You never get used to interdimensional travel. It's a strange feeling to describe and unlike anything else in the universe, well, except time travel maybe. It's as though you're a liquid of sorts, flowing in a river. You never get a sense of where you are because it feels as though you're everywhere all at once, flowing in a direction, your destination unknown. And that's the only sense you experience, you see nothing because you have no eyes, smell nothing because your nose doesn't exist, and hear nothing with your non-present ears; they're all lost, flowing somewhere else. You're stuck, alone with your thoughts. It can be maddening, and it feels like a lifetime passes. Eventually you know it's coming to an end because you're overcome with this feeling of falling, though the direction is unsure. It's kind of hard to orient yourself without a body, 'down' would probably be the easiest way to describe. You feel yourself reforming, the piece of you pulling itself back together, and ready to take on wherever you might be.
That feeling fades quickly as you're snapped back to reality, fully formed and…well…falling. The subtle return of gravity's force is almost always, just as it was now. The air rushing across my fur was welcomed once more and I soon made contact with solid ground. I placed my hands on the surface to steady my landing and took note of the solid concrete below me. I opened my eyes and took a quick survey of my surroundings, it looked as though I was back in Crisis City, though this was far from the case. The distinct lack of molten lava, sulfur filled air, and fire-born monster spawn made that perfectly clear, though I could easily tell this city had seen better days. The streets looked as though they had been bombed; the buildings had little left for windows, or even structure for that matter, many were barely standing, other seemed to have collapsed long ago.
"Like the change of scenery?" A deep toned voice said from behind me, a voice that could only belong to one…I quickly turned to the source and sure enough, there he was, standing on top of a pile of rubble. His dark skin and expressionless face are somethings you just don't forget. He still possessed the form of that black hedgehog, but his green eyes were filled with a contempt I hadn't ever seen.
"Mephiles." I growled, igniting my palms with flames.
"Glad to see you made the trip in one piece Blaze, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you." The demon said condescendingly.
"Where are we?" I demanded.
"Back where you belong, I feel as though you fit in here much better than that village you were hiding out in." He replied, taking a few steps closer.
"I'm back on Mobius?" I asked. The creature only nodded.
"You have something that belongs to me, I'd like it back." He continued, pointing to my chest. That could only mean one thing.
"If you think that I'm going to release Iblis, you're going to need a new plan." I replied, defiance in my voice.
"I'm well aware. You were never much of a crier Blaze; I'd probably have better luck just trying to rip Iblis away from your soul." He responded.
"I'd like to see you try." I replied, running at the demon, taking several strikes at him with flame empowered claws. He effortlessly dodged or parried all of my hits, before forcing me back with one powerful push from his palm. I was knocked from my feet but regained my balance almost in an instant.
"Come now Blaze, we both know that isn't going to work. I don't want to hurt you. You have real promise and if you work with me. I can even send you back to that little seaside kingdom you came to call home when you were just a girl." Mephiles said.
"If I release Iblis? And doom this world to destruction by his flames?" I retorted.
"Well, when you put it like that…" Mephiles replied, maintaining an air of calm in his voice.
"Enough! I'm never going to release Iblis. You're just going to have to kill me." I replied angrily.
"You may not realize it, but that's going to create a lot more work for me than this will." Mephiles explained. "I'd have to track down your soul and try and unbind Iblis from you, that's a much bigger challenge than scouring the limitless number of dimensions in search of your physical form. Do you realize how hard it is to locate a body, imagine the limitless and fleeting soul? I have eternity Blaze, but that doesn't mean I want to spend all of it hunting you."
"I guess you're out of luck then." I replied sarcastically.
"Come now Blaze, do you honestly believe I'm just going to resign myself to that fate? Look who you're talking to." Mephiles said, spreading his arms wide. And in an instant, he was gone. I was alone once more.
I took another scan of my surroundings, realizing that I may have been in a bit of a bind. This city was in bad shape and if that was any hint as to the condition of the rest of the planet, I'd be lucky to find anyone alive.
