Sonic Origins

by Ri2

How did Sonic get his super speed? What made Amy fall in love with him? How did the Chaotix become detectives? Why is Rouge both a secret agent and a gem thief? How did Cream and Big meet their pets? Silver the Hedgehog needs to know the answers to these questions, and far more, for the future might depend on it...

10. Blaze's Legend part 2

And we're back, again! Apologies for this one not coming out quite as quickly as the last one, but hey, I warned you that would probably be the case. Anyway, sit back, relax, and read the conclusion of Blaze's origin story! I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that doesn't belong to me.

…

Over the next hour or so-though it felt far longer-Blaze regaled her enthralled audience with tales of adventure as she and her companions traveled across the ravaged land of Solana to make allies, fight evil, and retrieve the seven Sol Emeralds.

She told them how she had ventured into the Feywood and earned the lifelong loyalty of Queen Na'Ciel of the Fairy Nation by burning the vile Sinasthuriellara, city of the wicked High Elves, to the ground for the atrocities they had visited against fairykind, abducting fairies and ripping off their wings to be ground up and used in opiates before tossing them out into the streets to die. Even Cream did not seem too upset when Blaze recounted how she had rampaged through the burning city's streets on the back of a unicorn, the head of the Elf King Fealgoden impaled on its horn, especially after hearing how he had nearly used glamour to manipulate Blaze into giving Honey to him. The assault on the fortress where the first Emerald was kept with the aid of the fairies and the (relatively) friendlier Wood Elves, and the defeat of its Shika Inves commander, was almost an afterthought.

She told them how she had journeyed to the volcanic Mount Amadruin and sought the aid of the dwarves of Orzak'khria, who were already mounting an attack on the nearby Emerald Fortress but were concerned an ancient foe bound deep within the volcano was soon to break free. She told them how she had journeyed into the mountain's depths only to find the foe was a very old and very tired dragon who had been kept in a near-death state for centuries by the ancient dwarves, who had feared that her death throes would destroy everything they had built. How she had shamed the dwarven elders for unwittingly perpetuating this atrocity, then granted the dragon the sweet release of death she had craved for so long and inadvertently hatching her long-dormant eggs, becoming the adoptive mother to a brood of dragonets and giving Honey some siblings. Eyes lighting up at the memory of the great siege, she then described how she and the dwarves had stormed the fortress and slain its leader, Red Pine's mighty colleague Yellow Zelkova, in heated battle and claimed his Emerald.

Distaste evident in her voice, she then went on to tell them of her voyage to the (very, VERY wet) undersea city of Mulantis, which no longer had to worry about Helheim invasion...because the incursion of the Doom Tree roots in the undersea trenches had awoken the mad whale god Cetus, who had destroyed the fortress, claimed its Emerald, and was now trying to wipe Mulantis out as well. (Vindicating both Blaze and Sonic's assertions that whales were pure evil.) She explained how she had vanquished the mad god by castrating him as part of a ritual to summon the infamous Master Shark ed'Rastekeresket t'k Gh'shestaesteh (leading to a brief aside as to how to pronounce that name as well as a discussion about how whale penises were apparently very long and very prehensile) to devour him, earning her the unending enmity of all whalekind due to Cetus' death cure and beginning her long, bitter feud with the cetacean race that would only lead when one of them was completely eradicated from the world. (Sonic cheerfully and wholeheartedly offered to help with the extermination, much to the discomfort of his friends.).

She then told them of her journey to the flying island of Phoenixia, home of the immortal, mystical, and rather aloof phoenixes (leading to inevitable comparisons to echidnas, much to Knuckles' frustration), where she had the joyful experience of seeing the night sky for the first time in eons and the terror of realizing she was acrophobic. (Fear of heights, not acrobats, that's something else.) She told them of how she had not only broke a siege caused by the clever tactician Pale Bayleaf and claimed his Emerald, but also prevented the Phoenix Elders from using the Emeralds she'd collected to perform a spell that would eradicate all life on the surface to eliminate the threat of Helheim (and everything else) for good by rallying public support against this plan by capitalizing on the common phoenixes' belief that she was an avatar of the deity Solana (leading to a debate as to whether or not it was ethical to pretend to be a god if it's for a good cause and then never get around to correcting that assumption for the sake of political expediency, and more comparison to the ancient echidnas, much to Knuckles' frustration). Also, Honey had learned how to fly, which Blaze considered the best part of it all.

She had then delved from the heavens above to the dank pits of the subterranean Underdark, where the sadistic, cruel, and treacherous Drow lived in the dark city of Shas'zvera, where they were too busy with their petty feuds, plots, and infighting to care that the Inves and other horrible monsters were literally breaking down the city gates. (Not that they would have cared regardless, after all, it was only slaves and commoners who were getting hurt, anyway.) Blaze's attempts to end the succession crisis currently occupying the aristocracy to get them to focus on the real threat resulted in the deaths of both prospective claimants to the throne (no great loss), the Drow spider goddess Arachnolth (see above), numerous evil clergy and nobles (I'm seeing a pattern here) and Blaze herself winding up named Matriarch by dint of beating up everyone else who might have been able to claim that title and terrifying everyone else into submission. After dealing with all that nonsense, it was almost laughably easy to destroy the nearby fortress and claim its Emerald from its Inoshishi Inves guardian.

She bragged about how she'd felt confident in leaving Shas'zvera for their next destination since she was certain she'd cowed the Drow so much they didn't dare try to revert to their old days for fear of what she'd do if she found out, then headed to the Frozen North, a place where it was always winter due to an ancient curse inflicted upon the land by the dreaded Wendigo King Boreas, leading the rest of the kingdom to wall the place up and pretend it had never existed. (Comparisons to the White Walkers was inevitable, as was confusion over the distinction between wendigos and windigos. Since the Doom Tree's expansion had broken the wall, the wendigos threatened to expand their icy reach across the realm, so Blaze was forced to banish the cannibalistic spirits back to the frigid hell they came from before she even thought about tackling the fortress where the sixth Emerald, and its Seiryu Invess keeper, causing the region to start thawing for the first time in ages.

With clear fondness in her voice, she told them how after that, she had headed to much warmer climes in the desert kingdom of Necropolis, land of eternal death, a near-utopia of undeath where the living and the living dead could coexist in harmony, made easier by the fact that pretty much anyone who died there didn't stay dead for long. There Blaze had made another lifelong friend in the form of the Lich Queen Sekhmet, one of the last remaining sphinxes, who had helped Honey to unlock more of her sphinx powers and offered her a home with the rest of her kind, though ultimately she chose to stay with the cat she'd begun to call 'Mother.' All had not been well in Necropolis, however, for the sinister Black Narcissus had been abducting undead to try and find a way to transform them into Inves-the Inves had up until then been ignoring them since they weren't 'alive'-and performing horrific experiments to try and create artificial Sol Emeralds. When the mad scientist abducted Cosmo and Honey, Blaze had gone at him with everything she had, and in his desperation to survive Black Narcissus had been forced to use a dangerous and untested fruit which ultimately overwhelmed him and turned him into a monstrous Inves that was only defeated by the combined efforts of Blaze, Sekhmet, and even Honey, claiming the final Emerald from his remains.

"With that done," Blaze said. "The barrier surrounding Dark Oak's Castle finally went down. With Sekhmet vowing her support, we signaled our allies that it was finally time to reclaim Solana and began marching on the base of the Doom Tree. We swept across the land, defeating every roving band of Inves or monsters in our path, saving every town and settlement we could and destroying those that were too badly infested. As the armies of our allies joined up with us, others chose to march with us, either from the ranks of the people whom we had saved along the way or those who had heard of what we were trying to do and wished to join us in hopes of reclaiming their homeland, or at the very least of dying trying to. As we went on, camaraderie began to build among the troops as deep-seated grudges and rivalries going back hundreds if not thousands of years began to fade away in the face of the monumental enemy which threatened us all. People became friends. Others became more than friends.

