Hey! While I was coming up with the next chapters of TFoM and TT, I came up with this one-shot. -shrugs- You know how an idea nags at you? Well…a BlazexBig fic is what came out of it…

Just one question…would this pairing be called 'Blazig', 'Blig', 'Bilaze', or what…? -sweatdrop- Oh well…

Disclaimer: I don't own the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and this is just a fanfiction story made by a fan…so yeah.

Blaze was annoyed. Really annoyed. She thought that she was finally free of this nonsense, but nooo…

It didn't matter that Eggman Nega had been sealed away in a dark dimension, or that the Eggman of Sonic's world had finally realized his age and retired. No, this wasn't an Eggman mess. This was a royal screw-up.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" an elderly koala shouted to Blaze before he managed to catch his breath.

Blaze stared down at him blankly from her throne as he saluted to her. "What is it, Garcon? What's wrong?"

"Your Highness…" Garcon took another deep bow and turned his apologetic face to her. "It's the Sol Emeralds…"

"What?" Blaze kept her arms crossed the whole way to the room where the Emeralds were kept. She looked up at them with the same empty stare she had given her royal soldier. She repeated, "What?"

Garcon pointed to the red Sol Emerald with his sword. "Your Highness, does it not appear that there is something different about the Sol Emeralds? This one in particular…"

Blaze walked over to the red Emerald herself and stared into it deeply. Finally after a few minutes, she turned back to Garcon with a strong look of aggravation. "I don't see anything wrong with it."

Garcon shrugged. "Ah, well. My mistake. I apologize to have troubled you so, Milady."

Blaze rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…"

But before she could turn to leave, a loud crack accompanied by a red flash pinned her in her tracks. She flipped around with a quick fiery spin, and saw shards of the red Sol Emerald falling to the ground…but she didn't have time to question her loyal soldier as she found herself sucked up in the dimensional rift that appeared…

"There's no question about it," Blaze muttered to herself as more rainbow waves of radioactivity passed her by, "I'd know this rift anywhere…my question is how the Emerald shattered--"

Her thought was interrupted by the irritating principle called gravity that hit her like a bullet. A scream escaped the fire princess' mouth as she fell to the thick green forest below…

"…Hey, are you alright?"

Blaze jumped up at the deep, booming voice that had awakened her. "Wha…?"

"I'm sorry. Did I scare you?"

Blaze got up slowly, eyes never leaving the man who had just spoken. A large violet tabby cat with small beady yellow eyes stared back down at her, although why he was doing so, she couldn't fathom. "Uh…"

"I'm sorry," the large cat repeated. "I have a bad habit of doing that. I think it's because I'm so big."

Blaze sighed. "I-it's alright. I'm simply having a bad day…"

The bigger cat's ears drooped. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

Blaze waved it off. "It's no problem that you have to worry about. I just need to beat some sense into one of m--WAAAGH!"

Blaze cried out as a large green frog jumped on her shoulder, letting out a moaning croak. "Oh! Here Froggy!"

Froggy…? Blaze thought, still recovering from her stupor as the frog hopped on the giant cat's shoulder. The tabby beamed a smile at her. "This is my good ol' pal Froggy! And my name is Big. If you need a place to stay, you're welcome to come to my house later. We're having fish for supper!"

With there seemingly no other alternative, Blaze nodded slowly. "A-alright. I-I'll do that."

"Good! See you then!" Big waved and headed deeper into the forest, his frog by his side. Blaze's eyes couldn't--or rather, wouldn't--leave him from her sight. This cat was unbelievable; inviting a stranger over for dinner? And one that fell from the sky, no less. It was while she was thinking about it that she blurted out, "H-hey, wait!"

Big turned around, still smiling warmly. Blaze blushed. "U-um…my name's Blaze. I'll see you later, okay?"

Big widened his grin. "You have a pretty name, Blaze. I'll see you later!"