"Just like last time." I whispered to myself before I set off walking. I wasn't really sure where I was going, or what was awaiting me. Why would Mephiles send me here? He obviously didn't want to kill me. He would have just done it had that been the case.
What could have happened while I was gone? There weren't that many people to begin with, maybe the few that were left…no, I couldn't think like that. Silver would have found a way, but maybe I was thousands of years after his time, or maybe it had only been a few years. It looked as though Iblis had never scratched this world. Sure, it was in very bad shape, but lava doesn't just disappear, nor do fissures in a planet's surface. The buildings lacked burn marks, but they did have holes, bullet holes.
Maybe Mephiles was lying, maybe I wasn't on Mobius, but then again, why lie? Maybe I was thousands of years into the future; he did have the power to move through time. It surely was possible. That still doesn't explain why he brought me back. What did it matter if I had Iblis, if he wanted to destroy this world, it looked as though someone already had.
It was an uneasy feeling being surrounded by all these empty buildings. I was alone and yet, I couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on me. The whole area felt dead, the only sounds were my heels on the ground, the only smell was that of dust, and I was the only movement for miles around. All of this just put me even more on edge.
It was times like these that I missed Silver most. He wouldn't say much, just enough to let you know you weren't alone. I suppose that's why I came to like him so much. Sure, he was naïve and reckless at times, but he also had flashes of bravery and wisdom. You could never really tell what Silver you were going to get that day; I guess that's what made it fun.
These last few years I had been spending much of my time alone, no real companions. Iblis was a burden as it was. I didn't want to risk releasing it on anyone, so that meant keeping my distance from all. That wasn't to say that there were still people around me, I could always count on a few people to talk to, just enough to know how things were. I'd settled down near a village on some distant world, making a living as a weaver. It was easy work, and I was naturally good with my hands. It was difficult, learning to be self-reliant again but I got the hang of it.
I was snapped out of my inner monologue by the sounds of explosions and a shockwave rapturing through. I turned to see fire erupting on the upper story of a building. So, I sprang into action, running towards the explosion to see if anyone had been hurt. However, I didn't get very far before I heard a shot ring out, just missing behind me. I ducked into an alley and out of sight. Obviously, someone wasn't very happy to see me, but least someone was alive. From my covered spot, I looked for the origin of the shot. Approaching in the distance was the sound of engines, somewhere up in the air, apparently I wasn't the only one who heard the commotion. I looked back out onto the street to catch sight of a pair of figures run out onto the street from a building across from the one that exploded, a wolf and a lion. Above them, two more figures jumped out of one of the upper stories, only to be caught by a green aura, psychokinesis. I took a closer look at the flying figures, a black fox and a silver hedgehog. The image was spitting, five spines arrayed on his forehead with two more out the back.
"Silver?" I said to myself. The two figures on the street were quickly lifted up and all four flew into the building that had just been rocked by explosion. It was time to get some answers. I looked around for an entrance, and found it in the form of an old basement access window. I kicked it in and quickly swung myself inside, needing to find a way up. I took off running down a hall, looking for a staircase. It was dark, the only light leaking in was out of similar windows to the one that I had used to enter. My heels were clicking on the tile as I tried to hasten my pace, I needed to hurry or he'd be gone.
I knew he'd make it, Silver was a survivor. Maybe this wouldn't be all that bad. He'd be in for a shock once I found him, and maybe we could figure out what's happened.
I was interrupted by another wave of explosions, much more violent than the first. The whole building shook from the shockwaves that must have been street level outside; I was knocked clean off my feet. Good thing I was inside.
I regained my balance, and got back on the move, running up a short stairwell and around a corner. And it was there that I ran straight into who I was looking for, standing before me, Silver. He looked older, but his features were otherwise the same. He seemed as shocked as I was, and I said the only words I could think of.
"Silver! What the hell is going on?"