"And I? Well, as I led our forces into victory after victory, more and more people started to look up to me. My legend, which had been growing ever since I broke the power of the High Elves of the Feywoods, grew greater and greater as stories of my exploits spread, and more and more people started to revere me and cheer me on and believed that I would be the one to usher in a new future for Solana, something which, to be honest, confused and humbled me. And then, on the eve of the final battle, when we were practically at Dark Oak's doorstep, Cosmo called me into her tent to talk to me about something very important…"

…

Blaze entered the tent, nodding to Damil, looking resplendent in full armor as he stood on duty just outside the door as she went by. The tent was not what most would expect of a temporary residence for a Princess; a cot, a table, a few chairs, a rug, and a few other minor amenities. No expensive rugs or pieces of art or beds or other fancy luxuries. Granted, it was almost impossible to obtain any of those on the march, but even if they were able to find some, Blaze was certain Cosmo would refuse to accept them.

My tent is actually bigger than hers, Blaze realized all of a sudden. Granted, I'm sharing it with Honey, but even so… How did that happen? "You wanted to see me, Cosmo?" The cat asked her friend.

Cosmo, who was writing something at her table, nodded to one of the simple chairs sitting before it. "Certainly. Please sit down, this'll just take a minute. Would you like something to drink?"

"No thank you, I'm alright," Blaze said as she sat down.

Cosmo nodded, not looking up from whatever she was working on. "All right then, just one more… There. That should do it." She laid down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and sighed in relief before turning to face her friend.

"What was that?" Blaze asked, curious.

"I'll get to that in a minute," Cosmo said evasively. "How are the troops?"

"Morale is very high. Just about everyone believes that we will win tomorrow… Or at the very least, that we'll take as many of them down with us as we can." Blaze fidgeted. "And just about everyone seems to be convinced that it will be I who delivers to them a decisive victory."

"Well, you HAVE been responsible for many of our greatest triumphs in the past," Cosmo pointed out. "And you ARE going to face my father, and you have every confidence that you will beat him, don't you?"

"Well, yes," Blaze admitted. "It's just… I'm still getting used to having so many people look up to and believe in me. It's not something I'm used to."

"It's a good feeling, isn't it?" Cosmo said, smiling warmly.

"… Yes. Yes, it is," Blaze agreed, a fond smile on her face. "More than a demon like me ever thought she deserved."

"You know you're more than that now," Cosmo said sharply.

"I know, I know," Blaze said, lifting her off. "Just a little self-deprecation. Don't want me getting a swelled head from the rather… Alarming number of people who have started to worship me. I kind of feel like I should be putting a stop to that…"

"Don't," Cosmo said firmly. "People need something to believe in, and so far you have rewarded their faith in you a thousandfold. You've certainly done more for them than most of their deities have in the thousands of years they've been worshiped. After all, if none of their gods will deign to set foot on the battlefield, why not worship the demon who has? The demon who has led them to victory after victory, and united them in a way this land has not seen since its inception, if not ever?"

Blaze smiled ruefully. "Well, when you put it like that… I suppose there's no harm. But, if they start making sacrifices in my name, I'm putting my foot down."

"Perfectly understandable," Cosmo said with a giggle. "How are Honey and the kids?"

"I was just finishing putting them to sleep when I got your message," Blaze said fondly. "They wanted me to tell them the story of how I defeated Boreas again and again and again. Do you suppose I should be worried that my adopted children seem to have such a thirst for blood?"

Cosmo chuckled. "Well, it's really to be expected from dragons and someone who's part-Sphinx. So long as you teach them to channel it in a constructive manner, it should be okay."

"I'll do my best, but I'm not sure I'm the best role model for that sort of thing, considering how I've been channeling my bloodlust," Blaze confessed.

"So long as you direct it at the bad guys and only the bad guys, I think you'll be fine," Cosmo said assuredly. She chewed her lip for a moment. "Have… Have you decided what you're going to do once this is all over? Once we win, I mean?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Blaze confessed. "It seems like I have a variety of options ahead of me. The phoenixes want me to come back to their island to be treated like the divinity they're convinced I am. The Drow are begging me to return to the Underdark to rule over them, a prospect which… Is honestly more tempting than I thought it would be. Sekhmet has also offered us a place in Necropolis, which I know Honey would love. I was also considering heading up north, since it should be habitable now that the wendigos are gone, and making a place for myself there. On the other hand, I could also stay with you, because I know you promised me a while back there would be a place for me in your home once this was all over, should I want it. Or I could just wander the land, seeing the sights, righting wrongs, helping people and spreading my legend. And there have been a few other offers from others we have helped and encountered along the way… Though the elves and fairies have rather politely informed me that while I'm always welcome to visit their forest whenever I like, they'd rather I didn't live there out of fear I'll cause another great fire, which I can't really blame them for." She shrugged. "So long as I can provide for Honey and the dragons, I think just about anything would be satisfactory. Why do you ask?"

"I'll… Get to that," Cosmo said. She hesitated, looking uncertain, before finally saying, "Blaze… I have two requests to make of you, and I would like to ask you to think very carefully before answering them."

Blaze narrowed her eyes, looking at her best friend suspiciously. "All right…" She said, wondering where this is going.

Cosmo took a deep breath, then said, "The first thing is… I want to be there tomorrow, when you confront my father."

Blaze blinked in surprise. "That's… Certainly an interesting request. May I ask why?"

Cosmo sighed. "Because, in spite of everything he's done… All the horrible things he's done to this land and its people, and to my family… And to me… Deep down, a part of me still thinks of him as my father, and remembers him as the good man who tucked me into bed and told me stories and let me ride him like a horse on my eighth birthday. Despite everything, I… I still love him, Blaze. And… Before you kill him… I want to give him one last chance. I know it's unlikely, but… I want to try to convince him to stand down. To surrender. I know there's almost no chance of it happening, but… I feel like I just have to try, you know? To see if there is even a single shred of goodness, of the man I once knew, buried somewhere inside the monster he's become." She grimaced. "Or, the very least, I'd like to understand why he's done all this. What rationale could possibly have convinced him that all this, any of this, could've been a good idea…"

"All right," Blaze said.

Cosmo started. "What? Just like that?"

"You're right, there is almost no chance that this will work. Almost no chance that he will change his mind, after everything he's done, after what he's become," Blaze said. "On the other hand… I'm sure that the same might have been said of me once. I was once evil, a mighty destroyer of worlds, and yet now I am a hero, revered by the people of this land. If I could undergo a transformation like that, who's to say that he can't as well?" Smiling, she reached across and took Cosmo's hand. "And aside from that, I honestly believe that if anyone can do a task as impossible as redeeming Dark Oak… It's you, Cosmo. After all, you rescued me, didn't you?"

Instead of responding Cosmo surged forward, wrapping her arms around Blaze, tears of joy and gratitude running down her face.

…

There were very few dry eyes among the listeners. "That was pretty sweet," Amy sniffed grudgingly.

"The two of you were really good friends, weren't you?" Rouge asked, wiping away a tear.

"We still are," Blaze said proudly. "We've had our ups and downs over the years – just like most friendships – but we're still among the most important people in each other's lives."

"Is it any wonder I love her?" Tails said fondly.

"So… Did she do it? Did she manage to redeem her father?" Cream asked hopefully.

Blaze winced. "That's… Getting ahead of myself a little-"

"She didn't, did she?" Espio asked bluntly.

Blaze hesitated, and then sighed. "No," she admitted. "She didn't."