Blaze felt her face flush up even hotter, her normally stable mind now lost in a trance. He's… Blaze shook her head madly and threw her fists at her sides. "Control yourself, Blaze! You have to find a way back home…"

Big continued to waddle happily to his favorite fishing spot, Froggy by his side. Of course, fishing wasn't the only thing on his mind. "Isn't this great, Froggy? We can have a new friend over for dinner!"

Froggy ribbited cheerfully in reply.

Big continued to ramble joyfully. "We haven't had anyone over in awhile. This will be great!"

Another ribbit came in response.

Big paused for a moment. "…Blaze sure was pretty, wasn't she Froggy?"

Ribbit, Froggy replied in what seemed like an agreeing tone.

"She has a pretty name, a pretty face, and she seemed really nice, too."

Ribbit.

Big finally stopped walking and turned to his little friend. "She looked a little bit confused, though. Worried about something, maybe?"

Froggy ribbited in an 'I-don't-know' tone.

"Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what it seemed like to me. She did say she was having a bad day." Big brought his spirits back up. "Well, I guess that means we should do something really special for her, right Froggy?"

Ribbit! Froggy said, hopping up and down excitedly.

"Okay! Then let's make this night special, just for Blaze!"

Ribbit!

…So much for that idea, the fire cat princess sighed as she trudged along in the deep, murky forest of Mystic Ruins. It was a simple plan: find Sonic or Tails and ask if the Chaos Emeralds were handy, and, upon finding them, create a dimensional rift back to her world. Simple, if she only knew her way around this stupid forest.

Too bad I can't just hover over the trees… Blaze sighed again. That was the worst idea yet. The forest was so impossibly thick, she would definitely start a forest fire if she even let out a flicker of flame, and that wouldn't help her out at all.

Dismissing that thought, her mind went back to the tabby cat she had encountered earlier. Big, huh…what a creative name, Blaze thought sarcastically. Simple and laid-back, just like him… he's lucky--

Blaze shook her head. "No, no! Being royalty is not a pain," she scolded herself. "Why am I even thinking about that guy anyway? He looks like he can't even tell a tree from a--"

"AAAAHHHH! It's a big one, Froggy! Help me out!"

Blaze heard a screaming ribbit in reply, marking the owners of the voices instantly. She slapped her forehead, walking over to the source of the commotion. Oh boy…

"We can't let it get away, Froggy!" Big shouted, tugging at his fishing pole vigorously.

Froggy ribbited helplessly in reply, wishing he could help his friend out.

Blaze simply watched from behind some bushes for cover. She cocked her head to the side in interest. Cream had once told her about a sport from this world, called 'fishing'; Blaze wondered if this was it. He's certainly working hard…I guess it's not as easy as she claimed. Big didn't look like the hard-working type, so this was a pleasant--if not an unusual--surprise. But why is he working so--

Her thoughts were interrupted by a cry of joy from Big, who was holding his newly-caught fish with pride. Blaze's jaw dropped, now feeling faint. T-that thing's almost bigger than he is!

"Look at this, Froggy!" Big said, his chest swelling up with dignity. "My greatest catch ever! Won't Blaze love it?"

Rib-bit! Froggy agreed.

Oh, right…I said I was going to have dinner at his place, huh…Blaze felt her face flush up again. I-I know he said that he was having fish, but… Her whole body felt warm. H-h-he'd work hard like that for someone like me…?

"Hey, hey! Blaze, watch out!"

"H-huh?!" Blaze snapped out of her thoughts long enough to notice Big had dropped his fish on the ground and was running towards her. "What--"

Before she could say any more, Big had pushed her away from where she was just sitting, knocking them both on the ground…and the large cat landed on top of the small one.

They stared into each other's golden eyes for a moment…and then they realized the situation. "U-um, are you alright, Blaze?" Big asked nervously as he got off of her.

Blaze was wondering more about what had set him off like that rather than the embarrassing moment that had just happened. "Erm…yes?" When she sat back up, she saw that she had accidentally set her hiding place on fire. Oh God…I'm such an idiot!

