Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Our world is filled with all kinds of stories. So many tales to tell. Perhaps too many. But out of all these stories and legends whispered throughout the world, there is one I have had the honor of seeing with my own eyes.

But the true question should be where to start with this particular tale. It’s not for the faint of heart after all.

Hmm…well. It may be best to start at the beginning then.

Once upon a time, there lived two wise and just rulers. King Inferno, an Elemental born with the power of flame. And Queen Asha, a swordswoman who could slash into the fiercest of foes. Together, these two made it their sworn duty to protect their kingdom and the treasures it withheld. Treasures that could decide the very fate of the planet..

The Sol Emeralds. Seven mystical jewels with no known origin that wield tremendous power beyond anyone’s wildest fantasies.

And The Jeweled Scepter. An ancient staff with The Power of Stars, a magic that keeps not only the planet, but entire dimensions intact.

Protecting these cosmic gifts was a heavy burden, but Inferno and Asha carried it with pride. Their people meant more to them than their own lives…until one day, the king and queen decided it was time to grant the world a new miracle.

A princess.

The Sol Empire rejoiced when it was announced that their princess would soon be coming. Well wishes were sent, celebrations were held, and the townsfolk couldn’t help but ask questions. But the most excited of all were the king and queen themselves. They couldn’t wait to raise their little one in the world they loved so, so much.

…but tragedy struck…Asha’s strength was not enough to keep her alive. Her life was lost just as her daughter’s began.

Inferno, mournful over the loss of his wife, gave himself a new mission. Protect their child at any cost. A child he would name…Blaze.

Blaze, even with no mother, grew up a happy child with a promising future. Even before she could speak, her father was sure to let her know that he loved her more than anything else in the world. Even more than the treasures that she would one day protect.

Hope was beginning to burn within the kingdom once more…until fate decided to test them with its cruelty yet again.

Inferno, having succumbed to unnoticed wounds, had been taken from the world. Blaze had lost her father and thus her smile. Even with her personal guards continuing to care for her, it could not fill the aching void left within the young princess’s heart. Things only seemed to get worse when she inherited her birthright: the power of flames.

But without her father to guide her, this power was not a gift. It was a curse. With something as small as a tantrum, entire buildings would become engulfed in fire. This power, having never been displayed in such destructive capacity, terrified the people of The Sol Empire.

The guards who had promised the king to watch over her didn’t know what to do. The people Blaze would rule over fled from her flames. The other nobles of the world were not keen on their princess’s lack of control. And Blaze herself had no parents to turn to.

Even when others were there, Blaze felt…alone.

The princess, having grown in this solitude, inherited the throne and had managed to tame the wildfire within her own soul. Her people’s terror had finally started to subside. It was now her solemn duty to protect The Sol Emeralds and The Jeweled Scepter from those who worshipped evil’s might.

And one such worshipper arrived one day. A mustached madman known as ‘Eggman Nega’. Despite his strange name, his thirst for power and his robotic armada were nothing to laugh at. Blaze and the mad doctor battled time and time again until one day, he and an ally had successfully stolen The Sol Emeralds from our world.

Resolute and desperate, Blaze gave chase into an entirely different dimension and began gathering The Sol Emeralds one by one…but while retrieving them and destroying her foe’s machines was simple enough, our princess had run into something unexpected. Or rather, someone.

A young girl by the name of Cream The Rabbit, who had become her guide to this new dimension. It was the first time in a long time that Blaze had actually met someone new outside of her palace. It was almost too good to be true when Cream’s eyes widened with astonishment instead of terror at the sight of Blaze’s flames.

And Cream was not the only one Blaze had crossed paths with on her journey. Nor was she the only one to insist that Blaze’s mission did not have to be done alone. One particularly persistent warrior was a speedster named Sonic The Hedgehog, a hero who could rival Blaze in almost every way. It was his own enemy, Dr. Eggman, who had allied himself with Eggman Nega to steal The Sol Emeralds in the first place.

No matter how many times Blaze objected to their offers of help or even friendship, all of them refused to give up on her. It was as if each of them could see the solitude Blaze had grown up in.

And eventually…their efforts succeeded. For the first time in years, Blaze had let down her walls. These people had become her allies. Her friends. Even when she inevitably returned home, she found herself hoping that she would see them again one day.

For once, fate decided to reward the princess. The Sol Emeralds and their dimensional counterparts, The Chaos Emeralds, transported Sonic and a boy by the name of Miles Prower into our world to help prevent a catastrophe: the theft of The Jeweled Scepter at the hands of one of Eggman Nega’s machines. And much to Blaze’s shock, they were not the only ones pulled into this adventure.

A young girl by the name of Marine The Raccoon had also joined them. She was young and rambunctious, having dreams of sailing the planet’s endless oceans as a fierce pirate. And while her excitement proved to be more of an obstacle than an asset, Blaze had decided to take the little one under her wing once their journey had ended and Sonic and Miles returned home.

And as the two began their own adventures, Blaze discovered that she and Marine were more similar to each other than at first glance. Marine was an Elemental. Just like her. And knowing all too what having untamed power at a young age was like, Blaze had become more than just her mentor.

She had become…her sister.

…but then? A brand new adventure began for Blaze. Something that not even she could have ever predicted. And something that still somewhat baffles her to this very day.

The Sol Emeralds had transported Blaze into the future…but not her future. Not even the future of our world. But rather, a different time that had been completely ravaged by a power known as The Flames of Disaster. She had found herself combatting an unstoppable monster wielding the power over and over again.

But in this fight for survival in a world that was not her own, Blaze had made yet another ally. A psychokinetic warrior named Silver The Hedgehog, a young man whose sense of hope burned brighter than the stars themselves. Even when his home was a wasteland, Blaze would often hear him speak of hopes and dreams. Dreams of a prosperous world filled with smiling people instead of boiling lava. Hopes of the sun shining through the dark clouds after years of nothing but gray.

Silver had been alone for a long time. Perhaps even longer than Blaze had been. But while she at least had those her father assigned to protect her, Silver had no one. Despite worrying constantly for the safety of her own home, she knew that The Sol Emeralds had brought her to this disastrous place for a reason. And even without that knowledge, she couldn’t simply abandon the hedgehog who was barely clinging onto his hope of a brighter tomorrow.

The two had become partners. Fighting against the monstrous Iblis for what felt like an eternity. Protecting and saving the few people that had been surviving in Crisis City. But it was a losing battle for Iblis could never truly be defeated.

…or…so they thought. A chance at victory was suddenly offered to them by a strange being who introduced himself as Mephiles. He had proposed that the solution to Iblis was to destroy the one who had released him. The ‘Iblis Trigger’.

One that he had claimed was none other than…Sonic.

Blaze had very little time to process that her closest friend was the supposed cause of a horrible future. But Silver, believing The Iblis Trigger to be some kind of monstrous villain, was all too eager to save his world. Mephiles transported them back in time…but the strange being had no plans to save the future. He wanted to cement his own.

Mephiles was revealed to be the other half of Iblis. A demon who thrived on pain and destruction and would manipulate the young and naive to achieve his twisted goals into merging with his other half and allowing an all-powerful god called Solaris to live again.

Blaze and Silver had realized this and swiftly made amends with the ones Mephiles had attempted to convince them were their enemies. Silver had discovered that there was another way to stop Iblis and returned to the future with Blaze at his side. This method was to seal the beast within his own soul with the power of Chaos.

…however…Iblis did not accept him. He fought back against every attempt Silver made, keeping the world in destruction.

But Blaze could also not accept this. Taking The Emeralds from her friend, she offered herself as the beast’s new vessel. Even in a world that wasn’t her own, Blaze simply refused to let anyone innocent suffer. Let alone Silver, who she believed deserved a happy ending more than anyone. Despite Silver’s desperate pleas, Blaze was successful and then proceeded to seal herself and thus Iblis in between space and time, bidding her trusted friend one last goodbye.

Blaze had prepared herself to eternally struggle with the flaming beast, who had swiftly proved himself to be much harder to control than she believed. However, it wasn’t until The Sol Emeralds arrived did Iblis finally meet his end. Their cosmic power destroyed the beast’s consciousness and merged his destructive power with Blaze’s already fiery soul.

And then, in a brilliant flash of light, Blaze had returned to our world as if nothing had happened. As if her endless battles by Silver’s side were nothing more than a dream.

Why? It seemed that her and Silver’s efforts to save the future were not nearly as concrete as they had hoped. Mephiles had survived and enacted his last scheme, taking the life of Sonic The Hedgehog and thus releasing the past Iblis from his vessel. Solaris had returned, ready to consume all of time itself…but even with his unrivaled control over space and time, the god met defeat at the hands of not only Silver, but a resurrected Sonic and The Ultimate Lifeform himself.

Solaris had been erased from existence…thus, so had Blaze’s adventures with Silver. Neither of them had remembered the things they had gone through together.

…but even so, they met each other again. It was under new circumstances and forged over new memories, but their bond had proven to be far too great to simply be forgotten. Blaze had even decided to take Silver to our world to give him a proper home since his current living situation was…complicated. He had quickly become acquainted with the excitable Marine and the three of them decided to form their very own team.

But that, however, seemed to be the key to regaining what was once thought lost. When Silver had been shown the light of The Sol Emeralds, they had decided to restore their memories of their lost timeline. Their lost story.

They had also revealed to their guardian that Iblis’s power was now hers to command. A concept that Blaze had attempted to deny out of fear. Out of fear for what she would turn into when accessing The Flames of Disaster. Out of fear of the destruction she could cause. Out of fear of what her people would think.

…out of fear of what Silver would think.

So, she kept it hidden. She hid this power away from even herself.

But one day, she couldn’t hide it any longer. Thanks to the villainous efforts of an illusion-casting jackal and a vengeful alien, Mephiles had returned and demanded that Blaze release her new power so that he and Iblis would become Solaris yet again. Even when Silver and Marine arrived to help their friend combat the demon, Mephiles was adamant in his mission.

…until it was proven to be hopeless. Blaze unleashed her new monstrous form and demonstrated her complete control over The Flames of Disaster. Iblis was no more. His power was now just another weapon in Blaze’s arsenal.

And once Mephiles retreated, Blaze’s fears of being seen as a monster yet again…were swiftly put to the side. Silver did not see the beast that destroyed his future. He simply saw his friend in need of reassurance.

…well…if you could call his strong feelings for her ‘friendship’.

Needless to say though, Mephiles was forever imprisoned within non-existence alongside his allies. The world had been saved and so our heroes returned to our world yet again to relax. Our Sol Dimension.

But after so many adventures, so many battles, and so many struggles…what’s next? What awaits our princes-

“What are you doing, Gardon?” A voice suddenly asked, snapping the koala out of his focus and forcing his hand to mindlessly drift his pen across the page, thus staining it and all of his writing in ink.

Gardon slowly looked back down at his page and allowed his mind to process that his many paragraphs were now unreadable.

And the one who had called his name was none other than Blaze, who seemed to swiftly realize what she had done. “Oh, err, I…I’m terribly sorry.”

Gardon sighed. “No need to apologize. I suppose it was getting a bit lengthy anyway…”

Blaze then tilted her head. “If I may, what were you writing about?”