Cream looks distraught. "Not everyone can be redeemed, sweetie," Shadow said sadly.

"But… But then… If she couldn't save her father, then… What does that mean for my parents?" Cream asked anxiously. Shadow hesitated, then bit his lip, not sure what to say to that.

"What was her second request?" Rouge asked. "Although I think I may already have a good idea as to what it was."

…

"You said there was a second request," Blaze said a little later, after Cosmo had let go of her and had a few minutes to compose herself.

Cosmo hesitated. "There is," she said finally. "But this one is a bit… Bigger than the first one."

"Whatever it is, you know you can count on me, right?" Blaze said.

Cosmo sighed. "You may think twice after hearing it. But… Please keep an open mind, okay?"

Blaze fidgeted. "Cosmo, if you're about to confess your love for me, I can't say I'm not flattered, but like I told those Drow, I don't swing that way-"

Cosmo blushed. "Wh-what?! N-no, that's…that isn't… That's not what I was going to say!"

"Oh," Blaze said, looking relieved. "I'm sorry, it's just… Well, we ARE very close, and there are certain… Rumors going around camp-"

"The only affection I feel towards you is that of a friend, or sister," Cosmo assured the cat. "No, it's a bit… Bigger than that." She took a deep breath, then said, "Once you've defeated my father, and this is all over… I'm going to relinquish my claim to the throne and hand it over to you instead."

…

"Wait, WHAT?!" Just about everyone shouted in disbelief.

"Called it!" Rouge crowed triumphantly.

"Yes, that was more or less my reaction as well," Blaze recalled.

…

"Wait, WHAT?!" Blaze shouted disbelief. "Cosmo, if this is some sort of a joke-"

"It's not," Cosmo said seriously. "I'm completely serious about this. I thought long and hard about this, and I honestly believe that this is the right choice to make."

"Perhaps I'm missing something, but in what world would turning down the throne you fought so long and hard for and giving it over to a world-ending demon – no matter how reformed she might be – could possibly seem like the right choice?!" Blaze demanded.

Cosmo sighed. "Blaze, let's face the facts. Who is it that the troops respect more, you or me?"

Blaze hesitated for moment. "Well…"

"Who is it that they attribute the lion's share of their victories and triumphs to?"

"That's-"

"Who was it that saved them time and time again and convinced them to unite into one army to fight Dark Oak, and got them to overlook the millennia of grudges and feuds and prejudices that have kept them divided for most of this country's history?"

"Being popular and good at battle doesn't make me qualified to be a good leader!" Blaze protested desperately. "Not of a nation, anyway!"

Cosmo raised an eyebrow. "I seem to remember you saying that you were seriously considering taking up the Drow on their offer to become their new Matriarch permanently."

Blaze hesitated. "Yes… Well… I said I was CONSIDERING it, not that I'd taken the job, and besides, being the ruler of all of Solana is a lot different than ruling a mid-sized subterranean civilization!"

"Yes, it is," Cosmo admitted. "But that doesn't mean you aren't qualified to rule this nation… Nor that you aren't the only person who HAS to take the job."

"Why?! Why can't you do it?!" Blaze demanded. "It can't just be the popularity thing, lots of countries are ruled by monarchs who are less beloved than war heroes!"

"Blaze, for all my life I was told that my family were the rightful rulers of Solana," Cosmo said. "That we were the only ones who could guide this nation and its people, to protect them from threats within and without, to ensure a future of plenty and prosperity. And all my life, I was lied to.

"Traveling with you, I've seen a side of my kingdom I never even knew existed. The atrocities of the High Elves, what the dwarves were doing to Rubeus, the casual arrogance and bigotry of the phoenixes, the horrors perpetrated by the Drow, the nightmare of the wendigos, the prejudice and discrimination leveled against undead and those with Sphinx blood which was bad enough to convince them to live all the way out in the desert rather than associate with anyone else… All these things have been going on for centuries, thousands of years, some of the dating back to the founding of this nation, others stretching back even FURTHER. All this has been happening right under our nose, and either we've turned a blind eye to it or simply didn't know. Either reason is completely unacceptable, and is it any reason that so many of the people we've run into, both of my own subjects and those of the other peoples who live in these lands, haven't exactly treated me with the respect most would expect to give to a member of royalty?"

"I… Had noticed that, yes," Blaze said uncomfortably.

"And aside from that, there's the fact that my own father, the King of this land, is the architect behind all its current woes," Cosmo said sadly. "Once he's been overthrown, do you REALLY think that people will be willing to accept someone else from his bloodline on the throne?"

"But you aren't like him, Cosmo!" Blaze protested. "Anyone who's met you for even five minutes knows that!"

"Yes, but a great people HAVEN'T met me," Cosmo pointed out. "And even so… This is the end of an era, Blaze. After my father's been defeated, nothing will be the same anymore. The people of this land cannot return to the status quo that's been the norm for so many centuries… If we are to move forward, and become a better nation, we need a new ruler, someone unburdened by the weight of all that has come before. And that someone is you, Blaze."

"But… I don't understand!" Blaze protested. "I-I suppose I can understand why it can't be you, but… Why does it have to be me? Surely there's… There has to be someone else…"

"Like who?" Cosmo sharply.

That caught the cat flat-footed. "Well… Um… Sekhmet…?"

Cosmo snorted. "She's both undead and a Sphinx. You know as well as I do that while everyone may be willing to tolerate her as an ally, they would never willingly accept her as a ruler."

Blaze desperately wracked her mind for an alternative. "Well, then… What about… No… That wouldn't… Perhaps… But no, that wouldn't work either… But… There has to be…"

"There isn't," Cosmo said firmly. "It has to be you, Blaze. Who else do all the people of this land respect and look up to? Who else would they follow into battle without question? Who is it that they believe in, enough so that many literally worship the ground you step on? Who is it that brought them all here, and united them in a way that hasn't happened since this nation's inception, if ever?"

"But… But I…" Why was she having so much difficulty finding arguments? This was a terrible idea. Cosmo was wrong. Had to be. There's no way she could possibly become the next ruler, no way everyone could really think so highly of her. After all, she was… "I'm… A demon. A destroyer. The subject of so many countless prophecies of doom…"

"What you are," Cosmo said softly, taking Blaze's hand. "Is a hero, and the greatest one this land has ever seen. And so what if you're a destroyer? Let me tell you a thing or two about destruction that even a mighty destroyer of worlds like you may not have considered, Blaze…

"You remember what the Wood Elves called you after you destroyed Sinasthuriellara? Wildfire? The name was more appropriate then, I think, than even they knew at the time. As you well know, fire isn't exactly the favored element of my people, given our plant-based nature. However, something we often forget about fires – wildfires in particular – is that while they burn down great swaths of forest, killing trees and plants and animals and leaving vast tract of land dead and unoccupied… In doing so, they create a chance for new life and growth to replace that which was destroyed. Burning the deadwood so fresh life can bloom. And, when you think about it, isn't that exactly what you've done, Blaze?"

"What… What do you mean?" Blaze whispered wonderingly.

"You burned down Sinasthuriellara, destroying the civilization of the High Elves… A civilization dedicated to violence and narcissism and stagnation, freeing the fairies and Wood Elves from their yoke and making the Feywoods a much safer place for everyone within and without it. You convinced the dwarves, among the most stubborn and hard-headed of all the people of Solana, to abandon and destroy their own ancestral home to right an age-old wrong simply because it was the right thing to do. You forced the phoenixes, who have always looked down upon the people of the surface, to back down from genocide and admit it was wrong to do so. You killed two gods and saved two civilizations from their tyranny, in the process taking steps to reform one of the evilest and most dysfunctional races in all the land. You ended the threat of the wendigoes, which has been a black spot upon this kingdom's history for ages, once and for all. You convinced the kingdom of the undead to actually give a damn for the living outside their borders for the first time in, well, maybe ever. You've helped so many other people besides, all over the land… But that isn't the truly remarkable thing that you've done, Blaze.

