It was about a week later when she encountered the hedgehog again. Whisper had caught wind of an Eggman base tucked away at the edges of his of newly-built technological marvel Metropolis, tiny for his doing but certainly an asset to his operations regardless. If she wanted to start small and unnoticeable and not risk running into anyone who'd distract her like the hedgehog had, this would be the perfect place to begin her mission to defy Eggman by herself.
When she arrived, however, she discovered to her shock that she hadn't been the only one with knowledge of this place after all. Out of all people who could have been there, it was Silver who was sneaking through the undergrowth just outside the base. The hedgehog was clearly on high alert but not paying attention to what was going on behind him, where she was hiding some distance away. She got the feeling he had problems with watching his back.
She clenched her hands into fists with a small growl hidden behind her mask. This was supposed to be her mission, the one where she did everything on her own as she gathered every bit of information she could before destroying the base! Why did he have to show up here right now, of all times and places?! Still, she knew she couldn't leave him. The last time they met he had barely gotten away with his life, if only because she intervened... Now that she was here, she might as well watch from the distance and help out when needed, unseen and unnoticed by all. No-one would lose their life again because of her ineptitude.
As the hedgehog arrived at the edge of the heavily guarded entrance of the base with her hot on his tail, he stopped advancing for a moment, crouching away in the undergrowth while clearly pondering what to do. With the swarms of robots patrolling the area he would be caught for sure if he went for a frontal offence; stealth would have to be his saving grace.
Whisper choked back a gasp as one second he was sitting right in front of her nose, and the next second he was gone. Frantically tracing her eyes over the clearing – only Sonic could possibly move that fast, and he had been defeated weeks prior! – she thought she could make out a few flickers of teal from the shadows inside the entrance. She gulped. Everything she knew about the base and Eggman in general told her it would be filled to the brim with death traps, and the fool had walked right into it... Silver was in danger. Just like them.
With her experience as a scout for her fallen team she could easily figure out the patterns of the guard robots. Taking a deep breath and making sure the characteristic mask was pressed firmly against her face, she noiselessly darted between search lights and metal monstrosities as she neared the base. With the cover of the night and her dark cloak she went by unnoticed, carefully slipping between the robots that towered just in front of the entrance. Keeping her breath shallow, she made sure her footsteps did not create a single sound as she rapidly tiptoed further inside, pushing away any and all memories of how often she had done this before. She had made it into the base, but where was Silver?
Her question was answered when a large crash and a muffled cry, followed near-instantly by the distant sound of fighting, reached her ears. Keeping her steps light she rushed to the place of origin as quickly as she could, Wisps and Wispon at the ready. It sounded just like when...! No, she couldn't think about that now. She had to focus, for Silver.
When she reached the end of the hallway she cursed under her breath. The door from beyond which the ruckus came had been locked, and she couldn't see a single slit or control panel to open it. Silver had been trapped in there, and her fears had become true. With a spike of pure terror at the realisation she staggered back, her mind entirely empty as she desperately tried to keep out the memories from the live feed presented to her on that fateful day. It took the Wisps multiple tiny slaps to her face to bring her back to the present, and with a pained gasp she pushed everything down again and tried to focus on the task at hand.
Looking around for a means to enter, Whisper's eyes fell on a vent up in the wall. Running entirely on autopilot, she broke it apart quickly enough through a smash with the help from Blue, and Green lifted her up as she clambered inside. She had no idea what the defences of the base were like inside, all she could hope for was that the robots that undoubtedly guarded the hallways did not notice the gaping hole that now adorned the wall.
The vent was cramped, much more cramped than she would have liked. Crawling through it was a struggle with her coat, which kept getting trapped underneath her knees and elbows as she progressed. Despite the difficult movements, the tiny space, and the dust that kept tickling her nose she continued, mostly undeterred despite for the fear that held her in its grip still. Her sharp ears followed the increasingly loud noise of gunshots and bangs, laced by the occasional cry. If it was one of pain, surprise, or triumph, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that Silver was in trouble, and she would save him or die trying. No-one else would die in this manner, not if she could do anything to help it.
Her scuffling through the vent quickly brought her to another opening. Through the tiny slits she could make out flashes of teal that lit up the smoke billowing through the room. At least that meant Silver was both still alive and on his feet. No matter how hard she pushed against the cover of the vent, though, she was unable to make the thing budge. Desperation made her actions frantic. She couldn't fail now, not this time, not when she was so close!
I'll break it, she heard a tiny voice murmur in her ear, and she moved her head a bit to look at Cyan. Slack-jawed Whisper glanced over the cover a bit more critically now. With Cyan and the Wispon they could easily break it, but the crash would be loud, and it could even destabilise the whole wall. Still... it was her only option. With the fight getting more hectic with every passing moment, the decision was made quickly.
"Are you sure..?" she whispered as her tiny cyan-coloured friend simply nodded and zipped into the Wispon. Clumsily crawling backwards, trying to put as much space between herself and the cover, she put a trembling finger on the trigger. With a single deep breath her finger moved back, and Cyan blasted the thing clean out of the wall. She quickly covered her face with a hand as she tried to suppress a few coughs at the cloud of dust that got sprayed over her. Despite the loud noise echoing all around her, there had been no changes in the sound of the battle; all of the participants had probably assumed the crash came from the fight itself.