Gardon suddenly smiled a bit. “Oh, I think it’s something you’re very familiar with, your highness.”

Blaze’s eyes narrowed, but a slightly amused smile formed across her face. “Gardon, how many times have I asked you not to call me that?”

“Old habits die hard.” Gardon laughed. “Was there something you needed?”

“I was wondering if you had anything to report.” Blaze said. “I want to be certain that The Empire isn’t in any kind of danger.”

Gardon smiled. “Then I’m pleased to say that you have nothing to worry about.”

Blaze returned the smile and nodded. “That is a relief. But I must admit, I am surprised. The Chaos Dimension can’t seem to go a single day without some kind of threat or nuisance.”

Gardon hummed, standing from his seat. “I’d consider it a blessing. From what you’ve told me, Sonic’s gallery of rogues is much greater than ours.”

“Which currently sits at…well…none.” Blaze said, scratching her chin. She didn’t truly believe her own words. “Captain Whisker and his crew have retreated to parts unknown and we haven’t seen the likes of Eggman Nega in…years.”

“With a name like that, I wouldn’t want to show myself either.” Gardon playfully quipped.

Blaze couldn’t help but start laughing and her personal guard followed soon after…until suddenly?

A rumble suddenly rang throughout the air, causing both The Sol Princess and the swordsman to immediately freeze. Gardon even put his hand on the handle of his blade, looking ready to free it from its scabbard.

Blaze began to look around. “...what was that?”

“I…I don’t know.” Gardon admitted.

Blaze then looked out the window…only for her eyes to widen at the sight of robots suddenly flying across the air, firing various lasers and blasts and forcing the townsfolk to run and hide.

Gardon followed her gaze and gasped, swiftly pulling out his sword.

Blaze, however, just felt flames begin to lick at her fingertips. “It seems you spoke too soon. Gardon, alert Captain Lance and The Royal Guard to protect the people. I’ll deal with these machines and whoever sent them.”

Gardon just nodded and quickly ran off, sheathing his sword yet again.

Blaze, using her flames and enhanced speed to propel herself forward, made a mad dash for the palace’s exit and was outside within mere moments.

She had been itching for a fight anyway.

Chapter Text

Thanks to her flames, Blaze had little to no trouble arriving at the center of the kingdom in time. Fire was igniting from her feet and racing her across the ground as if she were some kind of living missile.

And when The Sol Princess screeched to a halt, she was met with the horrifying sight of pitch black Egg Pawns aiming their blasters at a group of civilians. Her people desperately taking cover behind a stand.

Blaze gritted her teeth and charged, immediately hurtling a fireball towards one of the Egg Pawns and blasting it into pieces. The other robots rotated their heads, only for Blaze to deliver an even harsher fate to each of them. She roundhouse kicked one of them while empowering her foot with flames, simultaneously shooting out a beam of fire towards another.

And when there was only one more standing, the mindless machine quickly began to fire its weapon at her. Blaze dodged the first shot, sliced through the second with a slash of fire, and then finally unleashed an X-shaped blast of flame towards the Egg Pawn.

Needless to say, when the townsfolk peeked out to see what had caused such a commotion, they were left wide-eyed at a pile of ash and burnt machine parts and their princess at the center of it all.

One of the civilians gasped at the sight of her. “Princess Blaze!!!”

Blaze quickly rushed over to them. “Are you all alright?”

“W-we’re fine! Thanks to you!” Another cried. “But there’s still more of these robots all across town!”

Blaze nodded. “I will deal with them. Get somewhere safe!”

“B-be careful, your majesty!” A third civilian cried.

Blaze simply smiled. “I appreciate your concern…but I’m not the one who should be careful.”

Then, after watching her civilians run off to safety, Blaze dashed across the kingdom at super speed and proceeded to take out countless robots along the way. A few dozen more Egg Pawns, a handful of flying robots, and a destructive duo of much larger machines wielding hammers.

Each one were clearly Badniks, which gave Blaze a sneaking suspicion as to who was even behind this attack. Needless to say, she had wished she simply hadn’t said anything about him.

After slicing through an Egg Fighter with her flames, Blaze began to look around the town for any more civilians or robots to burn to cinders. Unfortunately, her answer was the latter and took form in the sound of several mechanical footsteps.

Blaze whipped around, her fists becoming entirely engulfed in fire and her face bearing a stone cold expression. Which refused to falter even at the sight of a large battalion of Egg Fighters surrounding her.

In perfect sync, each of the Egg Fighters transformed their arms into energy cannons, which all took aim at the imperial princess herself.

Blaze got ready to charge…until?

The battalion suddenly became coated with a familiar cyan aura and froze. And then, one by one, they began to float high into the air. Their ascension only continued until they had surpassed the tallest building in the kingdom.

Blaze, however, just grinned and dispersed her flames. She took a step back and then crossed her arms, looking up at the floating Badniks.

Then, simultaneously, the Egg Fighters began rocketing back towards the ground at speeds faster than the regular eye could see. And with an indescribable sound, the entire battalion shattered into pieces the moment they hit the ground.

Blaze then turned around just in time to see someone flying over to her. “Thank you for your assistance, Silver.”

Silver The Hedgehog just smiled at his partner. “I always got your back, Blaze!”

“As I yours.” Blaze said before looking ahead. “Follow me. I doubt that was the last of them.”

The Sol Princess then raced off with a burst of fire, with the hero of the future flying after her with a streak of psychokinetic energy trailing behind him. The duo of heroes raced across The Sol Empire before screeching to a halt at the sight of a new opponent.

Another Badnik, but this one was looming over them in size and seemed to be styled after some kind of bull. And once it caught sight of them, it immediately opened its mouth and fired out a laser beam.

Silver gasped and quickly flew away from the beam while Blaze simply blasted herself into the air with her flames like a rocket. And while being sure to constantly remind herself to not look down, Blaze landed on top of a rooftop and stared down the robotic bull as its back suddenly opened up to reveal various missiles.

“Silver!” Blaze cried, leaping off the rooftop the moment the bull looked at her.

And it seemed the call of his name was enough for Silver to realize what she wanted him to do. The missiles fired from the bull’s back one by one, but were quickly frozen by Silver’s psychokinesis.

Blaze landed on the ground, but immediately blasted herself back into the air and towards the bull. And with a battle cry, The Sol Princess spun around into a fiery tornado and slashed through the robotic bull’s jaw, cleaving it from its hinges and forcing a screech from the Badnik’s voice box.

Silver smirked and then raised his hands, commanding the missiles to redirect themselves towards the very being that fired them in the first place. “Have some of your own medicine!!!”

The missiles all rocketed back downwards, bending to Silver’s will and striking the bull over and over, engulfing the robotic beast with several miniature explosions. And as a smokescreen formed around the bull, Silver and Blaze met up.

“You think that did it?” Silver asked.

Blaze didn’t respond. She simply stared at the cloud of smoke ahead, readying herself for any possibility.

And then, slicing through the smoke with a cracked horn was the robotic bull. Its eyes were glowing a blood red as it let out another mechanical screech. But the severely damaged armor and countless spots across its body revealing exposed machine parts were more than enough proof to the duo that the beast would not last longer.

Silver and Blaze’s hands shined with their respective powers as the bull began stomping towards them, likely preparing another one of its weapons. But just before the duo could charge and finish off the beast?

A figure suddenly landed on top of the robotic bull’s head. She stumbled a bit, clearly struggling to keep balance, but laughed triumphantly when it was regained. “Sorry, mate! But I can’t let you take out my crew!”

Then, from Marine The Raccoon’s hand, a small strand of water began to solidify into a cutlass. And after slicing into the barely intact armor atop the robotic bull’s head, she jammed her watery weapon into what would be the central processor of the machine.

The robotic bull’s massive head quickly started to spark and twitch before its entire body began to stumble forwards. It had begun shutting down…and unfortunately, Marine was starting to fall with it. The wannabe pirate, realizing this, let out a terrified cry as her watery cutlass transformed into a simple puddle.

Blaze’s eyes widened in horror. “MARINE!!!”

“I got her!” Silver cried, quickly shooting his hands forward and encompassing his young teammate within the light of his psychokinesis, keeping her afloat while the robotic bull crashed onto the ground, defeated.

Marine blinked and she looked around for a moment before realizing what had happened. She then laughed and pointed down at the defeated Badnik. “HA! That’s what you get when you mess with the great Captain Marine and her crew!!!”

Blaze sighed in relief as Silver carefully pulled Marine over to them and set her down. And naturally, Silver was the first to check on her. “Are you okay, Marine?”

“What do you reckon, Silver mate?” Marine asked with a grin. “A great captain wouldn’t go down like that! And I just so happen to have you and Blazey makin’ sure of that!”

Blaze sighed and crossed her arms. “Marine, that was still really dangerous…”

Marine’s eyes softened and she rubbed the back of her neck, giving her friend a sheepish grin. “Okay, maybe a little. But I’m gettin’ really good with my…err…what did ya call it?”

“Hydrokinesis?” Blaze asked, her protective gaze turning into that of amusement.

Marine smiled and nodded. “Yeah! I was awesome up there, wasn’t I?”

Silver laughed with a bright smile. “You were! You’re getting better and better!”

But then, a very familiar voice rang out through the air. One that all three of them had wished they’d never hear again.

“Your psychokinetic friend would be right. You have become far stronger than our last encounter…”

Team Dimension whipped around just in time to see a familiar flying machine hovering above them. But the machine wasn’t their concern. It was who was piloting it.

It was a bald man wearing goggles and red pointy sunglasses. His mustache was snow white in color…or at least, half of it was. While one side of him was wearing a white and black bodysuit with a vertical red stripe going up the middle and a black, red, and yellow jacket? The other side of him was completely dark and seemed to be lined with what looked to be bright red computer coding. That half of him was even glitching in and out of existence every few seconds.

The man grinned at them. “But I can tell that you’re still the whiny little brat our dearest princess keeps around for her own amusement.”

Blaze snarled and stood in front of Marine and Silver protectively. “Eggman Nega…”

Silver, however, was just staring at their foe’s new appearance in confusion. “W…what happened to you?”

The mad doctor chuckled. “You of all people should know the consequences of messing with the timeline, Silver. To put it simply, my family’s history has changed in unexpected ways. I am no longer a mere man. I’d thank them if I didn’t despise them…”

“I admit surprise that you’re even still alive.” Blaze scowled. “I would’ve assumed that someone as cowardly as you would’ve died inside The Ifrit’s domain.”

The glitching madman just grinned. “Ah. I take it the future’s self-proclaimed ‘hero’ told you of our last encounter, your highness?”

Marine then stepped forward. “You were really dumb to come back here, bloke! We beat you everytime and a makeover ain’t gonna change that!”

“You fail to realize that every experiment has its setbacks, little brat…”

Blaze’s hands were now completely engulfed in flames. “If you know what’s good for you, Nega, you’ll surrender here and now!”

The mad doctor suddenly…laughed as he stood from the seat of his machine. “Oh, please! No one calls me that anymore. You may refer to me as Dr. Nexus from now on…or at least, for the last fleeting moments of life I’ll be granting you.”

