TWO YEARS LATER

Throughout South Island ran a blue blur, the hero of Mobius, Prince Takeshi of Mobodoon, better known to millions worldwide as Sonic the Hedgehog. He had spent all morning running laps around his home island, which is what he normally did whenever he had something heavy on his mind. In this case, it was a certain cat from another world.

Blaze...

It was only little more than a year ago when they had first met. She had fallen from her dimension after Nega, her own version of Dr. Robotnik, or "Eggman" as he called him, had stolen her Sol Emeralds and accidentally whisked them into Sonic's world. They didn't exactly start off on the right foot at first, her being so stubborn from accepting help that she even attacked him, but she finally warmed up and accepted his help, with the help of his little pal Cream of course, who had become good friends with Blaze. But in the end, they worked together to stopped both Eggman and Eggman-Nega from taking over both worlds.

Then she had to leave, their dimensions separating back to normal. He remembered floating in front of her as Super Sonic and Burning Blaze. Getting a good look at her for the first time, he saw just how beautiful she was, especially doused in the emerald's power. As they were saying their thanks and goodbyes, she had floated towards him, offering her hand in peace. They shook... and leaned closer as if to kiss... but were suddenly torn apart as the dimensions separated finally and each were thrown into their respected worlds.

After that, he figured that was it. Blaze had said it herself. "It's better this way..." Their worlds would be back to normal and no dimensions would fall apart. It would have never lasted anyway, seeing as they belonged in different worlds. It was better to try and forget her, and move on...

But then a year later, after foiling yet another plot by Eggman and retrieving all the Chaos Emeralds, he and Tails were flying home in the Tornado over the ocean when they were caught in a storm and sucked through a cyclone. They woke up on an unfamiliar beach, "rescued" by a young raccoon named Marine. Having been on many world tours on foot, Sonic thought he knew every part of Mobius, yet he never even heard of this "Southern Island" before in his life. Little did he know that they were now in Blaze's world, and he met up with the lovely princess of Sol once again. Blaze once said that their chance meetings may had something to do with the Chaos and Sol Emeralds. That they were brought together for a reason... Sonic didn't have an answer for that, but instead offered his farewells and a handshake, to which Blaze accepted... and used it to pull him in and give a peck on his cheek, leaving Sonic speechless and wondering, "Who knows when I'll be back?"

That was only a few months ago, and he hasn't stopped thinking about Blaze since. The first time was one thing, but being able to see her again brought out hope. Would he be able to see her yet again? Perhaps there was a way for them to see each other whenever they wanted! But the question was how? And was it safe? Their dimensions almost collapsed because of their first meeting. But then the second time, Tails explained getting back home was easy because of the emeralds' stability. Maybe if he gathered all the Chaos Emeralds together, there'd lie an answer...

Bah, he was thinking too much into it. It was bringing on a headache.

Sonic poured on some speed, hoping to clear his mind of everything... and it suddenly hit him.

An earthquake.

"What the--?!" Sonic cried out as he was bounced violently into the air and landing sprawled on his back over and over.

After several minutes, the earthquake finally began to die down, and Sonic was able to get up on his feet. He rubbed his aching back. "That was odd," he muttered to himself. "Better head back to the kingdom, make sure everyone's all right."

He sped off, across the island towards Mobodoon, running past the small villages... that somehow appeared to have grown in size since the last hour. One thing that particularly stood out was a large restaurant with a sign that read Salmon Shoppe. Sonic scratched his head. "... Was that ALWAYS there?"

In a far away place, hidden in a classified location, Dr. Robotnik, or "Eggman" as he was known to those he hated, studied his radars and monitors that reported to him damage reports and the strength of the earthquakes, which were spontaneously occurring all over the planet.

"Odd," he murmured, "That last one felt like a 5.0 on the Richter scale, yet no geological changes in the earth have occurred." He turned to his computer, which displayed a satellite view of his location and the radius around it. "However, things above the earth look different. The grass has never looked that green before... And there weren't that many trees in the forest hours ago."

He stood up from his controls and walked across the room. He pressed a button on the wall, and the center of the floor opened up halfway as a pedestal with three colorful emeralds rose up. These emeralds were glowing brightly at a pulse rate. "What worries me the most is the Chaos Emerald's reaction to each one," Robotnik continued to speak, "It's as if they're the ones controlling these earthquakes."

A thought suddenly entered his mind. "Would this have anything to do with the other world?"

"Allow me to answer that one for you..."

Robotnik whipped around at the voice that sounded alot like his, and came face to face with a figure similar to his own.

According to Gardon, one of the Sol Emeralds was located by the East coast. As always, when the location was revealed, Blaze would do her job and retrieve it. Having saved the emeralds on dozen occasions, she knew every inch of the planet and always where to go...