Blaze struggled to control her flaming embarrassment as Big apologized to her repeatedly. "S-Seriously, it's alright…"

Big sighed, ears drooped. "I really am sorry, Bla---YEEEOW!"

He yelped as he wagged his tail that had caught on fire. Blaze hid her face in her hands. Ohh…

As soon as Big had managed to wag his tail out, he proceeded to stomp the rest of the fire out. Blaze kept criticizing herself mentally until the larger cat came over to her when he had finished. "Are you sure you're alright, Blaze?" he asked worriedly.

Blaze hung her head in shame. "I…I'm the reason why those bushes were on fire…"

Big's ears twitched up and down. "What do you mean?"

Blaze sighed. Great. He had to ask… Knowing that actions spoke louder than words, Blaze snapped her fingers and brought a flicker of a controlled flame in the palm of her hand. Big stared at it in awe. Now he's going to label me a freak of nature and run away crying, Blaze assumed.

"Hey, that's pretty neat!"

Blaze was stunned again. "I-it is? You really think so?"

"Yup!" Big nodded. "Now we have a way to cook our big prize for dinner!" Big went back and picked up the monstrously-sized fish, presenting it to Blaze. "Do you like it? I caught it for us for dinner!"

Blaze giggled. She began to question if Big had known she had been spying on him as he had caught the creature. Probably not. "I-I love it!" she continued to giggle, out of character for her normally cool, serious demeanor.

But, of course, Big didn't mind. "I'm so happy that you do!" He looked up at the sky. "Well…it's kinda early, but we could have dinner now if you want."

Big's voice brought Blaze back to her senses. She shuffled her feet shyly, until she finally responded, "A-alright. We could do that…"

Big smiled. "Let's go!"

Blaze couldn't say she was surprised by the fact that his house was as simple as he was, but she definitely wasn't used to it. She didn't think she could ever get used to it, even as the time went on. She was always used to the big jeweled palaces that she lived in back in her dimension, so this was a change of pace. This is even harder to get used to than South Island… Blaze sighed, dismissing the hyper-active raccoon's abode from her mind.

She focused all of her fiery energies on cooking the monster of a fish Big had caught earlier. She found it surprising difficult. Too much fire, and she could risk scorching the fish as well as Big's whole wooden home; too little, and things would go nowhere fast. After a while, Blaze thought that this was an interesting way to hone her abilities. She decided that as soon as she got back to her world, she would insist on trying some cooking herself for a change. Back home…

Now Blaze felt disappointed at the prospect of going back home to the point where she questioned her earlier motives. But why do I feel this way…?

She continued to ponder over it as she and Big sat down for dinner. She had never remembered a time that she had been this disappointed over going home. She let out a mental sigh. For some reason, not even the first separation from Sonic could compare to this feeling…this time…

"…can use those flames, Blaze."

"Hm?" Blaze jerked her head up, almost choking on a piece of fish in the process. After swallowing it and clearing her throat, she responded, "Oh, I'm sorry…that was rude of me. I was thinking about something else…what were you saying?"

Big didn't seem to mind. He never did. "I was just sayin' how great the fish came out, and that it's really great how you can use those flames of yours, Blaze."

Blaze blushed modestly. "O-oh. U-um, thank you." She was so used to people shunning her because of her curse that it was still hard to get used to the thought of someone respecting it. But this time, it felt different than Sonic or the others admiring her gift; it felt like something…more. Blaze couldn't put her finger on it.

"Can you tell me how you got those flames, Blaze?" Big asked.

"W-well…" Blaze shrugged. "I don't know…I was just born with them."

"They're cool." Big bit into his last bite of fish thoughtfully. "Actually, fire isn't 'cool', is it? It's really hot, huh?"

Blaze laughed at his naiveté. "Yes, fire is hot. Very hot."

Froggy ribbited happily as he finished eating his last cricket. Big got up and stretched his arms above his head. "Mmmm! That was a great meal. Thank you for helping me, Blaze."

"Thank you for inviting me," Blaze replied.

Big gazed up at the night sky thoughtfully, and a light bulb clicked on in his mind. "Hey, Blaze. Come with me. I want to show you something."