"Most of the problems that these people we've helped have been suffering from – the ones not related to Helheim or my father, that is – have been going on for longer than anyone can remember. Nobody has done anything about them. Nobody thought that anything COULD be done about them, that it was just the way it was, and there was no point trying to change it. But you didn't see it that way, did you? You refused to let such atrocities and suffering go on simply because that's the way it's always been done. Whenever you had the opportunity to change something, you did, and didn't care about the consequences. Because, ultimately, that's what you've done, Blaze… Brought change, brought HOPE to this kingdom for the first time in centuries. For too long we've been mired in our own problems and issues, not really sparing a thought for other people or how to do anything but cope with the way things were because we convinced ourselves for so long that this was the best we could hope for and it would be too hard to try to change things so we should just accept our lot in life. And you… You've showed us a better way.

"If you look outside this tent now, you'll see something that many would have thought impossible. Fairies and Wood Elves outside their forest. Elves and dwarves actually getting along. Elves and Drow not trying to kill each other on sight. Phoenixes walking the surface without having a look of disgust on their faces. Undead and half-sphinxes being treated with respect instead of scorn. Genuine friendships, and sometimes more, being formed between people who, even a few months ago, wouldn't have wanted anything to do with each other. And none of this could have happened if you hadn't walked into their lives, shaken things up, and showed them that they could be more than they already were. I suppose, in a way, you could say that you destroyed their worlds… Or rather, their way of looking at the world, and showing them the path to a newer, better one. Because, ultimately… Isn't that all destruction is, really? Change, or the tool to create change? Whether it's change for the better or the worst, I think, depends on who you ask. And while I'm sure a lot of people would say that the change you've created so far as been bad… Many more would disagree."

"… Destruction… As a tool for change…" Blaze whispered, stunned by the very idea.

"You told me, once, that you had a dream. A world you envisioned, but weren't sure could ever be a reality," Cosmo said gently. "Wouldn't you like the chance to make that dream come true?"

Blaze stared at her friend, dazed, struggling to find the words to express what she was feeling… Probably because she wasn't sure WHAT she was feeling.

"There is, of course, another reason why I think that you absolutely MUST be the next ruler of Solana," Cosmo continued, her expression souring. "While everyone is united and friendly of each other now… Once all this is over, and they remember that they used to hate each other, that might not be the case. If you were to take the throne, you would serve as a reminder of their newfound unity and purpose, and ensure that they don't revert to old habits and try to resume the status quo. After all, you're the one person just about everyone trusts. If they can count on anyone to keep them on the right path, it's you."

"That's… A rather large burden to bear," Blaze said weakly.

"Being the ruler of anything always is," Cosmo said wearily. "And of course, there is… One more reason…"

"What?" Blaze asked, dreading the answer.

"As you may recall, for all the problems Solana has or had, we're STILL one of the better places to live in the world," Cosmo reminded her friend. "A lot of other places are… Much worse off. There are tyrants who literally eat babies and devour the tortured souls of over 1000 subjects a day. Governments who use dark magic and mass brainwashing to turn their populace into mindless puppets with zero free will of their own. Rulers whose hobbies and depravities are so vile and debased that even the most twisted of Drow or High Elves would be repulsed. Empires that build palaces on the backs of the oppressed and downtrodden, and that isn't even remotely hyperbole. Many of these nations are right on our borders, and have coveted our land for generations. At least part of the reason my father did what he did is out of fear of those other countries. Even when Solana is freed from his madness, we will still be at risk from those evil nations. We are going to need a strong leader to keep us united and capable of defending ourselves when those other nations eventually make their move, and who better for that task…"

"Than a world-ending demon…" Blaze murmured.

"Precisely," Cosmo said.

Blaze was silent for several minutes. "That's… A lot to lay on a person in one sitting," she said finally.

Cosmo gave her a sad smile. "I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't think you were capable of the task… Or if there were anyone, anyone at all that I felt could do the task as well as you. I know how much you value your freedom, and that asking you to do this would be effectively putting you in another cage… However, the choice, ultimately, is yours. If you refuse, we will try another way."

"No," Blaze said quietly. "There is no choice. Not really. I promised you when this all started out that I would always be there to protect you and your people… To turn down this request would be going back on my word, and that is something I simply cannot do."

"You can still keep your promise without becoming the next Queen," Cosmo assured her.

Blaze shook her head. "Perhaps so, but I doubt I would be able to do it as well. No, your arguments have convinced me, Cosmo. Even if it may cost me my hard-earned freedom, I cannot turn my back on so many people who depend on me… And I suppose, deep down, a part of me relishes being a mighty ruler, revered and obeyed by all. I guess that's the demon in me." She chuckled wryly. "And demon or not, I suppose you could still do worse for a new monarch than I."

"We certainly couldn't do better," Cosmo said fondly.

Blaze took a deep breath. "So… I'm going to become Queen. How do we do this?"

"Well, there'll be a formal announcement, of course, and some other ceremonial matters to attend to… But most of those can wait. Right now, what you need to do are sign these," Cosmo said, handing Blaze the papers she been working on.

"What are these?" Blaze asked, glancing at the documents. They were thick in legalese.

"Papers to legitimize your adoption into the Royal family, cementing your place as next in line to the throne, and a certificate or two to state for the record that I am handing over my crown to you of my own volition and that you are my chosen successor," Cosmo explained. "All that you need to do are sign them," she said, holding out a feathered pen.

Blaze took the pen, looked at the documents… And hesitated. "What's wrong?" Cosmo asked in concern. "There aren't any loopholes or hidden causes which will bite you in the ass, if that's what you're worried about."

"No, it's not that, I know can trust you," Blaze said quickly. "It's just… This isn't a decision that only I can make. There's somebody else I need to talk to first."

It took Cosmo but a moment to realize what her friend was talking about. "I'm sure Honey will say yes. She should be thrilled to be a princess, and get to live in a palace."

"I'm sure she would, and the dragons wouldn't have a problem with it either," Blaze agreed. "But I don't think that I should make a decision of this magnitude without talking to her about it first."

Cosmo nodded in understanding. "I understand. You want to wait until morning, then?"

Blaze shook her head. "No, I'll go wake her up now. I hate to do it, but this is isn't something I should wait on. I'll just tell her the story of how I castrated Cetus afterwards if she's having trouble going back to bed, that always puts to sleep pretty fast."

"You really love her, don't you?" Cosmo said gently as Blaze stood up. "As if she really were your daughter."

"She IS my daughter," Blaze said firmly. "In every way that matters." She hesitated, a thought occurring to her. "Do we need to draft some forms for her too? To formalize her adoption?"

Cosmo chuckled and handed Blaze a few more papers. "You didn't think I'd forgotten about her, did you?"

Blaze smiled gratefully. "You really are a true friend, you know that?"

Cosmo giggled. "Well, soon enough, we'll be MORE than friends."

Blaze gave her a blank look. "It's things like that that make people think we're gay for each other, you know that, right?"

Cosmo snorted. "Go wake up your daughter already."

Blaze chuckled and turned away. "Sure thing… Mother."

"Mother?! I'm going to be your sister, not your mother!" Cosmo said indignantly. "Honestly, I'm too young to be a mom!"

"And I'm not?" Blaze asked sardonically.

"Which of us is several billion years old again?" Cosmo retorted. "If anything, you're old enough to be MY mother!"