Or so she thought.

She went the regular route towards the beach area, right where Gardon had detected the emerald. But once she got there, she noticed that she was at the coast... but not the same as before. She could've sworn she was heading in the right direction, before she was caught in a near massive earthquake. How could that one earthquake, no matter how big, suddenly change everything around?

Something definitely wasn't right here.

Sonic was just near the border of Mobodoon before he heard a faint tune of "Live and Learn". He skidded to a halt and lifted his leg up, fishing through his sneaker to pull out his cell phone. Without pockets, he had to resort to his gloves and shoes to carry his belongings.

He looked at the caller ID, nearly surprised to see who was calling, and pressed the answer key. "Sally! Never thought I'd hear from you again!"

"Can the cute little act, Sonic," a presumptuous voice responded from the other line, "Are you aware of the earthquakes that are occurring all around Mobius?"

"All over? I just got caught up in a huge one about a minute ago. Didn't know they were all over the place."

"Suspicious, isn't it? Your mother called for an emergency meeting with my father. I need you to come to Mobotropolis to pick us up. We should be meeting about this ASAP."

Sonic grinned and rubbed his nose, even though Sally couldn't see this on the phone. "So after all this time, you only call me for a favor? Don'tcha think that's a tad shallow?"

"Sonic!" Sally scolded, "This is serious! Get over here right away!"

"Yes your high and mightyness," Sonic groaned and clicked his phone off. Talking to his ex-girlfriend was about as pleasant as getting a root canal, no matter what the situation was. Then again, even when they were dating, he could barely put up with her attitude.

Nevertheless, he put his annoyance aside and raced off in the opposite direction towards Mobodoon's sister kingdom.

As she ran by, Blaze couldn't help but notice many unfamiliar elements on the island. Some things she knew, others she never saw before. But then there were a thing or two that she remembered seeing once, but didn't remember them being there. Something definitely was amiss... Although the beach seemed different, she WAS able to find the Sol Emerald. It was best to find the rest as soon as possible. That would be one worry off her mind.

WOOOSH

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a quick blast of wind knocked into her, blowing out the trail of flames she left behind, and blew her off her feet, sprawling on the ground.

"What was that?!" That blue blast was awfully familiar...

Sonic slammed his feet into the ground, skidding to a harsh halt. Those flames... Was it...?

He doubled back, racing to where he spotted the flames. Sure enough, grumbling and lifting herself back up to her feet, was a lavender cat...

"BLAZE!"

The princess glanced up, surprised at the voice calling her name. "Sonic?!"

There he was... the one man that she felt feelings for that she never felt before. Standing in front of him. "Sonic!!"

"Blaze!" the blue hedgehog raced at her, grabbing her hands. She grabbed back as the two laughed in delight, happy to see each other once again... and suddenly realized they were holding hands, and quickly let go, blushing brightly.

"Sonic... It's good to see you again."

"Ditto," Sonic smiled, but replaced it with a confused frown. "Wait, what are you doing here? Why aren't you in your world?"

Blaze glared. "I could ask the same of you."

"Well whose world are we in then?"

Blaze looked to the ground, unable to answer. This looked like her world... but it also looked so different. If only these things came easy...

"Well," Sonic broke the silence, grabbing her attention, "Whose ever world this is, I'm sure we'll find an answer. Come on, we'll head back to my place... Or wait, is it YOUR place?" Sonic scratched his head, clueless, "Maybe we should do a little exploring first..."

"I have no time for that," said Blaze, "I must gather all the Sol Emeralds before they fall into the wrong hands. In this situation, I cannot afford that now."

Sonic gave an assuring smile. "I'll help you."

"No, it's fine," Blaze looked away. She already have enough on her mind. She didn't need more complications, especially this particular one...

"Blaze, come on. Don't shut me out."

"I'm sure you can handle yourself. You should worry about getting the Chaos Emeralds. There's no need in overstressing ourselves with two worlds in peril."

"We won't have to if something happens and BOTH our worlds are destroyed. We need to work together, especially if both the Chaos and Sol Emeralds are involved."

"Get the Chaos Emeralds. We'll work something out from there."

"Blaze—"

"Just leave me be, Sonic!" Blaze turned and jogged off. Sonic went to follow, but the cat whipped around to face him, looking a mix of anger and annoyance. "And don't you dare follow me! You know what'll happen if you do." She held out her palm and ignited a ball of flames. Sonic cringed and stepped backwards, watching as Blaze turned back and raced off.

The hedgehog sighed. That didn't go as well as he hoped. Wonder what was bothering her so badly that she was resorting back to her old personality? If the worlds were merging, then perhaps he would see her again... and it would turn out better next time.

He turned and raced back to Mobodoon.