"Ah, um, okay."

Where could he be leading me? Blaze wondered as they wandered farther into the forest. Everything seemed prettier at night; even the rivers, which under normal circumstances she would be loathing, had a beautiful moonlit sheen over them that she couldn't help but admire.

But the shining rivers were nothing compared to what Big had in store for her. Following the rivers, they finally arrived at their destination. "This is it," Big said.

Blaze stared wide-eyed at the scene. Big had led her to a cliff off to the side of Mystic Ruins, where the night sky hung with a new-found darkness. But within the darkness, little glowing insects flew around, giving off tiny golden bits of light. Blaze had never seen anything like it before. "What are those? Those glowing things?"

"Fireflies," Big replied. "They can make little bits of fire, just like you, Blaze."

Blaze blushed. She had a feeling that wasn't the case, as they were insects, but it wasn't her dimension, so who was she to argue? "Wow," she said. "They're really beautiful."

"Yeah."

The two cats sat near the edge of the cliff together (but not too close to the edge, as Blaze proved her fear of heights almost immediately), and gazed at the fiery insects as they illuminated the starless night sky.

Big gave a genial smile. "I like to think that the fireflies fly up in the sky and light it up every night."

Blaze chuckled at his ever abundant simplicity. The fireflies toned down their lights and began to fly away from the cliff towards the sky. As soon as the insects were out of sight, stars began to light up the sky in their place, setting the stage for the two cats as the full moon moved into the center of the sky. Blaze gasped in awe.

Big's smile widened. "Told ya."

Blaze was spellbound at the miraculous display in the sky. This is…amazing…

They both admired nature's work in a silent reverence. Blaze wondered if the evening sky looked this beautiful on her world too…and how long this moment would last. Big, however, had something else on his mind.

"Did it hurt?" Big asked.

Blaze was taken aback. Well, that was out of the blue. "W-what?"

"When you fell from the sky," Big explained.

Blaze scratched the back of her head. "Oh, uh…not much. I'm okay now."

Big gazed at the stars fondly. "Do you come from the sky, Blaze? Where the stars are?"

Blaze's lips formed a small smile. "Kind of."

"How did you get down here?" Big asked. "And what's it like up there?"

Blaze hesitated. "Well, it's a long story…"

"I've got time."

Blaze laughed inwardly, knowing there was no way out of it. She took a deep breath, and began her description of her home world and everyone on it, and how she got stuck on this world. And Big listened to every word intently. Blaze appreciated it. She respected every feature that Big had: strong but gentle, simple-minded, and just plain sweet…when she was done with her story, she finally realized what this feeling she had was, and she almost began to condemn herself for it. Big noticed.

"What's wrong, Blaze?" he asked, concerned.

"Would you…really like someone like me after that?" Blaze asked back.

"After what?"

"After what I just told you." She dug her hands in her lap. "I'm a princess, and…"

Big put a soothing hand on her shoulder. "You're you. It doesn't matter if you're a princess, or whatever; you're Blaze the Cat, and you're a really nice lady."

Blaze felt an unknown liquid filling up her eyes. It felt like a salty water… Are these…'tears'…? Blaze let her tears fall down her face as she snuggled closer to the tabby cat.

"…Thank you, Big…" she sobbed quietly.

Big just smiled and let her cry.

"Sir! We've located the last shard of the Sol Emerald!" a koala reported, saluting his commanding officer.

"Good." Garcon stared at the incomplete red Sol Emerald that glinted a faint image at him. He cracked a smile.

"Sir? What are you smiling at, sir?" the younger koala asked, surprised to find the old man showing any kind of emotion, especially happiness.

Garcon simply stared into the Emerald with a grin plastered on his face. The younger one was wondering whether or not to check the elder's sanity before he heard said elder's voice. "Do you know what the color red represents, kid?"