Blaze didn’t say anything more. She simply leapt high into the air and then threw a fireball right at her deranged foe’s grinning face.

But the fireball never struck him. Something suddenly flew in front of Nexus and took the blast for him, but barely seemed to be affected.

Blaze’s eyes widened as she landed back on the ground, with Silver and Marine sharing her expression as a new opponent hovered above them.

It was a robot, but it wasn’t anything like the other Badniks they had destroyed. She had purple and pink armor littered across her body and a large reactor that was beginning to generate flames from within her chest. Her claws practically glistened in the sunlight, looking to be razor sharp. Lastly, her head resembled The Sol Princess herself, but made entirely of metal instead of flesh and fur.

Nexus sat back in his machine. “Ivo Robotnik may have been a bumbling fool…but he made a decent muse. Your highness, I would like to introduce you to your demise! METAL BLAZE!!!”

BOSS STAGE: Metal Blaze

Blaze was silent as she looked into the digital eyes of her robotic copy. Unlike many of the robots she had faced, she could actually see a spark beneath the visor that gave her sight. A spark that would soon ignite into an inferno of hate.

“Metal Blaze? Fulfill your appointed task.” Nexus commanded.

Metal Blaze’s yellow eyes seemed to glow brightly before she lunged at her organic counterpart, trapping The Sol Princess’s neck in an ironclad grip before she rocketed into the sky with her in her grasp.

Silver’s eyes widened and he immediately took to the air, having Marine follow him within the grasp of psychokinesis. “BLAZE-!”

Nexus slammed his hand against a button within his machine, deploying a cannon that shot down the psychic with a blast.

And as Silver crashed to the ground, Marine was soon to follow. But she scrambled to her feet and rushed to her friend’s side. “SILVER!!!”

Silver slowly pushed himself up. “I…I-I’m okay!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Nexus smirked before activating more weapons from his pitch black vehicle. “I still wish to repay you for the ‘generous’ fate you and that ninja bestowed upon me…”

But as the battle between Silver, Marine, and the deranged Dr. Nexus began? Blaze and her robotic doppelganger had engaged in their own duel, with Metal Blaze only seeming to carry Blaze higher and higher into the sky.

Blaze felt her heart pound with terror, mentally commanding herself to not look down as her terrified eyes stared into the hateful visor of Metal Blaze. But as their ascent came to an abrupt halt, Blaze realized what her foe’s intention was.

As Metal Blaze’s grip came loose, Blaze grabbed ahold of her arm and managed to swing herself onto Metal Blaze’s back. Focusing her eyes on the back of the robot’s head only, Blaze rammed her foot into Metal Blaze and forced them to start rocketing downwards.

Metal Blaze, however, began spinning her entire body around and almost instantly forced Blaze off. The Sol Princess didn’t even get the chance to realize she was now falling before Metal Blaze, still spinning like a tornado, kicked her organic counterpart in the side.

Blaze screamed in pain, but that too was cut off by Metal Blaze grabbing ahold of her sides and rocketing towards a nearby mountain and slamming Blaze into its stone walls. The robotic cat then opened her claws, which suddenly became engulfed in flames.

Acting fast, Blaze quickly grabbed onto Metal Blaze’s wrist just as she prepared to swing her flaming claws. It was taking almost all of her strength just to hold them back and this machine seemed to be just as ruthless as Sonic’s own robotic copy.

Blaze then gritted her teeth and managed to slam both of her feet into Metal Blaze’s chest, sending her back about an inch. But an inch was all she needed, for Blaze then rammed into her mechanical doppelganger after completely engulfing her body in fire. And almost resembling a meteor, the two violently crashed into what was once a field of lush green grass.

But that field had been given a flaming crater from the two’s impact, effortlessly burning away the beautiful piece of nature that once stood there.

Blaze leapt out moments later, with Metal Blaze serving as her perfect mirror and landing across from her. The two cats, one organic and the other robotic, immediately shot out their hands and shot out beams of fire that instantly collided and began pushing against each other in a mighty struggle.

‘She can mimic my powers, my fighting style, and lacks my fear of heights!’ Blaze thought, increasing the power of her beam. ‘Is overpowering her even an option?’

But then, Metal Blaze suddenly lunged forward, canceling her beam and simply flying through Blaze’s flames. And not even a second later, she emerged from the fire and dealt a fierce uppercut to Blaze, sending The Sol Princess flying through the air.

Blaze barely managed to land on her feet and looked ahead, seeing that Metal Blaze was completely unscathed by the fire. ‘I suppose not…’

Metal Blaze’s turbine then suddenly began igniting before shooting out a devastating mix of energy and fire towards Blaze. While Blaze was completely fireproof, she knew that the other half of the attack could successfully harm her, so she ran off with the beam following close behind.

Blaze’s eyes narrowed before she launched herself into the air with her flames just in time to avoid the flaming beam’s strike. The Sol Princess began observing Metal Blaze, trying to think of a strategy to put this battle in her favor.

And then, she saw it. Metal Blaze’s turbine. Perhaps if she was able to damage it, she could take out some of her systems along with it.

Not having many other options, Blaze then dove back to the ground and began running at super speed. And just as she hoped, Metal Blaze took off and began flying after her with a trail of wild flames behind her. Almost immediately, the two were neck and neck in their race across the land.

Blaze tried to run even faster, even using her flames to propel herself even further. But no matter how fast she went, Metal Blaze would emerge by her side seconds later. They started going faster. And then faster. And then faster.

The Sol Empire was coming into view. And just as the racers blasted through the kingdom’s entrance, Blaze screeched to a stop. Metal Blaze seemed to realize this and had to grab onto a lamppost just to stop herself and then spin her body back around to face Blaze once again.

“I admit! You are a fearsome foe…but you have yet to prove your worth!” Blaze called, readying herself. “If you wish to be my equal, you will have to try harder!”

Metal Blaze, enraged by this comment, rocketed herself towards The Sol Princess at full speed and opened her flaming claws, as if to slice her organic counterpart in two.

But Blaze simply met her charge halfway and tackled Metal Blaze out of the air. The two rolled and tumbled across the street before Metal Blaze swatted her foe off of her, allowing Blaze enough time to launch herself onto a rooftop with a gust of fire.

Metal Blaze, slamming her claws into the ground to stop her tumble, then threw herself back into the air and fired herself at Blaze like a living missile. But Blaze had simply leapt over her robotic copy and then shot out a slash of fire towards another lamppost, slicing it in half.

Then, grabbing hold of it and wielding it like a bo staff, Blaze turned around to see her foe lunging at her yet again. But The Sol Princess yet again met her charge and then thrusted the post straight into Metal Blaze’s turbine.

The post shot out through Metal Blaze’s back moments later and the robot herself began to spark and twitch violently. Blaze raised her hand to deal the finishing blow, but Metal Blaze suddenly rocketed high into the air, forcing Blaze to grab hold of her with a yelp.

The metallic doppelganger’s entire body became completely engulfed in flames as it wildly zig-zagged through the air before diving downwards, striking the ground with a massive explosion that enveloped both her and Blaze.

But as a large fire formed in their crash-site…Blaze leapt out of it, completely unscathed and victorious.

BOSS CLEARED

Blaze took a moment to catch her breath before looking ahead and gasping at the sight of Silver and Marine still caught in their own battle with Nexus. His machine had deployed a minigun of some kind, forcing the duo to take cover behind a large slab of debris.

The Sol Princess immediately began running in to help…but Silver suddenly lifted his hand, using his psychokinesis to suddenly throw the slab of rock towards Nexus. The mad doctor’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull as the slab crashed into his machine, forcing it and him out of the air.

Marine’s eyes were wide as their villain crashed…but she quickly cheered. “WOOHOO!!! Silver, that move was ripper!!!”

Silver smiled and was about to answer…before Nexus suddenly appeared behind him, having somehow teleported. And as his glitching arm suddenly transformed into a large blade, Marine’s eyes went wide and she opened her mouth to warn her friend.

But the psychokinetic hero didn’t need a warning. He spun around just in time and lifted his hand, freezing Nexus’s blade arm before he could swing it.

Nexus growled with a deranged sneer and tried to swing his other arm for a punch, but Silver froze that as well before pushing the air, thus pushing Nexus himself into the cold walls of a building.

Silver grinned. “Guess we now know why you let your robots do the fighting for you.”

Nexus groaned in pain, struggling to rise to his feet. “T…that much is clear…”

Blaze then finally stepped over, standing beside her teammates. “It’s over, Nexus. Surrender peacefully or we will use drastic measures.”

Nexus’s mad grin then returned to his face. “You mock me, my dear…I’d rather perish than surrender to you.”

Then, swiftly reaching into his coat and pulling out some kind of detonator, Nexus pressed his thumb against the button and caused his flying machine to explode. And the shockwave was close enough to knock all of Team Dimension off of their feet while Nexus himself had teleported away from it just in time.

Blaze, Silver, and Marine slowly began to rise to their feet…but their mustached foe reappeared behind The Sol Princess and raised his blade arm yet again. He swung it down…but the blade never struck her.

Before it could even touch her, someone had delivered a fierce side-kick to Nexus’s face. As the mad doctor wildly stumbled back, the handle of a spear was jabbed right into his gut before he was karate chopped in the same spot.

Nexus tried to hold his now hurt stomach, but was swiftly kicked in the face by his unknown attacker and forced to hit the ground. And as the mad doctor wallowed in pain, a golden spear was pointed at him.

“You’re a fool to even think of laying a finger on the princess…and you’re an even greater fool for returning to this world.” A voice spat.

Blaze had risen to her feet alongside Silver and Marine, and all three seemed to relax when they recognized their ally. He was unmistakable. Especially to Blaze.

He was a Mobian. Specifically a red cat with ragged fur and golden knight armor to compliment a bright red cape that blew lightly in the wind. His grip on his spear was ironclad as he stared down Nexus, practically daring him to make a move.

“Captain Lance.” Blaze said as she went over. “Your timing couldn’t have been more perfect.”

Captain Lance turned his head towards her before stomping on Nexus’s stomach with his armored boot, just to make sure he stayed down. “Royal Guard! Surround him! I don’t want him making even the slightest move!”

At Lance’s command, several armored warriors all carrying various weapons surrounded Nexus immediately while Lance himself walked over to Blaze, saluting her. “Are you alright?”

“We’ll be just fine.” Blaze reassured, looking at her teammates for a silent confirmation, which they both gave through nodding and a thumbs up.

Lance lowered his hand. “That is a relief.”

“Were the people successfully evacuated? Were there any injuries or casualties?” Blaze asked.

“A handful were injured, but there were no casualties.” Lance replied with a shake of his head. “What shall you have us do with-?”

“Uhhh…Blazey?” Marine asked as she suddenly pointed towards the fire that her and Metal Blaze’s crash had created.

…and crawling out from it was Metal Blaze herself, having removed the post from her chest and actually looking to be burnt from the explosion. Her right leg had been completely removed.

Blaze stared in shock at the sight of the robot’s shaky crawling. She supposed she should’ve expected her to survive, but she found herself surprised regardless.

But then, Nexus suddenly began to speak. “It appears I should make myself scarce. I enjoyed this little reunion.”