Ignoring the itching of her eyes while crawling forwards again, Whisper peeked out of the opening. Now that she could at least partially put her head out she could properly take in the room. It was quite small, and absolutely littered to the brim with robot parts. Despite that, many more were making their way on the ground or through the air towards Silver, who stood in the middle of the room with a defiant, slightly desperate angle to his posture. Even from the side Whisper could hear his pants and see the sweat glistening on his body, as well as the blood that dripped from his side. Clearly he had been struck at least a few times already.
Wasting no time, she aimed her Wispon the best she could and set the Wisps to work. Every time Silver's back was turned towards her little nook another one of the aliens was sent flying, easily destroying whole swaths of robots and quietly making their way back to her in the chaos of the fight. With her help the robot horde decreased in size much more quickly and safely than Silver could ever have destroyed them on his own, and Whisper signalled the Wisps to stay behind her in the vent as the hedgehog finished off the last handful.
The sudden silence reverberated through the room, a stark contrast between the clamour it had contained moments prior. All that could be heard was Silver's gasps of pain as he very slowly turned around, poking at and taking in every heap of scrap metal with his hands glowing. Clearly he wasn't going to let his guard down so easily, and she inwardly released a sigh of relief at his perceptiveness in this moment.
The relief was lost and her entire body froze as he turned towards her corner and his eyes fell on the vent she was hiding in. Just like last time they met, she had the feeling he was staring right into her soul, eyes narrow as he looked right into her hiding spot. Neither of them moved, the hedgehog merely staring without trying to come closer and her heart almost beating out of her chest as she could only lay and wait.
With Silver not taking his eyes off the vent for a second, she watched with bated breath as his hand moved up to his ear. Unable to stir even the tiniest bit, she stared at his mouth as he began talking.
"Silver here. This mission was a bust; I got ambushed really badly and-"
With the silence of the room Whisper could easily make out what the worried, higher-pitched voice of a girl said over the intercom. "What?! Get out of there right now!"
"But there might be information here...!" Silver protested with an upset frown flowing onto his face, but whoever was talking to him was having none of it. "Your life is more important than any information! Leave the base, and that's an order!"
"...Yes, Amy." With a sigh he dropped his hand again, and the intercom went quiet. With trembling hands Whisper thought back to a time wherein she had been lovingly scolded like that for being careless, making her way back to their own base to be embraced with tender hugs from Claire, teasing compliments from Slinger, worried questions from Smithy as he bandaged her injuries and him, shifting into the craziest combinations of colours and people they could come up with to distract her as her wounds were treated. The sob that slipped past her lips could be heard throughout the entire room.
For a few intricate seconds Silver kept staring at where she sat, the frown slowly being replaced by something akin to sympathy, before he raised his hand again and... waved? A tiny smile made its way on his face with the movement. The whole moment lasted not even a second, but Whisper felt her entire body turn to stone as the hedgehog turned around and awkwardly stumbled to the door, a blood-soaked glove pressed to his side. Despite his injuries he had sustained in the battle Silver easily lifted up the door that had kept him locked in with his telekinesis. It got lowered again with nary a sound, the last spots of teal colour dissipating as Whisper laid in the vent, tears pooling in her eyes as she wept over what she had lost.
----
His saviour had been crying.
With a sigh Silver tried to make out the patterns of dirt on the ceiling again, but with how often his eyes had trailed over them already they had all blurred together into incomprehensible forms and shapes hours ago. It did nothing to distract him from the pain of his injured side, nor from the thoughts that were whirling through his head. He knew for sure he had seen a shape in the vent, somewhat resembling the head of a person. And even more, the sob that had reached his ears had not lied. There had been a living, breathing being inside of there, and they had just saved his life once again.
The flicks of light he had witnessed in the corners of his eyes during the height of the battle had only affirmed what he had suspected before: there had been Wisps involved as well. The little aliens worked together closely with the Resistance, mostly serving as ammo for their Wispons. Still, his saviour was unlikely to be working with the organisation Silver was a core member of... If they were, why would they not try to interact with him?
The time traveller would have gone and investigate, but something held him back in the moment. In the forest his saviour also hadn't tried to reach out to him, and here they joined the desperate battle he suffered through from the sidelines only. Maybe they were just really shy, or someone who was supposed to be working with Eggman but double-crossed the doctor, choosing to stick to the shadows as to not put a huge target on their back? Everything was a possibility at this point.
Silver hoped that with his little wave the first seeds for actual contact were planted. If they did not want him to see them in person, he would respect that for now. No, he had done the right thing by keeping his distance, yet also showing his goodwill. If they had found a way inside the building and locked room they would most likely also find a way out, and with his injuries and Amy's wrath a quick retreat had been a necessity anyway. Still, he couldn't help but cherish the thought that there was someone watching out for him, someone to look after him in a war-torn world where the Resistance lost more ground and comrades with each passing day. A guardian angel of sorts... Everyone could use one right now, and he as the Resistance's main fighter most of all.
Closing his eyes and focusing on his breathing, Silver decided to first get out of their little hospital wing where Amy and Knuckles had confined him, and then try to see if he could find out more about his guardian angel. It definitely seemed like they were in dire need of some form of support, and the hedgehog was more than ready to pay back his debts to them in whatever way possible. And then hopefully, he wishfully thought to himself as he drifted off into sleep, he would be able to meet them in person at last.