Blaze laughed. "Ha! In that case, maybe I should be the one doing the adoption here!"

"Oh, don't you even start!" Cosmo snapped good-naturedly.

"Oh, very well," Blaze said with faux weariness, rolling her eyes. She started to leave the tent… Only to pause again. "Cosmo," she said after some thought. "Do you suppose that these other nations which you're so worried about could stand to lose a little… Deadwood, as well?"

Cosmo blinked in surprise, then smiled. "You know… I do believe that they might…" She admitted, a slow smile forming.

"Something to think about, then," Blaze said, an enigmatic smile on her face as she left the tent to see her daughter.

…

"Needless to say, when I woke Honey up – and she stopped yelling at me for interrupting her beauty sleep – she was absolutely delighted to hear that I was to become Queen, and she and her Dragon 'siblings' royalty as well," Blaze continued. "So I signed the forms, became Cosmo's sister, and legally eligible to inherit the throne."

"And given those comments you were making to Cosmo about deadwood, I'm assuming that's also when you began formulating thoughts of global domination?" Espio inquired.

"It was," Blaze agreed.

"Well, I suppose there are worse reasons to decide to take over the world," Vector admitted.

"And it's an interesting way to interpret your role as a destroyer," Rouge said, intrigued. "I think more ancient world-ending entities should consider that perspective."

"I-WON'T," Omega grunted. "I-JUST-LIKE-KILLING-THINGS. THAT'S-NOT-GOING-TO-CHANGE. I-FIND-MYSELF-RATHER-DISENCHANTED-WITH-YOU-NOW, BLAZE. YOU-DISGRACE-ALL-WHO-WORSHIP-DESTRUCTION!"

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Blaze said deadpan.

"YOU-SHOULD-BE!" Omega snapped.

"… All those people… They really looked up to you that much?" Amy asked, an odd look on her face.

"They still do," Blaze said finally. "And I do my best everyday to make sure their trust in me was not in vain."

"…Hrmm…" Amy murmured.

"Starting to change your mind about her, Amy?" Sonic asked hopefully.

"What, really? Ha! As if I'd EVER forgive her for stealing you from me, Sonic!" Amy snarled.

Sonic sighed. "Why am I even surprised…"

"It was clear to me that you and Miss Cosmo must really love each other… That's so sweet!" Cream gushed. "I wish I had a sister…"

"I thought you said I was like your sister!" Amy protested.

"Oh yeah," Cream said, not looking too enthused about that.

"The next day, we prepared for the final battle," Blaze continued. "As we mustered the troops for the last push on Dark Oak's Castle, I gave the troops a few words to raise their morale and spirit for the last fight. Historians would later write of the passionate battlefield speech I made that day, of how I waxed eloquent on the virtues of the people of Solana, the nobility of their spirit and the evils of Helheim and those who drew upon its power. They would write of my impassioned plea for noble battle under the recognized rules of civilized warfare, to remember that they were liberating the peoples of Solana and do all in their power to avoid bringing harm to them."

…

"LET'S KILL THE BASTARDS!" Blaze roared. The thousands of soldiers arrayed before her raised their weapons and howled ecstatically.

…

"As they often do, the historians lied," Blaze said with a grin.

"Yeah, they do that," Rouge, who'd been around long enough to notice, agreed.

"It can get rather annoying," Shadow grunted.

"I-TAKE-BACK-SOME-OF-THE-THINGS-I-SAID-BEFORE," Omega said grudgingly. "THAT-WAS-A-GOOD-SPEECH."

"Short and to the point," Mighty agreed.

"I think I would've preferred the other version," Cream complained.

"When you meet my daughter, I'll ask her to recite it to you. She does the best dramatic reading of it, and has even managed to learn how to keep a straight face throughout," Blaze said with a smirk.

"I'd like to meet her," Cream said.

"I'm fairly certain the feeling is mutual," Blaze said warmly. "The battle was very fierce, with a great deal of casualties on both sides. The Inves were able to constantly reinforce themselves by opening more cracks to Helheim, but I could keep summoning a seemingly infinite number of demons to match their numbers, and in addition, the phoenixes and undead were pretty much immortal so just kept getting back up for more no matter how many times they were knocked down. With Cosmo in tow, I managed to fight my way to the Castle gates and forced my way inside. I faced many trials within, made more difficult by the fact that I had someone to protect."

"Did you have to fight clones of past bosses? I think you mentioned that before," Charmy asked.

Blaze nodded. "I did. I defeated them pretty much the same way I did before, using the environment to my advantage whenever necessary because, for whatever reason, the chambers I fought them in were perfect recreations of where I battled them the first time around."

"Why do they do that?" Knuckles complained. "Wouldn't the smart thing be to shake things up a bit by giving them different rooms so you can't take advantage of whatever architectural or environmental weaknesses used against them the first time around, or maybe change up their fighting routine so you can't use the same tricks that beat them the first time?"

"A better question might be why bother making clones of previous bosses at all," Espio commented. "After all, if they weren't able to stop you before, why would they this time?"

"Well, they might not be SUPPOSED to kill you so much as wear you out so you'll have trouble facing the final boss," Tails suggested. "After all, the first time around you usually get to take a nice long rest after defeating a boss. But this time, you have to fight them one after the other, with either little or no breaks in between. As such, it's much less likely you'll be able to fight the Big Bad in peak condition after an ordeal like that."

"… That… Actually makes an odd amount of sense," Shadow admitted, impressed.

"Well, what would you expect from my little pal?" Sonic said proudly, clapping the Fox on the shoulder.

"I-DON'T-REALLY-CARE-WHAT-RATIONALE-THERE-ARE-BEHIND-BOSS-RUSHES," Omega commented. "I-ENJOYED-KILLING-THEM-ONCE, NOW-I-GET-TO-KILL-THEM-A-SECOND-TIME."

"I wish we didn't have to kill them at all the first time," Cream said sadly. "Even if they usually ARE just robots."

"WHAT'S-THAT-SUPPOSED-TO-MEAN?" Omega asked threateningly.

"O-oh! I didn't mean… Not robots like YOU, Mr. Omega, but… You know, my father's vehicles," Cream corrected quickly.

"ACCEPTABLE," Omega said grudgingly.

"Was it really a good idea for you to bring Cosmo all that way?" Amy complained. "I mean, it sounds like she wasn't that much help."

"Freaking escort missions," Vector grumbled.

"I admit it wasn't perhaps the safest thing to bring her, especially with her atrocious lack of combat skills, but… This was important to her. I could not in good faith leave her behind," Blaze said.

"And besides, it's not like we haven't taken sometimes irritating helpless people with us on adventures before," Tails pointed out.

Shadow nodded. "Yes, we still let the Chaotix hang out with us for some reason."

"HEY!" Vector shouted.

"Nice one," Mighty said approvingly.

"After conquering every trial and challenging puzzle the fortress could throw at us, we at last reached the throne room and the final showdown…" Blaze continued.

…

In the heart of the Castle sat a dark chamber, lit only by a pair of massive braziers flanking either side of a dais, upon which sat a tall throne made of interwoven vines with alien flowers and fruits blossoming from the sides. Similar plant life covered the walls and ceiling and crept across the floor, covering up most of what had once been a beautifully ornate chamber and leaving it a dark, overgrown crypt. Some tattered banners depicting what looked like the sun, plants, and 7 jewels hung here and there from the walls, although most of them had been shredded by the plant life growing everywhere. There was also a stuffed alligator hanging from the ceiling, but it was hard to see due to being mostly covered in vines.