Blaze whipped around, her eyes wide. “NO!”

And then, before The Royal Guard could attempt to stop him, Nexus disappeared, leaving nothing but glitching sounds in his wake.

Metal Blaze looked to where her creator once was…and shakily outstretched her hand towards the spot, as if he was still sitting there. But her digital eyes began to flicker on and off just before her hand went limp and her body shut down.

Chapter Text

Team Dimension was rendered completely quiet, staring at the same spot The Royal Guard had their eyes glued towards. The spot where Nexus once was before he had made his escape. His new form had improved more than just his fashion.

Blaze then clenched her fist. “He got away…”

“H-how’d he just disappear like that?!” Marine cried, looking around in several directions as if the mustached madman was hiding somewhere nearby.

Silver scratched his chin, trying to think. “His new look…it feels familiar somehow.”

Blaze turned. “What do you mean?”

“He mentioned that he only looks all glitchy because of changes to our timeline.” Silver said. “But I feel like I’ve seen it before. Back with Sonic and the others.”

Blaze hummed, a rather frustrated look on her face. “If it comes back to you, please tell me.”

Lance, struggling to understand all this talk of interdimensional time-travel, just shook his head. “Princess Blaze, shall I begin a search party for the doctor?”

Blaze sighed and nodded. “Thank you, Lance…”

Lance then suddenly set a hand on her shoulder, his mask hiding a soft gaze that he had often given The Sol Princess. Especially during her youth. “We’ll find him. We have before and we shall again.”

Blaze’s frustration eventually subsided and she let free a soft smile. But her serious expression was quick to return. “In the meantime, it seems we have a lot of clean-up to do.”

Silver looked ahead at the various piles of robots and rubble. The kingdom wasn’t destroyed by any means, but the streets were now an absolute mess thanks to their battle. “R…right…”

But as everyone began to discuss their next moves regarding clean-up or finding Nexus, Marine’s attention slowly drifted towards the deactivated Metal Blaze. The young raccoon slowly walked over, swiftly shooting out a small blast of water to put out the fire behind her before kneeling down to the robot’s current height.

Whenever she had destroyed a robot, she always felt a sense of pride within herself. She had taken out a villainous machine and stopped them from hurting both her and others. That was something to be proud of. And it was something Blaze and Silver often congratulated her for.

But the longer she stared at Metal Blaze, she didn’t feel any of that pride. And it wasn’t because she wasn’t the one to have dealt the finishing blow. The more she looked into the empty visor that was Metal Blaze’s eyes, Marine felt…empathy.

She looked towards Metal Blaze’s outstretched hand, quickly noting that it was reaching towards where Nexus had once been. As if she had been silently pleading for her creator to come back and get her.

Nexus…abandoned her. He didn’t even bother trying to save her when she was clearly still functional. He used her last moments of consciousness (or at least the robot equivalent) as a distraction to save himself.

Marine’s eyes softened as she turned her head back towards Metal Blaze’s inactive face. “You poor thing…”

Blaze finally noticed her friend’s whereabouts and quickly rushed over. “Marine, don’t get too clo-”

“Oy, Blaze! Can you help me out?” Marine cried, suddenly wrapping the robot’s arm around her shoulder and began pulling…but she had barely moved the robot an inch.

Lance’s eyes narrowed under his mask. “Pray tell, what exactly are you doing?”

“Ain’t it obvious, mate? I’m gonna fix her!” Marine cried before gritting her teeth and pulling at Metal Blaze’s arm again.

Blaze’s eyes widened. “You’re going to what?”

Silver walked over. “Uhh…Marine? I don’t think that’s such a good-”

“That might be the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.” Lance said, his grip tightening on his spear as if it was some kind of stress toy. “And that’s saying something.”

Blaze immediately turned her head towards her lead guard. “Lance.”

“She wants to fix the robot that attempted to kill you mere moments ago!!!” Lance cried before looking back at Marine. “What in Sol’s name would give you the motivation to do this?!”

Marine, however, just looked back at Metal Blaze. “I feel bad for her…”

While Lance just seemed more baffled than before, Blaze simply walked over to her. “You feel bad for her?”

“I mean…yeah, she tried to hurt you and that’s not okay, but…that’s just what that mustached bloke told her to do!” Marine cried. “And then he just left her. I’m thinkin’ that if I fix her up, make her right as rain, she won’t be a bad guy anymore!”

Blaze’s eyes softened. Some part of her believed her young friend to be naive to the truth that Metal Blaze was designed to be their enemy and would likely just attack them once repaired. But the much less logical part of herself knew that this wasn’t exactly the first time they had attempted to make friends with a former enemy.

And the more she looked at her robotic counterpart, she started to see more and more what Marine had seen in her empty visor. Not a lifeless pile of scrap, but something- someone who had been abandoned for a single failure.

“Princess, you can’t actually be considering this.” Lance said.

Silver then rubbed the back of his neck. “I think I’m with Marine on this one. I mean, it’s risky, but if Metal Blaze is anything like some of the robots we know back in The Chaos Dimension? There’s more to her than meets the eye. And we can’t know if she’s 100% evil if we don’t even give her a chance.”

Marine’s eyes quickly sparkled that she had successfully convinced Silver. She then looked at Blaze and began giving her the ‘puppy dog eyes’. “Please, Blaze? You wouldn’t say no to your captain, would ya?”

“...Silver? Would you mind accompanying her? Just in case Metal Blaze does go rogue?” Blaze asked.

Silver smiled. “Not a problem!”

Marine cheered and then wrapped Blaze in a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!”

Blaze, a bit taken aback by the sudden hug, eventually regained her composure and gently patted Marine’s head. “Y-you’re welcome. But you have to listen to Silver and take as many precautions as possible. I don’t want you getting hurt, regardless of Metal Blaze’s potential.”

“I will!”

Blaze gave her a look. “Promise?”

“I promise!” Marine said proudly before walking back over to Metal Blaze, now being the one to pat her on the head. “Don’t worry! You’ll be apples when you’re all fixed up!”

Silver then lifted Metal Blaze’s body into the air with his psychokinesis, studying the robot. “Are you sure you even know how to fix her?”

Marine just grinned. “You dare doubt the great Captain Marine?”

Silver laughed and then playfully saluted. “Not at all, Cap’n!”

Blaze watched her two friends from afar with a small smile before hearing a heavy sigh from Lance, of whom she turned towards.

“This is a very bad idea. I hope you realize that.” Lance said. “You can’t just humor a child every time they come up with a ridiculous idea.”

“This isn’t just for Marine’s happiness, Lance. Silver and I have seen firsthand that robots are capable of defecting. Two of Eggman’s mightiest are now some of our greatest allies.” Blaze said. “And as silly as it may sound, I also feel a sense of pity towards Metal Blaze.”

“Why…?”

Blaze’s smile softened. “Nexus is a heartless man. I was not at all surprised that he left his own creation to save himself. If Metal Blaze is capable of feeling, then she has essentially been abandoned. And after a single failure. And it’s as Silver said. How can we know if she’s truly a mindless automaton if we never give her a chance?”

Lance let out another sigh. “Very well. But if she does end up attacking us-”

“Then I will handle it.” Blaze promised.

Lance then suddenly chuckled. “Much like you’ll handle tomorrow’s gathering?”

Blaze’s eyes suddenly widened. “That’s tomorrow?!”

“Gardon will tell you the same thing.” Lance said as he began to walk away. “I’ll begin those search parties for Nexus. After all, you clearly have your hands full.”

Blaze let out a groan as she wiped her hand down her face with an all new frustration.

Hunting down mustached madmen and robotic pirates was beyond stressful. And the battles she had with both often had devastating stakes such as the safety of all-powerful artifacts or the planet itself. But while she would never openly admit it, some small part of Blaze did feel a certain rush whenever she was in battle or had succeeded in saving the day. Perhaps it was because it was one of the few times her power didn’t feel like such a burden? She wasn’t sure.

But what she was sure of was that there was little to no thrill when it came to hosting parties. At least, with the royal gatherings she found herself in time and time again. It was always the same thing.

Spend countless hours readying the decorations, the food, the ballrooms, and mentally preparing herself for all the people she’d be speaking to for the rest of the night. The other nobles of the empire or different royals from across the land. She was the imperial princess after all, so a handful of people at the very least always had something to say to her.

…or about her.

Some of the nobles and royals were very polite with her and at times made for good small talk. They rarely conversed about something that wasn’t political or involving their various duties, but Blaze just knew they were either trying to help or wanted to continue succeeding at their job.

But then came the others. The ones that Blaze often dreaded talking to. The various nobles and royals that would only pretend to be happy to be there, judge everything about her either quietly or out loud, brag about their various accomplishments and wealth, and gossip about her behind her back.

She remembered how much it hurt the very first time she had eavesdropped upon a pair calling her powers ‘barbaric’ and how she was unfit to be a princess because she was wearing a tailcoat instead of a lavish gown. But that memory wasn’t completely negative because she had also recalled how Gardon quickly cheered her up after wiping away her tears, saying how they ‘lacked the gall to say that to her face’ and how they were ‘jealous of the gift she had and weren’t worth paying attention to’.

…that and Lance ‘accidentally’ broke a table and subsequently launched pies in their faces. And they were far too scared of him to finish their threat.

And speaking of pies?

“WHY IS THERE A SECOND PLATE UNDERNEATH THE TOP?! MOVE THE PLATE!!!” Royal Chef Ellis bellowed towards his staff, who were running around the kitchen in a panic to get their jobs done. “JAKE, YOU ARE DOING THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT I JUST SAID!!!”

“I’M SORRY, CHEF!!!” Jake sobbed, tears cartoonishly streaming down the koala’s face.

“I DO NOT WANT ‘SORRY’, I WANT CLEAN DISHES!!!” Royal Chef Ellis cried with a thick British accent.

Blaze and Gardon were just…watching. This chaos was unfortunately very familiar to both of them. They had both learned the hard way to not disturb the Royal Chef when his staff had enraged him.

“...did Ellis forget to go to anger management today?” Blaze asked nonchalantly.

Gardon hummed. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Blaze then checked her clipboard, sighing. “I’d much rather be focusing on finding and stopping Nexus than a social gathering. It bothers me even more that we don’t know what he’s planning.”

“If he even has a plan.” Gardon said.

“Are the-?”

“Security has been maximized on both The Jeweled Scepter and The Sol Emeralds. And will only be growing in numbers when the party begins.” Gardon reassured.

Blaze sighed in relief. “Good.”

“You don’t have to worry, princess. You have stopped Nexus before and you shall again.”

“I’m aware…but his new set of powers concerns me. And his last scheme nearly plunged the entire planet into volcanic devastation.” Blaze said. “It’s hard not to worry or to wish we could reschedule this party.”

Gardon’s eyes softened. “...while I can’t blame you there, I doubt we would be able to reschedule anyway. Prince Geo has finally accepted the invitation.”

Blaze froze at the name and immediately whipped her head towards her personal guard. “Prince Geo? Of Terra?”

Gardon nodded.

“He…never accepts the invites we or anyone else sends.” Blaze said, her eyes wide with surprise. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him outside of photos.”

Gardon smiled a bit. “Looks like this party may be a bit more interesting than usual, hmm?”

