following orders.

There had been no way to know.

“No! Not that either!'

Ripples ran through the air, coolness breathing into the air like a sigh of relief.

Trees, old and tall, had grown up and blocked out the sky with their dense canopy. The quiet here was muffled by the dense growth of the forest. It was impossible to see more than a few yards ahead and when things moved out of sight it was impossible to know what they were.

“Now, this is very interesting,”

Bog twisted around and found that the Doctor was standing on a fallen tree, looking out over the small area of visible forest with a contemplative attitude.

“Yeah?” Bog asked, more to buy himself time to think than to actually prompt an answer. He had no idea where he was or how he had got there and if it was at all possible he wasn't going to give the Doctor the satisfaction of appealing to her for answers.

“Yes, because I would say this appears to be part of the Black Forest in Germany, but it feels far too big.”

Bog bit his tongue to keep from asking what she was talking about.

“This feels to be about the same time period the primrose stone was first cut. But four hundred years ago the forest did not look like this. At least, not according to history.”

Tired of the crick in his neck he was getting from looking up at the Doctor's perch, Bog swallowed his pride and asked, “What's going on?”

“Psychic feedback,” The Doctor picked her way down off the fallen tree, digging the toes of her boots into the moss that covered the soft, rotting wood, “Something activated a psychic data dump from your necklace, but the connection was bad and there was a lot of interference. So you might have picked up some trace memories--”

“There was a city. It was shining and silver . . . or, it would have been, except . . . everything was on fire . . .”

“Nothing to worry about. Just signals getting crossed.”

“None of this is real, then? But . . .”

“No more real than memories are.”

“I saw--”

“Yes, yes, I know, I was here too. Had to give things a nudge before you got stuck reliving old times.”

“Nudge?” Bog wondered how much the Doctor had picked up of his memory of his tour in Afghanistan.

“Poke at your subconscious. Play word association. Look, like this,” the Doctor picked a pebble off the ground, “I say something, like, 'school', and give you a little push--”

She tossed the pebble and it hit the air like the surface of a pond, shining ripples spreading out and distorting the forest. For a few seconds the forest was gone and Bog was standing in the hall of his school, fourth year, his knuckles throbbing from having punched Lucas Campbell in the face, driven to it after Lucas had made one too many cracks about Bog's looks.

The ripples settled and the forest was back.

“What are you doing poking around in my head?” Bog rubbed the traces of phantom pain out of his hand, “I don't remember inviting you.”

“You got pulled in by the data dump and I followed. It appears we are in a memory of your family's ancestral home. At least, their ancestral home on earth, anyway.”

“Grand. How do we get out? Weren't we just talking to your creepy ex in the art shop? And being abducted?”

“He'll wait. This is all in our heads so it's really taking no more than a few seconds. Less, since we've got my processing power to work with.”

“Don't you ever get tired of tooting your own horn?”

“Don't you ever get tired to keeping your eyebrows locked in a permanent glower? I swear, those things are the most aggressive eyebrows I've ever encountered. They're like attack eyebrows. You could take bottle caps off with them.”

The Doctor was standing on her tiptoes to inspect Bog's eyebrows.

He leaned forward, making her drop back on her heels.

“What about you?” He pointed a long finger at her, “Have you ever met a hairbrush in your life? You're like some tiny, angry, rumpled pixie. Probably so angry because you've never been able to get anything off the top shelf without someone giving you a boost.”

“My dear marsh man,” She smacked his hand away, “shelves have nicely spaced footholds built right into them. Why would I get a hand up when I can just climb the thing?”

“ . . . how many shelves have you pulled over on yourself in your lifetime?”

“The shelves in the TARDIS are built into the walls!”

“And why is that, I wonder?”

“Let's get back to the matter at hand, shall we?”

“Only because I take the change of subject as acknowledgement that I was winning this argument,” Bog said, folding his arms, still leaning over the tiny woman.

She pushed her face a little closer to his, twisting up her mouth as she searched for some appropriately cutting retort to put him in his place.

“Your eyes are very blue!”

Bog blinked, confused.

“It isn't fair.”

The Doctor spun around and stormed back to her fallen tree.

A branch caught her ankle and she crashed to the ground.

“Are you okay?”

“I am fine!” She popped back up, “This is just a psychic interface! I don't actually have nerve endings in here. The pain is literally all in my head.”

“Right.”

“All of this,” the Doctor staggered to her feet, yanking the edge of her coat off a grasping branch before spinning around with her arms thrown out to indicate the forest around them, “This is just an interface for the data your ancestors left for you. We should be able to access it and find out more about what your fashionable bauble is capable of.”

“So, it's full of information? Like a flashdrive?”

“If a flashdrive could contain what is possibly the entire history of your people, constructed from their memories with such care and detail that you can smell that the dirt is still wet from rain, feel the veins on the leaves . . . then, yes, 'like a flashdrive'.”