Seated in the throne was a towering figure, at least 2 meters tall, clad in sharp-edged armor of varying shades of purple, a large green orb set in his chest with an emblem of what appeared to be several different fruits – a melon, watermelon, and orange, some grapes, some strawberries, and some bananas chief among them – embossed in it. Two halves of a tattered black cape hung down from his shoulders, and a long golden sword sat in his lap. His helmet covered his entire head, a small green orb covering his face with a pair of long edged crests jutting out of the sides like a giant V. He stared patiently at the pair of massive double doors on the other side of the room, waiting.

Without warning, the doors were blasted off their hinges by a great explosion, flames roaring into the room and burning away the alien growth closest to it, leaving scorched stone and ashes in its wake. Seemingly unfazed, the armored figure calmly said, "The door was unlocked, you know. You didn't need to do that."

"Perhaps not," Blaze the Cat said as she strode into the room, flames burning around her fists and feet, eyes gleaming. "But it felt good."

The seated figure chuckled. "I suppose I should expect nothing less from the self-proclaimed Destroyer of Worlds… Well met, Blaze the Cat. A pleasure to meet you at long last. I am, of course, Dark Oak… And you have been a thorn in my side for a very, very long time."

"I'd expect that to be something you're used to, considering that chair you're in," Blaze quipped.

"It's actually a lot more comfortable than it looks… But I can see you did not come alone, did you?" Dark Oak observed.

"No, she did not," Cosmo said, stepping into the room. Although she stood strong and defiant, there was a look of fear in her eyes, and she quickly moved to be close behind Blaze. "It's been a long time, Father."

"That it has, daughter," Dark Oak said, nodding to her. "You're looking well. I'm gratified that your journey has not proven too taxing for you. You always were rather a fragile blossom, weren't you? Not like your sister-"

"Don't you dare talk about Galaxina!" Cosmo snapped, eyes flashing. "You don't have that right! Not after what you did to her!"

That actually seem to give the fearsome overlord pause for moment. "What happened to your sister was… An accident. My control over the Inves was not yet complete. I never intended to hurt her-"

"And what about what you did to Mother? To everyone in the Castle? To everyone in Solana?!" Cosmo demanded, furious. "Was that an accident, too?!"

"… No," Dark Oak admitted with a shrug. "I knew exactly what I was doing with all that."

Cosmo's shoulders slumped at that, her face going bleak. "Why, Father? Please… I don't understand. Why would you do all this?" She pleaded. "What you did to Mother… To Galaxina… To the realm… None of it matches up with the wonderful father, the wonderful King, I always remembered you to be. Please… Tell me there is an explanation. An excuse. Is the power of Helheim too much for you to control? Were you brainwashed? Coerced? Threatened? Something… ANYTHING that can justify the atrocities you've committed?"

Dark Oak bowed his head. "I have a justification for my actions… But I doubt that it is one you would accept. I'm afraid, my dearest daughter, that everything I've done… I've done of my own volition."

Cosmo staggered back at that, but bravely tried to rally, a look of desperate defiance on her face. "No… No, no, NO! I won't believe that! I REFUSE to believe that! He… He did something to you, I know he did!"

Blaze glanced at her friend in confusion. "'He?'"

"I do believe the young lady is referring to me," a sinister voice oozed from the shadows. With a loud whirring noise, a yellow and red egg-shaped hovering craft with a hemispherical underside, rockets on the back, a small circular lamp on the front, and a small windshield above it floated into view. Seated in the cockpit of the contraption was a rotund egg-shaped human with a long red nose, a big white bushy mustache, pointy blue sunglasses, visor-shaped goggles perched atop his completely bald head, a black and yellow coat, and a red bodysuit with yellow and black-striped boots. "Hello, Miss Blaze. Allow me to introduce myself… I am His Majesty Dark Oak's Grand Vizier, Dr. Eggman Nega! It's a pleasure to meet you at long last…hee hee hee hee!"

…

"WHAT?!" Just about everyone shouted in disbelief.

"Eggman Nega?!" Cried a startled Knuckles. "What… What was HE doing there?!"

"That… Is something I would very much like to know as well," said a stunned Silver.

"Well, it could be worse! It could be Jafar," Charmy said with a shudder.

"Huh, I'd honestly forgotten about the vizier thing," Cream commented.

"Well, isn't this an interesting turn of events," said an impressed Rouge.

"Wait… But this makes no sense!" Mighty protested. "This happened like, thousands of years ago, right? How could Eggman Nega possibly exist back then, given that he's Blaze's nemesis now… And Silver's in the future… Assuming they're the same person. Which they might not be. Since that's never been made 100% clear."

"Well, the Nega from Silver's time hates our Eggman and wants nothing to do with him, while the Nega from Blaze's world has teamed up with him before," Shadow pointed out. "Which would seem to indicate that the two are unrelated somehow."

"You know, despite looking and sounding exactly alike and having the same name," Vector snarked.

"Well, this is other dimensions we're talking about. We already know that it's quite likely that there are parallels of us in multiple different realities," Espio reminded the crocodile.

"On the other hand, given that the Nega from Silver's time has access to time travel, it's perfectly feasible that the Nega from Blaze's world COULD be the same Nega Silver knows, but from a different point in his personal timeline," Tails argued. "Though from his past or his future, only he knows for certain. We'd have to ask him to know for sure."

"And he isn't really the kind of guy who'd simply tell us for certain if asked," Sonic complained.

"Of course," Espio grunted.

"I suppose it also explains how he could exist back then as well as still be Blaze's biggest enemy in the present day," Shadow mused. "He could simply jump from time to time whenever he's beaten instead of having to take the slow path like she does."

"While it wouldn't surprise me if my Eggman Nega does have access to time travel, there is another reason for how he's been able to pester me throughout the ages… But we haven't gotten to that point yet," Blaze explained.

"So… Does that mean Eggman Nega was the actual villain and Dark Oak was just his pawn?" Cream inquired.

"Yeah, wouldn't be the first time we've dealt with something like that," Amy agreed.

Blaze sighed. "If only it were that easy…"

…

"You," Cosmo snarled, her face twisted into a mask of hatred. Blaze was startled; she couldn't remember ever seeing such an expression on her friend's face before. "This is all your fault… None of this would've happened if you hadn't come here! All those people wouldn't have suffered, my mother and sister wouldn't have died, my father wouldn't have become the monster he is… None of this would have happened if it weren't for you!"

Eggman Nega chuckled. "How charming, Princess! Despite everything you've seen in your months of travel, you still persist in believing that all the evils in the world can be laid squarely on the shoulders of a few select individuals, when the reality is anything but. While I would love to be able to take credit for everything that has happened, I simply can't, because it wouldn't be true."

"What are you talking about?!" Cosmo demanded furiously.

"I freely admit, Princess, that I came to your kingdom with the express intent of deceiving, corrupting, and betraying your father so that I could gain access to the fabled Seeds of Helheim and all the other goodies you have stowed in your Royal vaults-" Nega began.

Cosmo gasped. "You see, father?! He's not even denying it!"

"Nor is he saying anything I'm not already aware of," Dark Oak said wearily.

Cosmo started. "Wh-what?!"

"Let him finish, daughter," the overlord intoned.

"Thank you, Excellency," Nega said with a small bow. "As I was saying… That WAS what I was playing to do, but… Imagine my surprise when I discovered he was already considering using the seeds! I must say, it certainly made my job a lot easier. All I had to do was give him a little push, and, well… The results speak for themselves, don't they?"

Cosmo gasped. "N-no… That… That can't be! Father, please… Say it's not so!"

"Unfortunately, daughter… It's true. All of it is true," Dark Oak growled. "I had been contemplating using the Seeds of Helheim for quite a while, but never worked up the courage to actually do so because I feared what the consequences might be for my realm and my people. The news Eggman Nega brought me, however, convinced me that I had no other choice but to use the Seeds, lest our great nation of Solana face a terrible fate."