“I…suppose so.” Blaze said, slowly nodding. “Although I doubt I’ll be the only one wishing to speak to him. Terra’s lack of involvement in…anything is infamous. I wonder what’s changed.”

“Seems you’ll find out.” Gardon said.

“WHY ARE THE CARROTS CUT, JAKE?!?!”

“THAT WASN’T ME, CHEF!!!”

Gardon sighed and walked over, his hand on his sword. “Okay, I’m intervening.”

“Introducing The Duke and Duchess.”

Blaze politely smiled as the two nobles approached her, the imperial princess giving a bow. “Thank you for attending.”

“The pleasure is all ours, your highness.” The Duke said in a rather deep voice, bowing back with a warm smile.

The Duchess performed a curtsy with her own grin before it softened. “We heard of the other day’s invasion. Is it true that mad doctor’s returned?”

Blaze sighed and nodded. “He has. But I can assure you, we are handling it.”

“That is a relief.” The Duchess sighed. “Do be careful, your majesty.”

“Thank you. Please enjoy the party.” Blaze said with an actually genuine smile as the two walked away.

“Introducing Count Cerberus.”

Blaze’s grin quickly soured…at least on the inside. On the outside, it was the same as ever as a black Mobian wolf approached her. She bowed. “Thank you for attending.”

“Ah, yes. It was truly an honor to be invited.” Count Cerberus said in a tone Blaze could’ve sworn was sarcastic. “Although I trust you haven’t invited that…what was that boy’s name again? Chrome?”

“Sil-”

“Oh, it doesn’t really matter. His manners were barbaric and he reeked of cinders and ash.” Count Cerberus said. “Although considering your…unique skillset, I suppose I shouldn’t be very surprised!”

The count laughed while Blaze’s face remained stoic, secretly suppressing the urge to kick him right down the hall. “Silver could not attend. He is busy.”

“Oh, of course. I’m sure he does wonders at children’s birthdays with his party tricks.” Count Cerberus said before beginning to walk away. “I thank you yet again for the invitation, your majesty."

‘I’ll invite you to a lava pit next time…’ Blaze thought, trying with all her might to not grit her teeth at his horrid comments about the psychokinetic hero.

“Introducing King Null of Umbra.”

Blaze’s eyes widened a bit at the name and she swiftly turned her head, her once fake smile turning genuine again as a Mobian lizard walked into the room. His scales were gray-blue and he bore a singular black stripe on his head, which seemed to fit perfectly with his black shawl, gloves, and boots.

“Princess Blaze.” The king said as he walked over to the imperial princess, two armored guards standing behind him. He had a frown across his face…but it transformed into a gentle smile on his face as he bowed. “It has been some time, has it not?”

Blaze bowed back. “That it has, your highness. Forgive me for my surprise, I thought you weren’t going to be attending due to…?”

“A common cold that has long since passed.” Null chuckled. “But if you can handle all of your duties while protecting our entire planet from mustached madmen and robotic pirates? I think I can handle something as small as the flu.”

Blaze then laughed. “I suppose so. And you’ll be happy to know that we haven’t had any pirate-related incidents for the past few years.”

“Of which your empire and mine are forever in your debt.” Null said with a bow of his head before walking off. “I hope to speak to you again, princess?”

“The sentiment is shared, your highness.” Blaze said with a nod.

Gardon then slowly walked over to her, a clipboard in his hand. “I believe that’s everyone except for Prince Geo. Perhaps he changed his mind?”

“Or he could simply be running late.” Blaze suggested as she began surveying the ballroom. The people that weren’t around the cloth-dressed tables littered with platinum trays and 5-star dishes were either around the room and talking with each other, their voices filling the room with their sound. And as the music began to play, a few of the couples were beginning to dance with each other at the very center.

Gardon hummed. “I’ll double check just to be certain. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, I should be able to handle myself.” Blaze smiled.

Gardon stared at her for a moment, as if trying to see if she was simply being polite or if she was telling the truth. And when he discovered the latter, he smiled back and walked off.

Blaze then looked at her throne, having the urge to sit down since she had been standing in the same spot for about an hour in order to greet each guest. She had been used to it after years of doing this, yes, but that didn’t mean she particularly enjoyed it.

But then?

“And introducing…Prince Geo of Terra.”

Blaze’s head simultaneously turned towards the entrance alongside nearly every other guest at the party. Some of them bore shocked expressions, some of them quickly became excited, and others were either very unimpressed or trying to keep calm.

Then, another Mobian lizard walked into the room. His scales were a dusty orange and his eyes were a bright green, unlike the yellow gem in his forehead which was almost identical to the same one Blaze had embedded in hers. His tail was abnormally long, looking to be capable of wrapping around his entire body and making someone mistake it for a snake. And like most male Mobians, the only clothing he had was in the form of gloves and shoes. But while his crimson gloves weren’t much to write home about, his boots were far more interesting. They almost resembled armor with crimson fabric wrapped around them, held together by golden rings.

The Prince looked…uncomfortable. While his face bore a stoic expression, Blaze could see the almost nervous look in his eyes when he realized that countless eyes were on him.

One particularly excited noble who just so happened to be the closest to him, smiled wide. “Prince Geo! It’s so lovely to meet-”

Then, two guards wearing bronze armor and wielding maces suddenly stepped in front of the prince and held their weapons up to the noble, speaking in perfect unison. “KEEP YOUR DISTANCE FROM THE PRINCE.”

The noble squeaked and scrambled away, even hiding behind another guest.

But then, Geo suddenly put his hands on the shoulders of the guards and pulled them apart. His stoic expression had become one of embarrassment. “Pardon my, err, loyal guardsmen.”

After a moment of painful silence, the party slowly went back to normal. The guests began to talk or look through the various meals…while most of them tried to avoid eye contact with Geo and his terrifying guards. Even the ones that looked desperate to talk to him had quickly lost interest.

Blaze, however, couldn’t help but grin a little. It seemed Gardon was right in this party being much more interesting than she once thought. She stepped over. “Prince Geo. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Geo was about to speak, but his two guards quickly held up their maces again. Blaze, of course, had no reaction for she had been threatened with worse.

“KEEP YOUR DISTANCE FROM THE-”

“At ease, you two! At ease!” Geo commanded with a sneer. And when the guards finally stepped to the side, the lizard sighed in relief and bowed. “My sincerest apologies, Princess Blaze.”

Blaze just laughed and bowed back. “Believe me, this actually made the party much more interesting.”

“...your definition of ‘interesting’ is being threatened with maces?” Geo asked, a small smile beginning to form across his face.

Blaze simply shrugged. “You would be surprised what I have been threatened with.”

Geo was quiet…but he actually began to laugh, starting to step closer. “It sounds like you have a few stories to tell, your majesty.”

“I actually prefer to just be called Blaze.” The Sol Princess said. “Being called ‘your highness’ or ‘your majesty’ gets a bit old after the hundredth time.”

Geo chuckled. “I can share the sentiment. You may just call me Geo then.”

“It’s an honor to finally meet you. I admit surprise that you actually came. You’ve declined our previous invitations.” Blaze said.

Geo sighed. “If I am being perfectly honest, this wasn’t entirely by choice. My royal advisors insisted it would be good for both the kingdom and me if I interacted with other nobles.”

“And by insist, you mean nag?”

Geo grinned. “You’ve had experience with this, haven’t you?”

“My advisors have a tendency to bring something up continuously until I actually do it.” Blaze replied.

Geo playfully shook his head. “And here I thought I’d have no one at this party to talk to. Speaking of which, it looks very lovely.”

“My staff worked incredibly hard on it.” Blaze smiled, looking back at the crowd for a moment. “Is it them you should be complementing.”

Geo hummed. “I doubt you did nothing.”

“I supervised.”

“Well, that’s doing something.”

“Is it? I’m pretty sure it’s just a different way of doing nothing.” Blaze quipped.

Geo grinned. “I did not expect to hear jokes from you. Actually, I didn’t expect to hear jokes from anyone here. I had assumed that anything anyone would ask me about is trade disputes, economics, or political issues.”

Blaze’s eyes suddenly softened, looking disappointed to end this topic of conversation. “Which does remind me…”

Geo’s smile shrunk, but it didn’t completely fade away. “Ah. This was inevitable, wasn’t it?”

“Forgive me, but it can’t be avoided.” Blaze sighed. “The Sol Empire prides itself on benefiting the world not only by protecting its ancient possessions from falling into the wrong hands, but through assisting other parts of the world through trade, charitable services, or even sharing parts of our vast history. But The Kingdom of Terra is infamous for…not doing anything at all.”

Geo’s eyes narrowed a bit. “It’s less that we do nothing and more that we simply don’t involve ourselves in issues that are not our own.”

“That’s exactly my point.” Blaze said. “To my understanding, Terra is almost overwhelmed with its vast resources, yet refuses to share it with other nations. Is there any reason as to why? Why does your kingdom do so little to help anyone beyond the people of its borders?”

Geo sighed. “...Blaze. How do you protect your people?”

Blaze tilted her head at her question being answered with another. “Pardon?”

“How do you protect your people?”

Blaze thought for a moment. There were a number of ways to answer this question because there were many ways she helped her people. “I try my best to listen to them. Their needs. Their questions. Their fears. I find myself walking down the street and I’m always reminded that every voice I hear comes from a person. A person with years worth of story to tell. What others may see as numbers, I see as another reason to keep fighting the good fight.”

Geo smiled a bit. “And that is what I am doing.”

Blaze turned her head, seeming a tad surprised.

“My people are the very reason I stand to meet the sun every day.” Geo said, looking ahead. “Be it the youth or the elderly, they look at me as if I am some kind of guardian angel sent from above. Each set of eyes carries their own tale. Their own reasons for looking up to me. I cannot let anything risk their safety.”

“I…I understand. Truly, I do.” Blaze said. “But there are more people out there. People who may not have a protector. Something that you and I are capable of providing.”

“...they…they are not of Terra’s concern. Besides, from the sounds of it, you provide the world plenty of protection on your own.”

“A good friend of mine once told me that sometimes you can’t do things alone. And even when you can, it’s better with friends.” Blaze said.

Geo turned his head. “Friends? I believe we just met, Blaze.”

Blaze hummed. “You’d be surprised how little time it takes to forge a bond with someone. I’d know this better than most.”

Geo sighed. “It seems I have not been lied to when my advisors told me you were a kind and just ruler. I can tell that you truly care about not just your kingdom, but the world. For that, you have earned my respect…but the risk of sharing what we have and potentially giving some of our strongest metals to the vilest of villains is just too great. It’s better that I just do not get involved.”

Blaze opened her mouth to speak before her ear suddenly began to flicker. She could hear the faint sound of a…jet engine.

Then, a flaming figure suddenly smashed through the window and flew into the room. Almost immediately, all the guests either backed away or screamed in horror as the flaming figure landed in the center of the room. The inferno surrounding them eventually dispersed, revealing…

Metal Blaze.

Blaze gasped at the sight of her fully repaired and not at all pacified robotic copy. She was quick to raise her fists, which slowly began to spark with their own flames.

King Null emerged from the crowd, holding out his arms. “Everyone! Take cover!!!”

