Dreams of an Absolution

Carnival Surprise!

"Charmy get your elbow out of my back!" I hissed in a whisper as we crunched inside our hiding place.", which was a barrel used to hold pink and white flowers. With a little levitation I emptied the barrel so we could jump inside, the flowers and dirt hovered in the sky out of everyone's sight.
"I'm sorry but I want to see too! Put your freaky head down before someone mistakes it for a certain type of weed!" He pushed on my head.
"A wha- what does that even mean!?"
"Shut up there's Amy!" We both stood still and quiet listening intently.

"Shadow!~" Amy called in a sing song voice.
"What?" He asked plainly.
"Well um there's a carnival for the snowflake flower."
"I heard. Everyone at work won't shut up about it, and there's endless posters up everywhere." Shadow shook his head looking up from the motorcycle he'd been cleaning. "What about it?"
"Are you going?" Amy asked now spinning her quills around her finger nervously.
"No didn't plan on it to be honest." He answered back tossing the polishing towel to the side and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Well I figured that much." She smiled, "but maybe if you don't have any other plans for that day you should think about going."
"Well I'm not really..." He paused for a moment, "wait... Did someone put you up to this?"
Amy squeaked, "What?! Why would you think that? No of course not, I just really want you to go and see you have fun."
"Right sure. I'll think about it I guess." He mumbled. I seen it in his eyes that he'd just echoed back Espio's words they played in his mind.

"Well if you do go I hope to run into you there by chance." She said a little sadly and waved to him as she began to walk away. She walked past the barrel Charmy and I hid in before Shadow called back to her.
"I'll meet you there."
"You will?!"
"Yeah I'll go. But just for a little while I guess."
"Okay! I'll meet you by the ticket booth when it begins okay?"
"Alright I'll see you there."
After they both agreed they went their separate ways Amy walking away and Shadow rode off on his bike Charmy and I now crawled out from the barrel. Setting the flowers back into place and stretched watching Charmy copy my movements his arms above his head as he stretched backwards. Finally freedom and achievement of one step closer... I hope.

The carnival wasn't a long wait thank goodness I could have faded away to nothing if it was just a day longer. It was cold and dark and everyone bundled up in their winter apparel, Espio in a thick layer of clothes.

"Espio are you sure you'll be alright out here?" I asked looking at him putting the last coat on.
"I'll be fine." He nodded, "Look there's Amy." He pointed to the pink hedgehog looking around with hope filled green eyes looking out to the packed parking lot.

"I don't wanna stand around here I wanna go plaaaay!!!!!" Charmy whined next to my ear.
"Come on Charmy I'll take ya." Vector snatched the bee's wings pulling him away quickly to join Cream and Vanilla. "See us guys, work hard but try to have a little fun too!" He waved.
After they left the roar of a motor came down the street and pulled into the parking lot. I have to admit it might be an old stereo type but the motorcycle just instantly made him bad ass, Shadow parked the bike and clicked it off smoothly swinging a leg over getting off and tossed his keys in the air catching them as they came down and slipped them away.

"Well, someone is feeling chipper tonight." Espio smirked watching him from where we stood. Amy too had watched his arrival and instantly became full of energy jumping up and down on her toes and waved at him as he came closer, it was adorable like kids meeting their school friends out somewhere. He must have thought so too because that serious straight face he always had lightened and even a trace of a small smile tugged at his lips. Just that alone made my heart thud as she placed her hands on his pointing to the ticket booth and then to the rides with excitement.

"I think things are going to go well already." Espio smiled, when he caught me smiling at them as well. "In fact I don't really think we need to keep such a close eye on them."

"Really? I don't know I don't want to loose sight of them compleat oh and suddenly they end up enemies because I don't know he accidentally spilled a drink on her shirt or something."
"No no they'll be fine trust me. Besides Vector and the rest of the group will have eyes out for them too."
"Okay..so then where should we start?"
"How about a few games?"

So with that Shadow followed Amy through the crowd while Espio and I made our way to the games, much like the ones at the pizza place but outdoors and rigged so you can loose and spend more money... But fun in a way.

"I've had enough of the games." Espio held up a goldfish in a bag, just as Vector met with us again each of his party held a similar bag with fish in it as well.
"Looks like we'll need to buy an aquarium." Vector shrugged with a grin seeing all the bags of fish, "Here Espio you hold the little fellas for a while, the kids aren't done yet we just got started." He quickly collected the bags and thrust them at Espio now with his arms full of fish.

"You go get on a ride Silver I'll baby sit the fish..." Espio murmured looking at the fish who oddly all seemed to be consciously aware of him and pressed their faces to the bag staring him down.
"Um okay.." I looked around afterwards finding a line not so short for the tea cups. But riding alone had me feeling... Well lonely...
I caught a glimpse of Shadow and Amy hooked arms walking together quickly.
"Excuse me, will you ride the tea cup with me?" A familiar voice asked. My ears perked and tingled and my heart felt tug triggering tears stinging my eyes as I quickly looked up to see her.
I tried speaking but my words refused to come out all I could do was nod. We climbed into a red tea cup and sat in silence waiting for the ride to begin.

"You turn the wheel like this, right?" She asked putting her hands on the center wheel in front of us."
"U-um..." My hands followed hers but I still could say anything so I nodded again with a pathetic, "uh huh."
She laughed softly and began to turn the wheel as the ride started we slowly spin around as well as being turned.
"You're a time traveler aren't you?"
I looked up with shock, wondering if she knew me but it seems she has no memory of me or what had happened, yet she knew that I wasn't from this time...
"You know me, in another time line. I can tell by your emotions and actions. I travel time too. I'm Blaze; but you already knew that right?" She smiled.
"Y-yeah." I nodded quickly.
"Well, I'll see you in the future some time... Silver, isn't it?"
"Yeah!" I nodded again. Why was it so hard to talk to her again?!? I feel so stupid just nodding and sounding like I know only one word in the entire vocabulary system!
"Well don't keep me waiting." Blaze took her hands and placed them on my muzzle, though the air was cold she was warm and... Alive. She leaned in and my heart began to pound I heard it in my ears and finally she placed a kiss on my nose and my whole face shaded a deep red, like the cup we were sitting in. The ride had come to a stop and the doors opened she waved, "Thanks for riding with me." And got out of the ride and disappeared into the crowd.

"Hey kid, if you wanna go on the ride again you'll have to to get back in line." The operator said when I haven't gotten out afterwords still dazed at who I just saw. A ghost, but she wasn't; she is alive... And we will see each other again! I jumped down out of the ride meeting Espio and all the fish.
"Had fun?"
"Best ride ever." I smiled.
"What the tea cups??? You have issues." He raised a brow, "well while I was waiting for you, I named the fish. 'Fred, Lola, Able, Maya, and ....Bob.'"
"How do you know which is a girl and which is a boy?" I leaned down looking at the fish.
"It doesn't matter, they're all named now, so there!"
"Right.. Well let's see if we can find Vector or get an update on Shadow and Amy... Too much fun makes me feel like I'm slacking off."