"Lest we… Solana has ALREADY suffered a terrible fate!" Cosmo cried in disbelief. "A fate that YOU brought upon it, Father!"

"I have indeed," Dark Oak agreed. "But even so, it is still a far, far better fate, I think, than what might've happened if I had done nothing." He shrugged. "Or at least, that is what I tell myself to justify my actions, anyway."

"I don't… Don't understand…" Cosmo whispered, incredulous. "What could possibly convince you to do such an awful thing to your kingdom, your people, your FAMILY?!"

Blaze frowned, narrowing her eyes in thought. "Cosmo, weren't you just telling me last night that there were a great deal of nations out there who envied your kingdom's prosperity, wanted it for themselves, and were ruled by people even WORSE than your father?"

"Yes, but what does that-" Cosmo hesitated, eyes going wide. "Oh."

"Oh indeed," Dark Oak said. "I had known that our neighbors, even those who claim to be our allies, have been plotting to destroy us for quite some time. Eggman Nega brought me proof that an attack against us was imminent, and it would be one we would not be able to survive without taking… Desperate measures."

"Truly desperate indeed, if you were convinced that the only way to protect your country was to conquer and destroy it yourself," Blaze observed.

"That's insane!" Cosmo protested incredulously. "How could you possibly think something like that would be a good idea?! Couldn't you have done, I don't know, something NOT CRAZY like rallying the troops, calling up everyone in the kingdom to help-"

Dark Oak burst into bitter laughter. "Like you called up everyone in the kingdom to help you fight me?"

"Yes! Exactly like that!" Cosmo insisted, not noticing Blaze wincing.

Dark Oak nodded. "Tell me, daughter. Did all your new friends and allies come the instant you asked them to, dropping everything, putting long-standing grudges and rivalries aside for the greater good… Or were they too busy dealing with problems of their own or so full of themselves that they wouldn't lift a finger to help you unless you took care of things they couldn't be bothered to first or outright FORCED them to?"

Cosmo faltered at that. "W-well…I…that is to say-"

"Please give me more credit than that, daughter. I'm not an idiot," Dark Oak sneered. "Of COURSE I tried asking everyone for help! And what do you think happened?" He shrugged in frustration. "Most of them said they'd love to help, but they were busy with something else and would show up as soon as they could. As if their problems could possibly be as massive as what our neighboring countries would do to them if they successfully invaded! Others pledged their support, but made efforts to get as far away as possible should things go south, assuming I'd be too stupid to notice. Others still just said no. They said no to ME! Their sovereign!"

He clenched his fist, and the plant growth around the room started twitching and shaking. Blaze tensed up, anticipating a fight… But after a moment, Dark Oak sagged, and the foliage stilled. "And of course, there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. As I'm sure you've noticed by now, daughter, our rule is a joke. We may have once been strong enough to truly govern this nation, but in the present day we rule in name only over a divided land of fiefdoms and city-states. Pretty much everyone was free to do whatever the hell they wanted, even ignore my governance if they didn't want to. And if I attempted to back up my word with force, I would quickly find myself overthrown, for our personal armies were no longer as strong or as loyal as they once were. And if I was unable to command the people of my own country, what hope did I have of ever being able to defeat those who sought to destroy us?"

"So… What, all this, everything you've done, was basically you conquering your own country to prepare for an even greater threat?" Blaze concluded.

Dark Oak nodded. "Essentially, yes."

"… And you couldn't have done that WITHOUT unleashing the power and horrors of an interdimensional world-eating forest upon your own people?!" The cat asked in disbelief.

Dark Oak laughed. "As preposterous as this might sound, Blaze, the Seeds of Helheim are actually the LEAST dangerous forbidden weapon in the Royal vaults. We have things down there that can rip this world in half, unleash the legions of hell, destroy the entire universe, or even make it so that the world never existed! Compared to my other choices, the Seeds seemed like the best option!"

"A weapon that required the sacrifice of your wife and needless and horrific suffering on the scale of tens of thousands, up to and including turning your own populace into monsters, was the best option?!" Blaze asked in disbelief.

"Compared to the others? Yes," Dark Oak said flatly.

"But what about the Sol Emeralds?" Cosmo asked.

Dark Oak snorted. "Those glittering baubles? They were the first thing I tried after it became clear I couldn't convince the rest of the nation through diplomacy…they wouldn't respond to me. They deemed me unworthy of their power. Oh yes, it didn't matter that I needed it to save everyone in Solana, and that without it everyone would suffer a horrible fate, they wouldn't let me use them because I didn't meet their impossibly high standards! Where did they get off?!"

"Artifacts like that can be so tricky," Nega said with faux sadness. "The Seeds of Helheim, in contrast, were far less…shall we say, discerning?"

"If you were seriously considering resorting to the Seeds as a Plan B, maybe the Emeralds were right to reject you," Cosmo snarled.

"Oh yes, they were perfectly right to condemn me...and everyone else in this country as well. Such fine, outstanding exemplars of virtue they are, happy to look down on me for wanting to do anything to protect my kingdom, no matter how unethical, regardless of how many people got hurt because they had to take the high ground," Dark Oak sneered. "Anyway, I will not demean myself by saying that I weep for my people, but I assure you that my sleep is far from restful. And as awful as it might sound, if I had a chance to do this all over… I believe I would still make the same decision, because the things I've done are still far more merciful than what our enemies have planned. Yes, including using my people to grow plants or turning them into Inves, especially because that was never meant to be permanent!"

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked in confusion.

"My daughter has told you much about the lore and terror of Helheim, I'm sure. Has she ever told you about Overlord Inves?" Dark Oak asked.

Cosmo gasped in surprise. "No, she hasn't," Blaze asked, glancing at her friend in puzzlement.

"Overlords… Those are real?!" Cosmo asked in disbelief.

Dark Oak nodded. "Very real. After all, depending on who you ask, our people were descended from some… And depending on how you look at it, you might say that I, and the Four Heavenly Generals, are turning into them."

"Can somebody please explain to me what you're talking about?" Asked the confused Blaze.

…

"I second that notion," Espio spoke up.

"Yeah, what are Overlords?" Amy agreed.

Vector scoffed. "How can you not know what overlords are? We've been fighting them for years!"

Amy rolled her eyes. "I meant Overlord Inves, not general overlords."

"… I knew that!" The crocodile insisted.

"I don't believe you!" Knuckles yelled.

"I believe I know what Cosmo's talking about," Rouge said, looking concerned. "So, they do exist… Interesting…"

"Anyone feel like filling us in?" Mighty snarked.

"Things should be clear momentarily," Blaze promised.

…

"As you well know, Miss Blaze, when a creature or person eats a Helheim fruit, they are transformed into a mindless monster called an Inves," Eggman Nega lectured the cat. "However, in the right circumstances – usually due to the power of the Golden Fruit, an especially strong will, or certain other factors – it is possible for someone to instead be transformed into an 'Overlord' Inves, gaining all the powers of an Inves – more, even! – While retaining their original intellect and personality. Overlord Inves have the power to open dimensional cracks at will, control Helheim plants, and command lesser Inves. Sometimes when Helheim consumes a world, a select number of their former population is able to survive as Overlords, ruling over what's left of the world they once knew. While I suppose you might call them the 'rulers' of Helheim, they don't really do much – not like they have much to do, really – and are ultimately subservient to the will of the forest itself, though it's gracious enough to let them live there and use its power. Rather conscientious of it, given that it was the one responsible for destroying their home in the first place."

"You and the Generals were able to control Helheim plants and Inves… Does that mean that you are Overlords?" Blaze inquired, starting to put the pieces together.