But as the various princes, princesses, and other nobles began to take cover, Metal Blaze simply redirected her gaze towards Blaze herself. Her jet engine roared to life as she lunged towards her organic counterpart.

Blaze prepared to defend…but never got the chance.

For Geo suddenly leapt in front of Blaze and unleashed a battle cry as he punched Metal Blaze with all his might. The robotic cat’s visor cracked as she was sent flying, crashing into a wall.

Blaze’s eyes widened at the sight and she looked at her fellow royal, dumbfounded by his sudden display of strength.

But Geo simply stood tall and then looked at his two guards. “Protect the guests. I will deal with this machine.”

“...Geo…?” Blaze asked.

Geo then turned towards Blaze with a small grin. “I apologize in advance.”

“...for what?”

“This.” Geo said before he suddenly slammed his heel into the floor. Not even a second later, a large boulder ripped itself out from the ground. The royal lizard then twirled around and kicked the boulder towards Metal Blaze just as she freed herself from the wall.

Metal Blaze’s digital eyes widened and she quickly held out her hands, just barely catching the boulder in time. Her claws scratched at its rocky exterior before she spun around at super speed and tossed it right back at Geo.

But Geo simply charged and punched the boulder into thousands of pieces…and then shot out both of his hands, commanding the tiny pieces of rock to fire at Metal Blaze like bullets in a minigun. Each one was a direct hit, with Metal Blaze having little time to properly defend herself.

Blaze stared on in awe, almost unable to believe what she was seeing.

Geo was…an Elemental? Like Marine? Like her?

Geo grinned and then suddenly readied himself with a stance. “If you robots are as intelligent as you claim, you’d find it wise to surrender peacefully.”

Damaged, but far from done, Metal Blaze launched herself at Geo again and shot out a blast of fire at her opponent. But Geo simply raised his hands and summoned a wall of rock from the floor to shield himself. The royal lizard then leapt on top of the wall, suddenly latching his tail onto the stone itself.

Metal Blaze quickly flew up towards Geo, opening her claws for another attack. But it seemed this was exactly what the prince had wanted.

Geo then raised his tail, which had become completely enveloped in a makeshift mace entirely made of rock. Then, swinging his tail like some kind of wrecking ball, he struck Metal Blaze in the back and sent her crashing through the stone wall he had just summoned and onto the floor.

Metal Blaze smashed the ground in frustration before rising to her feet, turning to face Geo…only to suddenly be forced into a kneeling position when both of her wrists were bound by stone.

Geo then began to walk over to the robot, ready to swing his makeshift flail. And with a battle cry, he prepared to do just that…until?

Marine suddenly slid in front of Geo, holding out her hands. “WAIT!!!”

Geo’s eyes widened in horror and he quickly froze, managing to stop the swing of his tail just in time.

Marine then sighed in relief before looking around with a sheepish smile. “Uhh…g’day! Sorry about this! My, uhh, my friend just woke up on the wrong side of her charger!”

“...this machine is your friend?” Geo asked, sounding surprised.

Marine smiled. “Yes!”

“No.” Metal Blaze said suddenly, revealing herself to actually be capable of speech.

Blaze felt incapable of saying anything, still processing the sight of another Elemental not only existing, but having just displayed a literally groundbreaking demonstration of his power.

Marine then looked back at Metal Blaze, suddenly pouting at her. “You said that if I gave you your leg back, you wouldn’t do this!”

Metal Blaze didn’t respond.

“Don’t gimme that look!”

Then, Silver suddenly flew into the room through the shattered window Metal Blaze had created, his hands glowing a bright cyan. “Everyone, ba-!”

But as the hedgehog looked around, he slowly floated back down to the ground with a puzzled look on his face. “Uhh…nevermind?”

Marine then smiled sheepishly at her friend. “I think we missed the party, Silver mate.”

“I can tell.” Silver said with a nod before looking towards the awestruck Blaze. “Blaze?”

Blaze continued to not speak. She just looked down at Metal Blaze and then at the destroyed floor and then finally at Geo himself.

Geo sheepishly smiled at her. “…I’ll pay for the damages.”

Chapter Text

After the ballroom was wrecked in the battle between Prince Geo and Metal Blaze, everyone almost simultaneously agreed that it would be best to leave before another robot lookalike with a grudge came in, as unlikely as that scenario was. But that included Geo himself.

Blaze had been rather silent ever since the party’s end, still struggling to process that other Elementals…existed. She supposed she should have come to that conclusion sooner when Marine first discovered her powers, but her main focus had been making sure that she didn’t feel alone or like her power was a burden. Not so much asking questions that she likely didn’t know the answers to.

But now the idea of others couldn’t leave her head. How many other Elementals were there? Were they exclusively royalty like her and Geo? How many of them could be allies? How many of them would be their foes? How-

“Annnd…okay! They’re off!” Marine smiled, shutting a panel on the back of Metal Blaze’s head.

The robotic cat herself was being held completely still by Silver’s psychokinesis, with the cyan aura only fading away once Marine had closed the panel. Metal Blaze was quiet for a moment before clenching her fists, facing Marine. “You deactivated my weapons systems?”

“And pretty much everything that could hurt any bloke!” Marine said with a grin. “Oh! Except the claws!”

Metal Blaze looked down at her metallic hands…and then opened them, her claws glistening with a combat-hungry shine. But once again, she was rendered frozen by the psychokinetic hedgehog’s signature ability.

“Not this time.” Silver said, his eyes narrowed. “Marine, can you somehow render those immobile?”

Marine blinked and then walked closer. “Uhhh…I don’t think Tails taught me how to do that yet…”

Metal Blaze then spoke to the two, despite not being able to turn her head away from the psychokinetic grasp keeping her in place. “You insist on keeping me online, yet are aware my prime directive is to destroy Blaze The Cat. Why?”

Blaze huffed and then walked over to her robotic double. “It’s called empathy.”

“All emotions, empathy included, are a weakness. A flaw.” Metal Blaze said coldly. “I do not possess such things.”

Silver then hummed. “Well, that’s clearly not true. You’re confused as to why we’re trying to help you. Confusion’s an emotion.”

“I do not require your assistance. I require your demise and for the prosperity of Dr. Nexus.”

Blaze crossed her arms. “The same man that abandoned you to save his own skin?”

“He did not abandon me.”

Blaze lifted an eyebrow. “Is that so? Then where is he?”

Metal Blaze…didn’t respond. At least, not right away. “He…will return in a matter of moments. I am his greatest creation. He would not abandon that.”

Blaze’s eyes then softened. Clearly it was going to take a bit more time to reach Metal Blaze than they all originally thought.

“Metal, I…I know this is kind of hard to hear.” Silver said. “But he’s not coming back. To him, you aren’t a person. You’re just a weapon for him to use.”

“Would one not return for their greatest weapon then?”

Silver very slowly freed Metal Blaze from his psychokinetic hold. “Is that all you really want to be though? You can be so much more!”

Marine nodded. “Yeah! Doesn’t that sound ripper? Gettin’ to do whatever you want without some mustached bloke tellin’ ya what to do?”

Metal Blaze simply looked at Blaze…and then prepared to leap forward, only for Silver to freeze her one more time.

Blaze released a heavy sigh. “On any normal circumstance, I’d insist on deactivating you. But I do not want to be like your creator.”

“My prime directive is to surpass and destroy you. I shall not relent until that task is complete.”

Blaze put her hands on her hips. “Then I propose a new task for you.”

“I only take orders from my maker. You have no power over me.”

Blaze hummed. “You’re right. Hence why this is a suggestion. Not a command.”

“...declare it.”

“If Nexus really is planning on coming to your rescue…then simply wait for him.” Blaze said. “And if he arrives? You’re free to try and combat me again.”

“Would it not be more logical to terminate you now?”

Blaze shrugged. “Perhaps. But I know Nexus better than I’d like to admit. He would personally like to see my defeat with his own eyes. I’m positive he would take great pride in you if you were to best me in front of him.”

Metal Blaze was silent, seemingly allowing herself to process this. Her eyes then glowed for a moment. “Your proposal has been…accepted.”

Blaze nodded. “But I do have one condition. You are allowed to freely roam the castle, but you will not hurt anyone. After all, it would go against your prime directive. The only one you’re here to combat is me.”

Metal Blaze’s digital eyes seemed to narrow. “Your conditions have been accepted.”

“Good. Silver, release her.”

Silver, a little hesitant, slowly released Metal Blaze once again. He then watched the robotic cat walk off into a corner to begin waiting for her creator. The psychokinetic hedgehog turned towards his longtime partner. “You’re sure about this, Blaze? Just letting her roam the palace”

“Our words and sentiments cannot reach her just yet.” Blaze said, her eyes soft. “She needs to realize that Nexus isn’t coming back for her.”

Marine looked up at her. “So…what are we gonna do?”

“We’ll be keeping a close eye on her and act if need be, but until then? Yes.” Blaze said. “In the meantime, I think I have some questions for Gardon and Lance. I’ll see you both later?”

Silver smiled brightly. “Of course! How about I take the first shift watching Metal Blaze?”

“Sounds like a plan. Call if either of you need anything.” Blaze said with a nod, unable to help herself in admiring his large smile. The same smile that could break even the toughest of inner walls.

It certainly helped break hers down a little more.

The Sol Princess then walked off to find both her personal guard and The Royal Guard’s very own captain. The two guards that she had known for her entire childhood and the same guards her late father had left her in the care of.

It took a bit of searching throughout her incredibly large palace, but she eventually found them inside of The Great Hall, speaking to each other. Blaze was quiet as she walked over, for the sounds of her heels clicking against the floor were loud enough to get their attention.

“Your high- Blaze?” Gardon asked. “Is everything alright?”

Blaze just nodded. “Yes, everything is fine.”

Lance then crossed his arms. “Has that mechanical imposter been dismantled yet?”

Blaze sighed. “No. But she has been pacified. At least for now.”

Lance slowly shook his head. “I still don’t think keeping her around is a good idea. Especially when she is capable of hurting you and everyone else in the palace.”

“The same can be said for everyone else. Even you, Lance.” Blaze said. “But I understand your concerns. I’m just asking you to trust me on my judgement.”

Lance was now the one to sigh. “Very well.”

Gardon hummed. “Is that all you came to us for?”

“...not exactly.” Blaze said. “I have no doubt you know what happened at the party last night? With Prince Geo?”

Lance just nodded. “I wish I could have seen the battle itself instead of the aftermath.”

“From what little I saw of it, the prince held an admirable amount of skill.” Gardon hummed. “But what of it?”

Blaze’s eyes then softened and her more professional demeanor began to slip by the slightest margin. “...when I was little, you always tried your best to comfort me when my flames terrified me. You always insisted that they were a gift. Not the curse I believed them to be.”

Lance and Gardon looked at each other for a moment, sharing a concerned glance before facing Blaze again.

“You…couldn’t teach me how to use them properly because you didn’t know how. But you tried your best regardless. For that, I am thankful.” Blaze said. “But…why didn’t you ever tell me that there were other Elementals like me? Like Marine?”