The young koala raised an eyebrow. "Um--"

"It could be fire, or blood; brawn, or wisdom, but I like to think it is the color of love." Garcon turned to the young man. "It all depends on interpretation, of course. Someone could just as easily tell you that the color red symbolizes a crab, or something…"

Now the young one was really disturbed. He turned to call for help when Garcon threw his sword into the door switch, sealing them both in the glowing Sol Emerald chamber. The young koala gulped hard.

"You should be respecting your elders, son. Not walking out on them when they have things to say." Garcon took off his hat to scratch an itch, then promptly put the hat back on. "Have you noticed the princess' mood lately? I'm sure you have."

The youth stuttered. "W-w-well, she's s-seeming a little stressed--"

"A little?!" Garcon stormed right in the koala's face and stared him down with his angry, beady black eyes. "My boy, I've known Her Highness Princess Blaze since she was a wee kitten, and I know darn well that she's tearing herself apart inside."

Garcon turned back to the wall mounted with Emeralds to continue on what the young koala thought was just another old man's ramble. "She's always been teased as a child for her unusual fire abilities, but now she's just looked upon as a freak of nature!" Garcon thumped his right hand against his chest. "And ever since the King and Queen passed on, the new stress of responsibility is pushing down on her as well! Now she is looked upon as the Strange Fiery Cat Princess that must continue the line of heirs, and…"

A dramatic tear slipped out of the old timer's eye. "…O-oh, I'm sorry…I just fear for Her Highness' health. I fear all of these burdens will be too much for her emotional state--"

"I-I'm sorry to interrupt, Garcon," the adolescent interrupted fearfully, hoping he wouldn't have his head chopped off by this man later, "B-but what does this have to do with the current situation?"

"Ah. Everything, my boy." Garcon wagged a finger. "I kept telling Her Highness to take a break, or even a vacation, but she kept on refusing…"

The young koala caught on and slipped his hand over his hilt. "Please excuse my bold statement, sir…but are you saying that it was you who shattered the Sol Emerald?"

"Yes!" Gracon stuck out his chest. "And I do not regret it!"

The youth glanced back at the sealed door in dismay. "B-but…isn't that treason, sir…? Forcing her Highness to--"

Garcon held up a silencing finger. "Ah, but I didn't forceher to do anything. The Emerald drew her to the other side, not I."

The young one argued, "But still, you could get in trouble with Her Hi--"

"Oh, she won't be dealing any punishments any time soon." Garcon stroked the Red Sol Emerald fondly. "In fact, I believe she'll be thanking me when she returns…"

Curiosity overwhelmed the adolescent and brought him to look into the Red Emerald with the old man. His jaw slammed into the ground. Garcon snickered, "She got more than just a vacation, as you can see…"

"B-but…" The youth was at a loss for words. The Princess…has actually found someone she loves?! It seemed too good to be true.

Garcon crossed his arms. "Like I said before, I believe that red is the color of love…" Garcon grinned. "And opposites attract."

"You're just a love obsessed freak!" the youth blurted out, instantly regretting it. He shivered, awaiting the elder's explosion.

Garcon paused, then let out a hearty laugh. "You're darn right, m'boy! You're darn right. It worked out for Her Highness though, didn't it?"

The young koala just stared dumbfounded, wondering what the heck he had gotten himself into by joining the Princess' Royal Guards. Garcon simply stared into the Emerald, watching the two cats gaze at the moon together.

Finally, Blaze spoke. "The sky really is beautiful."

"Yeah. So are you," Big replied.

Blaze laughed at his sudden compliment. Garcon smiled. You mustn't worry, Milady…you won't have to leave him for quite a while.

MTK: Okay, done. How was it? Sappy, I know…but it wouldn't leave my head…and before you say anything, yes, I did get some ideas from Ep. 65 of Sonic X (How can you not love Taismo?!). Well, anyway...I hope there weren't too many typos or anything. Let me know if I missed something!

In other news, the TFoM personality test is up, and it has pictures now! Yay! And I'll be updating Tails' Tale next. Do you guys prefer two short chapters or one long chapter? I want to have an idea before I update it. So…yeah! That's it.