The Feral Virus

The recording

"Hey, S-Silv-ver... uh... put this o-on... trust... me.", said Tails frantically as he gave Silver the gadget, and after Blaze gave him an explanation while Tails squinted his eyes and stayed still, Silver transformed into a fake Knuckles, bringing Tails back to normal.

"So... I went to the future 3 years for an answer, and... well, I got a recording from the future, and I think it will be necessary... I'm not sure if it'll help, though...", Silver said as he handed it to Tails. As Tails played it, it was what he feared. This is what it played...
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"Hello, fellow citizens. We... well, uh... got some bad news. Our top secret operations have... well, failed. Despite our efforts and plans to end the virus, we never found a solution,...", "Never?", Tails said in shock that the world lost. "...and unfortunately, most of Sonic's friends, including Sonic himself, got fully affected by the virus...".

"Wait, most of us?", this shocked Tails, making him tear up a little, only for Silver to nod. "Don't worry, Tails. We'll figure it out...", said Blaze with a slight smile, trying to cheer him up. After a few seconds, they resumed it.

"With the infected now being 87% of the population, it has made life critically unsafe on Mobius. Now... rather than try to end the virus, it'll just be simpler for us to evacuate the planet.". "Evacuate? What?", Tails continued, horrified at this future.

"Luckily, with the help of Blaze, our only hope, we managed to find a safehaven in the Sol Dimension, so just... stay calm... follow the address we will give you on your phone, and go to that location to reach the nearest portal to the Sol Dimension. Take precautions there. If necessary, government officials and police will guide you, so... stay calm and head there, go there as soon as possible. You have 5 days to get there, so go quickly, do not look back, and do not return to Mobius. Repeat, do not return to Mobius. *faces the cameraman to the right of him* We gotta get out of he-", the recording said before Tails paused it. He just stopped blinking and walked away with a blank expression, heading to a rock to sit down.

Silver went to him at a distance. "Tails, are you OK?", he said as he got worried. "*sniff* No... now we know our fate. It is nothing but delay after delay. You also said it was recorded 3 years from now. Imagine when we get fully affected, and turned into animals. It could be 3 years, could be 3 days. *sniff*.". Tails said, actually giving up.

"Let's just enjoy life while it lasts. This will all end anyways... Not even I will fix it...". "No, Tails. It is fixab-", Silver said before Tails snapped. "DON'T YOU GET IT?! IT'S ALL OVER! WE'RE DONE! What do you expect me to do?! Let me be and let me process it already!", said Tails, furiously in a blend of emotions.

As he walked away, Blaze ran to him. "Hey, Tails... Can I sit with you?", she asked hoping for him to say yes, and he said yes, but with a breaking voice. As she sat down, she put her hand on his shoulder and started talking. "You know? Silver might help... maybe try talking to him. He might have an answer.", she said, as she smiled. When Tails heard it, he slightly agreed.

He walked back to Silver and was ready to talk. "Hey, Silver... It's you, right? Anyways, I'm sorry for exploding on you. I shouldn't have done it. Blaze talked to me about it. Do you have any plans to solve this?", he asked, which Silver nodded.

"Can traveling back in time work?", said Silver, smirking, knowing it will, and Tails said "yes" in a very happy tone. "Hey, Blaze! We need you!", he called, and Blaze ran to them. "So, how far should we go?", asked Silver, and Tails knew he had to be careful. "Six months. I think that is safe enough... but what if we get caught?", asked Tails, worried.

"Never interact with... us? If we do that, we will make a paradox and-", said Silver, in a very strict tone, which Tails nodded, clearly knowing that. "Tails... can I talk with you for a second?", asked Blaze to Tails, which nodded again, and walked to a hidden spot. "What are you worried about?", asked Tails, seeing her being sad. "If we succeed and eliminate it, we will change the future, but our friendship growth will disappear and I will forever see you as someone that so happens to be Sonic's friend... are you sure you want to truly fix this?", asked Blaze, worried for their future. "I'm... not too sure. We need to reach the source, and then we'll talk about it, OK?", said Tails, slightly smiling.

As they went back, they agreed and held onto Silver's hands and got teleported half a year into the past. When they traveled, they saw that they were inside Blaze's home, which confused them.

"Silver, why are we in my home? Shouldn't we be in Kronos Island?", asked Blaze, obviously confused, but Silver quickly explained. "Normally it works just fine, but I decided to bring ourselves here. Otherwise, we will take a couple days just to get there."

"Alright, first thing is to never interact with yourselves.", said Silver, but he accidentally said it loudly. "Hello? Is that you, Silver?", asked Blaze from the past from her kitchen. Silver froze, worried, so he told them to leave quickly, while he does a quick chat to distract past Blaze, not before removing the gadget, turning him back to normal. "Yes, Blaze. I saw the door was open, so I came in to tell you something.", he said, and luckily, she trusted him. Past Blaze walked to him and asked him what it was. He had to make something up before he looked suspicious. "The nearby store has a discount for your favorite food. I recommend you go.", he said while leaving, in which past Blaze waved at him, thanking him for the comment, but confused at his change in personality.