Lance and Gardon now seemed…surprised. The koala then began to tap his fingers together sheepishly while the crimson cat lifted his golden mask, revealing his rugged face. “Because we couldn’t find them. To the point where we doubted that they even existed sometimes.”

“We figured it would be better to tell you what was known. Not what we speculated.” Gardon admitted. “But then, Marine came along and confirmed our suspicions…yet only left us with more questions considering we don’t actually know where or who her family is. According to The Coconut Crew, she was found as an infant.”

Blaze, all too familiar with this, just nodded. “I…honestly should’ve begun questioning her powers the moment she displayed them.”

“You have enough on your mind, Blaze.” Lance reassured. “But we do apologize for not telling you sooner.”

“I appreciate it, but I’m not upset. Simply processing.” Blaze said, slowly turning towards a large portrait hung in The Great Hall. Specifically, a portrait of a five year old version of herself…and her late father, King Inferno.

Lance and Gardon turned towards the portrait as well and their gazes almost immediately softened at the sight of the blue cat.

“...I…I remember a story he would tell me.” Blaze said suddenly, closing her eyes as she began to recall the memory. “About how our family first retrieved The Jeweled Scepter.”

“Long, long ago,” Her father began. “Before our empire ever existed, there lived a dark sorcerer who dreamed of conquest and chaos. So, using his twisted magic, he forged a powerful weapon that could control the very planet itself!”

The young Blaze gasped, lightly clutching at the covers. She could visualize this villain almost perfectly in her mind. A long black cloak, jagged fangs, and a terrifying laugh.

Her father seemed to notice and his soft grin grew as he began to speak with a bit more enthusiasm. “This weapon became so mighty that it unlocked The Power of Stars, a mystical energy that could allow the dark sorcerer to access entirely different worlds! Brand new dimensions!”

Blaze began pulling the covers over her face, starting to get a little nervous. What had ever happened to her father’s happy bedtime stories?

“The world was in peril. All seemed lost…until? The Sol Emeralds themselves arrived and chose champions to fight this great evil.” The Sol King said. “A princess who could wield the sun’s flaming might! A warrior who battled the ocean’s mightiest storms! A monk who could crack the Earth with a single step! An explorer that flew alongside the wind! And a rogue from another world!”

Blaze’s eyes started to shine as a smile began to form across her face, now all too eager to hear the next part of the story.

“United by The Sol Emeralds from all across the world, these five heroes made it their vow to stop the sorcerer and his dark plans. Time and time again, they battled his armies and saved countless lives, inspiring hope and courage within the people of the world. Their powers and their union made everyone believe that they had nothing to fear. That the darkness could never consume them as long as they stood tall like their heroes.” Her father smiled. “The sorcerer recruited demons to help him fight, but their alliance was built upon deceit and greed. It crumbled before the heroes and their bond, which proved to be stronger than any thirst for power.”

“And then they defeated the sorcerer…?” Blaze asked, smiling.

Her father laughed. “Now, now, let me finish!”

“Okay, Papa.”

“The sorcerer had lost all of his allies. So, in a desperate plea to win, he used his weapon’s power to carve a rift in the sky itself!” The Sol King cried.

Blaze gasped, even covering her mouth.

“Volcanoes erupted in rage! The Earth trembled with fright! And the heroes felt powerless to win. No matter how many times they charged, the sorcerer would simply swat them down with his dark power. But hopelessness could not grasp the heroes. Even with all odds against them, they planned to keep fighting until the bitter end…and this unwavering courage was rewarded.”

“How?” The princess asked.

“The people they had inspired. The people they had saved…they had come to fight with them. Hardly any of them had powers or anything that made them special, but they still fought because it was what their heroes taught them. And when they lifted the heroes back to their feet, The Sol Emeralds reappeared and granted them even more power! A power that not even the sorcerer and his godlike weapon could match.”

“And then? And then?” Blaze asked. “What happened next?!”

“The dark sorcerer fought back…but his efforts were futile. He had been defeated and his weapon had been stolen, being used by the flaming princess to fix all the damage done to the world.” The Sol King smiled. “The people of the planet rejoiced, as did our heroes. Their victory had brought upon a new age of peace and prosperity…an age where the princess became queen.”

Blaze tilted her head, clearly wondering as to how.

“Because the princess, during their grand journey, had fallen for her otherworldly ally. The two heroes had married, becoming the first king and queen of what we now know as The Sol Empire.” Her father said. “Our home. That flaming princess was our ancestor. Queen Sphinx.”

Blaze’s eyes went starry. “The heroes were real?”

“Yes!” The Sol King said before holding out his hand, summoning a small flame. “The Sol Emeralds choosing them is what led to Queen Sphinx passing down the very flames I now command.”

“...Papa?”

“Yes, my child?”

“Could I be a hero too? Like them?” Blaze asked. “Like you?”

Her father, King Inferno, seemed a bit surprised for a moment…before he warmly smiled at her. “Oh, my little one. You’ll be the greatest hero of them all.”

Blaze’s eyes opened as she looked back at the portrait. Her father’s warm smile was forever cemented thanks to it. It had been years since his passing, but she still missed him.

“...Blaze?” Gardon asked.

Blaze turned towards him and Lance. “The story he told me involved my ancestor making allies to protect the world from harm. And now, I have no doubt that these allies were Elementals as well.”

Lance nodded. “Most likely. What are you getting at?”

“The last time Nexus was here, he nearly tore apart the fabric of reality. Even with our current searches for him, we should be making a greater effort to stop him and any other threats that may follow.” Blaze said. “Marine and I were able to rid the seas of Captain Whiskers and other thieves. And when Silver joined us, similar threats only lessened. If we enlisted more allies, ones that could help us fight evils in person, the world would be safer than ever before.”

Lance’s eyes widened at the idea before he hummed. “That…could work.”

Gardon then smiled, recalling a time where Blaze had once insisted that she could do everything all by herself. “I take it Prince Geo is a potential candidate for this alliance?”

Blaze chuckled a bit. “Yes. I’d prefer to enlist those with powers like mine. Or at the very least, those who are capable in a fight.”

Lance sighed. “Given Terra’s history of isolation, the prince won’t be easy to convince.”

“I know.” Blaze said. “But the fact that he defended everyone at the party from a threat he had nothing to do with does speak volumes. It’s worth a shot to at least ask him.”

“Shall I start a letter then?” Gardon asked.

Blaze shook her head. “No. I wish to speak to him in person. Marine, Silver, and I will go to Terra.”

“Just the three of you? Gardon and I could always come along.” Lance said.

Blaze smiled. “As much as I’d like to take you two on one of my travels for once, I insist that you two remain. Gardon’s the only one I trust to handle my more political duties while we’re away and you are the only one strong enough to match Metal Blaze if she decides to go rogue again, Lance.”

Gardon then playfully grinned. “You’re sure it’s not so you can spend time with your friends on the high seas?”

Blaze cleared her throat slightly. “That…may or may not be part of the reason.”

Lance then sighed and nodded. “If you insist. Metal Blaze will not leave my sight.”

“Please don’t attack or dismantle her. She’s already proven difficult to gain the trust of as is.”

“...I make no promises.”

Gardon’s eyes narrowed and he hit his fellow warrior in the arm.

Lance grimaced at the strike before huffing. “As you wish.”

“C’mon, c’mon, let’s go!!!” Marine cried, practically rushing over and swiping the case of materials and supplies right out of Blaze’s hands before rushing onto their battleship known as The Ocean Tornado.

Blaze let out an amused smile as Silver floated over to her, carrying another case with his psychokinesis. “She’s more excited than I thought she would be.”

“Well, it has been a while since we’ve gone sailing!” Silver smiled as he and The Sol Princess boarded the ship. “Since your world’s been peaceful for so long.”

Blaze hummed. “Not wrong.”

Marine then rushed over to the steering wheel with a large grin across her face. “Adventure awaits, mates!!! You ready?”

Blaze looked around at the various supplies they had packed and then looked up at the young raccoon. “I believe we’re ‘ship-shape’.”

Marine smiled wide and pressed a few buttons and flipped a dozen switches, The Ocean Tornado whirring to life in response.

Silver looked ahead, already feeling the breeze blow lightly through his quills as the ship began to move. “Next stop? Terra!”

Chapter Text

The Earth of The Chaos Dimension was almost 70% ocean. That would almost seem hard to believe since both Blaze and Silver had been on lands where there wasn’t a drop of water in sight. But when they did eventually reach the oceans during their travels, Blaze couldn’t help but be reminded of her home.

The Sol Dimension was nearly 80% ocean after all. The planet they called home still had land, of course, but anyone who wanted to travel and see the world would need to learn how to sail. For they’d be traversing through seemingly endless mazes and labyrinths of nothing but sea and the obstacles it had to offer.

Blaze was staring out into the ocean, the wind lightly blowing through her fur and hair. She had quickly lost track of time, not knowing how many hours had passed by exactly. But she had to admit, even though their journey was for business and not pleasure, she felt relaxed. Being out on the open seas with no threats to fight and with the two people she trusted with her very life was a feeling that just made the imperial princess smile.

Her ear lightly flickered when she heard Marine humming a sea-shanty to herself while steering the ship, surprisingly not outright singing one like she usually would. Perhaps because she knew that Blaze wouldn’t wanna join in.

But someone who would want to join in if she had started singing was the next person that got Blaze’s attention. With a turn of her head, she could see the psychokinetic hedgehog resting his arms on the rails of The Ocean Tornado and looking out into the endless sea with a content smile on his face.

Blaze smiled and walked over to him. “Is something on your mind?”

Silver’s smile just grew as he shook his head, still looking ahead. “Just enjoying the view. I mean…it’s all so beautiful. Clear skies without a dark cloud in sight, oceans of blue that feel like they go on forever, and the cool breeze.”

Blaze hummed and rested her own arms on the railing, looking ahead. “I suppose I forget to remember how precious these sights really are. It feels like once I’ve seen them the first few times, they start to lose their spectacle. But then, out of nowhere, they suddenly become more grand than before. Usually after being away from them for so long.”

“...I wish my future could have this all the time.” Silver said suddenly, his smile suddenly beginning to shrink.

Blaze’s eyes softened a bit and she turned towards her friend.

“I mean…one moment it’s exactly like this! Shining, colorful, and just brimming with life and culture!” Silver cried. “But then…something bad happens in the past and it turns into a soulless wasteland in the blink of an eye. And I’m the only one ranting about the sudden changes while everyone else, if there’s even anyone left, just looks at me like I’m crazy. That it’s ‘always been this way’.”

“Silver…”

Silver sighed. “Sorry. I don’t mean to bring down the mood or anything. It’s just I sometimes feel guilty that I get to be in a world that has these sights almost every day while the people of my timeline are completely unaware that their happiness depends on a single moment in the past. And…and it gets kind of tough to keep being the only one left in some kind of apocalypse. All because history says I was supposed to be in the past when those catastrophes began. But I guess that’s what comes with being a time anomaly, huh?”

Blaze then gently set a hand on Silver’s. “To be the sole protector of your home is a burden. Believe me, I would know. Which is how I also know that you carry it well. Better than most would. If the people of your world knew what you had done for them, they wouldn’t be able to thank you enough. And while I know that this world or The Chaos Dimension’s past can never replace the true feeling of home, I hope you know that you are always welcome here.”