“Yeah, I've got mud in my boots. Could've done without that.”

“I am plagued by such tiny minds. Just try and access the information.”

“How, great and powerful time wizard?”

“Identify yourself.”

“Identify myself. Just, “Hey, Bog, here, any of my tree ancestors listening?”, or what?”

“Maybe with a bit more pizazz. Confidence, at the very least.”

“Uh. I'm a descendant of the . . . Cheem? Cheem. I'm a descendant of the Cheem and I hope that this interface isn't password protected.”

“Poetry.”

“I'm a singer, not an actor.”

“Despite your shortcomings as a performer, I think it worked.”

Bog followed the Doctor's gaze and saw that another person had appeared.

He was assuming it was a person, anyway.

The shape of it was human but the details were not. The face was rigid, lined with deep grooves, like patterns in tree bark. It's head swept back into a crown of wood, the bark of it layered, like it really was part of a tree, separating at the rings.

Bog stared at it.

It stared back at Bog, absolutely serene.

“He's waiting for you to ask a question,” the Doctor shoved her hands into Bog's back and pushed him toward the tree person, “Ask it about why the stone was cut up and what the yellow stone is.”

“Stop pushing!”

“Then stop just standing there gapping like a fish! I can only stretch five seconds so far!”

“It's only been that? You must be doing a prize-winning job because it's certainly felt like an eternity!”

“Ask. Questions.”

“Question: what's the plan?”

Dawn was spraying down the interior of the TARDIS with a fire extinguisher.

Sunny stood in the door, ready to duck out if anything else caught on fire or started spewing toxic smoke.

“Talk some sense into this bucket of defective quantum drives that my sister is so irrationally attached to!”

“Is it safe to use a fire extinguisher on an electrical fire?”

“It isn't electrical! It runs off of energy from the time vortex! And I don't know whether or not it's safe to use a fire extinguisher on that because my sister threw the user manual into a supernova!”

“Why?”

“Apparently they had a difference of opinion!”

The last fire put out, Sunny risked coming back inside, “Why does it freak out when Roland is nearby?”

“Not sure. Something is screwy about his time line, I think. And the TARDIS hates that sort of thing. She tries to do an emergency evacuation. Once she abandoned us at the North Pole and went all the way over to the South Pole. That was the worst hitchhiking trip ever.”

“Should I just nod and pretend I understand any of that?”

“Sorry, sorry,” Dawn put on her glasses and glanced over the monitors, “She's got safety protocols and a strong sense of self-preservation. Paradoxes, anomalies, the TARDIS sees them as danger and tries to get away. Roland might be existing twice in the same time line, or something like that.”

“But, aren't I doing that right now? Future me is at work right now, remember?”

“But that's pretty tidy. You're not trying to change the past, you're just preserving a time loop. If Roland—or whoever he is—is trying to mess with a fixed point in time . . . well, this makes the old girl unhappy.”

Dawn patted the console.

“Huh. I guess I kind of get that. What are we going to do? Figure out what important event he's trying to change? Do you have like . . . future history books?”

“Loads. But I've also got a lot up here, too,” Dawn tapped her forehead, “much more portable and easier to reference. From a historical point of view there really isn't anything big going on right now. Not in the next few months, even.”

“What is there aside from a historical point of view?”

“Oh, there are loads of smaller things that are important and don't make it into the history books. Little things that lead up to big things. They're harder to spot. Like, if somebody very important was going to do great things, then it is very important that their parents actually meet, or the important person would never be born.”

“Which means that Roland is possibly trying to sabotage someone's first date? That is . . . pettier than I imagined messing with history would be.”

“It could also be a poet not seeing a daffodil at the critical moment and never writing a great poem that touches the hearts and minds of the world. Someone cleaning out the petri dishes and never discovering penicillin . . . yeah. Our best bet is to shadow Roland and stop him in the act.”

“Except our ride is kind of not cooperating right now, remember?”

“So we'll need to use an alternative mode of transport. Luckily, my sister doesn't know that I know where she keeps that vortex manipulator! Like, a wrist-watch time machine!”

Sunny was starting to recognize that manic gleam in Dawn's eyes as a sign things were about to get, well, for lack of a better word, interesting.

“It's dangerous, isn't it?”

“Um. It might be a teeny-tiny bit . . . glitchy.”

“How glitchy. Lags a few seconds glitchy? Or stuck in Medieval Europe glitchy?”

“It tends to have very, very brief power outages. Very brief. You hardly notice. Except if you were traveling through the vacuum of space at the time . . .”

“I have a feeling this is what I was trying to warn myself about on the phone earlier.”

“Are you coming?”

“Heck, I know I make it back. Let's go!”