Silver looked down at their conjoined hands and for a moment, tints of red began to color his cheeks. But his signature smile eventually returned. “Thanks, Blaze. If I’m being honest? You and the others have kind of made this place a second home for me. I’ve even started another Victory Garden back at the palace!”

Blaze smiled wide. “That you have. I often find some party guests or even some of the royal chefs requesting your apple pie recipe.”

Silver rubbed the back of his neck. “Amy was a big help in making that.”

“It’s still a small piece of the heavens themselves compared to what I attempt to bake.” Blaze said.

Silver’s eyes widened. “H-hey, that’s not completely true! Your cupcakes were delic-”

“Silver, you passed out.” Blaze said, her eyes narrowed. “We had to take you to the hospital.”

Silver blinked. “...would you believe me if I said that was because of how good it was?”

Blaze couldn’t help but laugh, knowing that Silver was just trying to spare her feelings of how bad a cook she was. And due to laughter often being contagious, Silver started to erupt with chuckles and giggles as well.

And as the two laughed, Marine was looking at them from afar with an almost sinister-looking grin across her face. She knew all too well what was really going on between them. What had been going on between them in all the time that they had known each other.

The hydrokinetic raccoon then reached into a drawer and pulled out a journal, still devilishly smirking as she reached for a pencil as well. And after flipping to an empty page, she began scribbling something down.

She had become something of a writer as of late.

‘After besting The Demon’s Hurricane, Swashbuckler Silver and Pyro-Pirate Blaze continued their journey to find The Enchanted Castle! The only home perfect enough for adventurers like them! And the home where they would spend the rest of their lives together. Not a single sea beast or villainous captain could destroy the love they had for each other! And if they tried? They’d meet the swing of their swords!’

Marine then lightly tapped the edge of her pencil against her chin before calling out. “Oy, Silver!! Do you know how to use a sword?”

Silver turned towards her, ready to ask why she would ask something like that out of the blue…but then he started scratching his chin, beginning to think about the question itself.

Blaze, however, asked the question in his stead. “Marine, why would you need to know that?”

“I’m just curious!” Marine cried.

“I mean…kind of?” Silver said. “I’ve never been properly trained though.”

Marine gave a thumbs up. “Got it! Thanks, mate!”

Blaze and Silver looked at each other with a shrug before turning their heads back to the sea, only for both of them to almost jump. Blaze then quickly whipped around towards Marine again. “Marine! We’ve reached Terra!”

“In other words? Land ho!” Silver called.

Marine’s eyes widened and she quickly closed her journal, shoving it and the pencil back into her drawer before grabbing hold of the steering wheel and flipping a few switches. “Full speed ahead!!!”

The Ocean Tornado’s engines began to whir as the battleship began to move faster, the wake only beginning to grow due to the increase of speed. The once light breeze turned into that of a small gust of wind, but neither The Ocean Tornado or its crew faltered in reaching their destination.

They grew closer and closer, seeing a loading dock where they could anchor themselves. And just ahead of the dock itself was a small village. While they were too far to properly see, they could see that it was filled with people, be it children playing around or adults working their usual jobs. Nothing out of the ordinary.

…but then, Blaze’s ear flickered at sounds not at all connected to their own ship. She looked to the side, squinting her eyes at what appeared to be…something swimming right beside them. It was underwater, so it either had to be an animal or some kind of submarine.

The Sol Princess watched the phenomenon closely, trying to spot any details that would give away what it even was. And as if to answer her, whatever was swimming beside them slowly began to peek out.

What looked to be a black shell littered with spikes slowly began to protrude from the water. More and more of it began to reveal itself until a set of glowing yellow eyes could be seen. They were directed right towards the town up ahead.

Then, the creature stopped swimming and began focusing all of its efforts on emerging from the sea. And almost immediately, the creature’s shadow completely enveloped The Ocean Tornado as it stood tall.

It was some kind of demonic-looking hermit crab. But unlike the usually harmless creature, it was easily three stories tall, its claws looked to be as sharp as blades, and its exoskeleton was covered in spikes both big and small.

Silver stepped back, his eyes wide in horror. “W…what the heck is that thing?!?”

The hedgehog wasn’t given an answer. The sea beast just opened its fang-ridden mouth and screeched into the air.

Up ahead, the people of Terra began to scream and run. Parents would rush over to their children and scoop them into their arms while workers would drop whatever task they were doing to focus on escaping. The sound of their terrified cries were practically deafening.

But it only served as motivation for the monster to start making its way towards the village, its blade-like legs beginning to move almost perfectly in sync.

Blaze just gritted her teeth. “We can find out what it is later, we need to stop it before it reaches the village! Silver, I need you to get us over there!”

Silver nodded and began floating into the air, carrying Blaze with his psychokinesis.

“Marine? Prepare the cannons and fire when it’s in range!” Blaze commanded.

Marine just saluted with a grin. This wasn’t the first sea monster they had battled after all. “When has your captain ever let you down? Go show ‘em what for, Blazey!!!”

Silver and Blaze then dashed into the air as the multi-legged monstrosity began to step towards land. But with a swing of his arm, Blaze was suddenly sent rocketing towards the beast. And just as she began to approach its face, The Sol Princess twirled around and engulfed herself within a flaming tornado just before striking the monster.

The monster roared in pain, stumbling backwards and even mindlessly swinging its claws around in confusion. Then, with a shake of its head, the demonic crab looked ahead at who had just attacked it.

Blaze, still in Silver’s psychokinetic grasp, wasted no time in summoning a pair of fireballs from her palms.

The monster snarled and took a defiant step forward, now having a brand new target.

MINI-BOSS: Sea Beast

“You are different from the usual robotic abominations we fight. Regardless of your goal, I will attempt to make this painless. But I make no promises.” Blaze said before hurling both fireballs at the beast.

The Sea Beast raised its claws, shielding its face from her attacks. And it seemed each of the fireballs did next to nothing against the thick armor of its claws, for the monstrous crab just lowered its claws and screeched at Blaze.

“Silver! Throw me!” Blaze cried.

Silver quickly swung his arm with a battle cry, throwing Blaze forward with all of his might. The Sol Princess engulfed her body in flames again as it rocketed towards the monster’s face, but it once again raised its claws to protect itself, causing Blaze to simply bounce right off.

The Sea Beast was quick to break its shield, thrusting one of its claws forward in an attempt to either grab the princess or snap her in two with its pinchers. Thankfully, Silver shot his hands upwards and in turn, lifted Blaze upwards.

Blaze’s eyes widened as she suddenly rocketed into the air, now hovering above The Sea Beast’s spiked head. Having to remind herself that Silver wouldn’t dare let her fall, Blaze swallowed her acrophobia before she spun around into a fiery drill.

Silver, realizing her intentions, quickly swung both of his hands downwards. And at his command, Blaze’s flaming form dove down towards the demonic crab.

And just in time, The Sea Beast looked up to see where its opponent had gone off too, only to be struck directly in the face by The Sol Princess’s flaming attack. It screeched in pain, stumbling even further back as fire licked away at its exoskeleton.

Silver then quickly dashed over to Blaze, his head turned towards The Ocean Tornado. Its cannons had been deployed and were ready to fire. He then looked at Blaze. “One more strike should do it!”

“Then let’s do it together!” Blaze cried. “On three! One…!”

Silver readied himself, his and Blaze’s bodies cyan shine only beginning to glow brighter and brighter.

“Two…!”

The Sea Beast then looked at the duo, letting out an infuriated roar just before charging at them.

“THREE!!!” Blaze cried.

Then, the pair rocketed forward towards their monstrous foe. And while Blaze spun around into another flaming tornado, Silver curled up into a ball for a Spin Attack. A technique he learned from some of his fellow hedgehogs within The Chaos Dimension.

In unison, Blaze and Silver smashed into The Sea Beast’s scaly chest and forced it backwards. But just before it could make another move?

The Ocean Tornado began shooting out cannonballs made entirely of energy, with each one hurtling towards The Sea Beast and striking it in several parts of its body. Some hit it in its fanged face, others struck its legs to knock it off balance, and the final few only added to the damage on its chest.

And with one last roar, The Sea Beast began to fall to the side. It had lost the ability to keep itself standing and fell into the sea, sinking into its watery depths after its crash. And even after several minutes, it didn’t get back up.

MINI BOSS CLEARED

Silver smiled wide. “We did it!!!”

Blaze just crossed her arms with a nod. “I had no doubt we would…n-now may we please go back to solid ground?”

Silver, quickly recalling Blaze’s fear of heights, smiled sheepishly. “O-oh! Right! Sorry!”

The duo then quickly flew back to The Ocean Tornado, finding themselves standing on its deck yet again. And just in time for Marine to rush over with sparkling eyes and a wide smile.

“THAT WAS RIPPER!!!” Marine cheered. “We took that pinching pincher down!!!”

Silver laughed and then high-fived Marine. “All in a day’s work for Team Dimension, right?”

“We didn’t even need our secret weapon!”

Blaze tilted her head. “Secret weapon…?”

Marine then proudly pointed at herself with her thumb. “My hydro- hydrokit- hy-”

The young raccoon then pouted for a moment, realizing that she was going to get the term wrong again. “My Sea Magic coulda washed it away with one tidal wave! No problem!”

Blaze couldn’t help but smile. “I have no doubt you could have.”

Marine then patted the railing of the ship. “But what kinda captain doesn’t give her ship a chance to shine?”

“Speaking of which, we should probably dock.” Silver said.

Marine swiftly rushed back to the helm. “Already on it!”

Silver watched her run off before sheepishly smiling at Blaze. “Uhh…sorry about just kind of throwing you up in the air earlier. I almost forgot about your fear of heights.”

Blaze cleared her throat, now seeming a tad embarrassed. “N-no need to apologize. I…handled it. And it was I who suggested the strategy in the first place. Besides, if I were to fall, I know you’d catch me.”

“Because I know you’d do the same for me.” Silver smiled.

Blaze’s embarrassed expression shifted to that of a matching smile, complimented by a familiar warmth in her cheeks.

Eventually though, The Ocean Tornado docked and Team Dimension made their way off the ship and towards the village. And rather surprisingly, there were still a handful of villagers there. Each one of them were wide-eyed at the sight of the three, likely having witnessed their battle with the monster threatening their home.

Blaze was the first to speak. “Greetings, people of Terra. I am Princess Blaze of The Sol Empire.”

“You’re Princess Blaze?” One of the villagers asked, now seeming even more surprised.

Blaze nodded in confirmation. “My friends and I mean none of you harm.”

“I mean, we just saved you from that spiky bloke back there!” Marine cried, pointing back towards the ocean and the very spot The Sea Beast had sunk into.

Another villager then walked over to the trio, a smile across their face. “We all saw! It was amazing!!! How could we ever repay you?”

“Do you by chance have directions to the capital?” Blaze asked. “I wish to speak with Prince Geo.”

“He’ll no doubt want to see you after that!” The villager said. “Follow me, I’ll show you right where you need to go!”

Team Dimension all looked at each other and nodded, following the villager. All the three could do now was speculate what the kingdom of Terra would be like.