"We are becoming Overlords, yes," Dark Oak conceded. "Myself due to initiating the process of growing the Golden Fruit and returning Helheim to our world, the others as a result of Eggman Nega and Black Narcissus using a combination of science and alchemy to create a way for us to harness the forest's power without being overwhelmed. Our fancy armor isn't just for show, you see."

"It didn't seem to work so well in Black Narcissus' case," Blaze pointed out.

Eggman Nega shrugged. "I warned him that fruit was still in its testing phases and might be dangerous. The fact that you forced him to resort to it speaks volumes for your skill and threat level, Miss Blaze… And the fact that he was able to retain some degree of himself after his transformation indicates that the modifications I made to his armor and his genetic structure held up, and bode well for our future plans."

"What are you talking about?" Cosmo demanded.

"Despite the atrocities I've committed against my own subjects… Despite being spurned and mocked by so many of those who should rightfully be my vassals and come at my call… I bear the people of Solana no ill will. All the awful, terrible, unforgivable things I've done to them are not without purpose," Dark Oak explained. "And that includes putting them into trees."

Cosmo frowned. "What do you-"

Nega chuckled. "My dear," the mad scientist said smoothly. "What would you say if I told you that those trees and other plants that we've been putting people into weren't to drain their life force or blood or whatever to fuel our nefarious plans… But because they were chrysalises?"

"Chrys-" Cosmo gasped in horror. "No! You mean-"

"You… You were transforming them into Overlord Inves!" Blaze gasped.

Nega cackled. "Correct! While being infected by an Inves or eating a Helheim fruit can cause a person to transform into an Inves in a matter of hours if not days, the experiments I have conducted with Black Narcissus indicated that gradual exposure to Helheim venom can, over time, allow a test subject to build up an immunity of sorts so that when they finally transform into an Inves, they will retain their sanity and so avoid becoming a mindless beast. Those trees and other plants that you've seen growing into and around people in the areas we've infected weren't simply draining people of their energy and fluids, but pumping diluted Helheim venom into them to eventually transform them into Overlords! Brilliant, if I do say so myself!" He pouted. "Except that none of them ever got that chance due to you going out of your way to murder them whenever you run into them. Really, and you call us monsters?"

…

"Wait, so that's why…" Whispered the shocked Espio.

"Then all those plants things were just some kind of transformative cocoon?! That's messed up!" Vector protested.

"Yeah, really, did they have to make it such a gross and disturbing-looking process?" Asked a disgusted Charmy.

"Things like that tend to be more often than not, in my experience," Shadow said.

"… Oh yeah, the Black Arms, right," Amy recalled. "Say, Shadow, can they transform people into creatures like themselves?"

"It's not beyond their ability," Shadow confirmed. "But they're more interested in eating the populations of inhabited planets than converting them into more of themselves."

"But they won't do that anymore now that you're in charge of them, right?" Cream asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, sweetie, the Black Arms won't hurt anyone ever again," Shadow promised. "In fact, would you like to come visit them sometime? I'm sure my brother would love to meet you."

"He would?" Rouge asked skeptically.

"He will if I tell him to," Shadow growled.

"I'll… Consider it. Thank you, Grunkle Shadow," Cream said.

"Does that mean they're going to try to turn her into Black Cream or something? Should she be worried about getting a third eye?" Mighty joked.

"I don't want a third eye!" Cream cried in horror.

"It's not really that bad, sweetie…and Mighty, Black Cream is a stupid name!" Shadow snapped.

"And Black Shadow isn't?" the armadillo snarked.

"It sounds menacing, dammit!" the black hedgehog retorted.

"Why did Dark Oak and Eggman Nega want to turn people into Overlord Inves anyway?" Knuckles asked.

"We're getting there," Blaze said.

…

"I'm fairly certain that, had they known what would ultimately happen to them and been capable of asking, they would have still wanted me to end their suffering anyway in any way that I could," Blaze snarled furiously as Cosmo reeled in horror.

"Is that so?" Nega sneered. "Well, then, I suppose it's a good thing that you didn't leave any of them alive long enough to know for sure, so as not to burden your conscience with any more guilt, isn't it?"

"But… I don't understand… Why are you turning them all into Overlord Inves?!" Cosmo demanded.

"A King cannot rule over a country consisting of nothing but brainless drones and still call himself a King," Dark Oak explained. "A ruler is nothing without the people supporting him. By turning everyone into Overlord Inves, I shall erase the divides caused by their different species and cultures and make them all of one race. And no, not even the Seedrians shall be spared, for I'm not arrogant enough to believe us to be the perfect people, for we are just as flawed as all the rest. Once all are one, the pointless enmities and feuds and biases which have kept them apart for so long shall be eradicated, and Solana shall once again be a single nation, united and strong and capable of handling everything the future throws at it…

"And that is just the beginning! Once I have obtained the godlike power of the Golden Fruit, I will use it to reshape the world as I see fit. The nations that threaten Solana shall do so no longer, for they shall be incorporated into my new Empire. All the evil tyrants and despots who so cruelly treat their people as worse than slaves shall be overthrown, and the world united under my rule. And everyone whom has become an Inves – which, by that point, will be just about everyone in the world – will be ascended to an Overlord, transcending their monstrous natures and regaining the personalities, the souls they once possessed. It will be an end to all wars and suffering. All people shall be as one. There shall, at last… Be peace…"

"Father…" Cosmo whispered, stunned.

…

"So THAT'S what he's after!" Vector declared.

"How despicable…" Espio murmured.

"The world peace sounds nice. Turning everyone into an Inves doesn't," Cream agreed.

"You know, there are times when I honestly have trouble telling who's worse: the villains who are willing to do awful things just because they're evil, or the ones who do it because they think it's the right thing to do," Rouge said in disgust.

"But what's Nega get out of this?" Silver wondered.

"I wondered the exact same thing," Blaze said.

…

"And what, pray tell, do you get out of this, Mr. Eggman Nega?" Blaze asked in disgust, glancing at the scientist suspiciously. "Somehow I doubt your intentions are quite as…'altruistic' as your 'partner.'"

"Oh, not even remotely," Nega said cheerfully. "I have my own reasons for desiring the power of Helheim… Very selfish ones at that. I also desire a few, ah, trinkets from the vaults once this is all taken care of, and Dark Oak has given me permission to take whatever I want after he's conquered the world…within reason. I've also been promised a nation of my own to rule, with a sample population made up of specimens from every species on this planet so as to preserve a few from being turned into Inves. It's always important to have a 'control' in any experiment, after all!"

…

"Well, that sounds freaking disturbing," Mighty commented.

"I wonder who'd have it worse, the people who were turned into Inves… Or the ones forced to live under Nega…" Shadow wondered.

"Thankfully, that never came to pass," Blaze said.

…

Blaze raised an eyebrow at Dark Oak. "And you really think he'll be satisfied with just one country?"

"Oh, not in the slightest," Dark Oak said. "I'm aware he's using me, but I in turn am using him. I know there's a good chance he might try to betray me once all is said and done. Rest assured, I've taken certain precautions in case such an eventuality occurs."

"Just as I have taken certain precautions in case he betrays me," Nega said cheerfully. "Mutually assured destruction, and all that. Of course, it's yet to be seen which of those measures would actually work… It often goes down to who has the courage to take the first shot, after all…"

"Father…so…this is…this is the reason? This is why you've done all this?" Cosmo whispered, looking broken and lost.

"It is indeed, daughter," Dark Oak said softly.

"And…and if I asked you to stop…you wouldn't, would you?" she asked quietly.

"No," Dark Oak said with a hint of regret. "I would not. Especially not now, not when I am so close to grasping the Golden Fruit in my own hands… Not when the final component for my ascendancy has just walked through my front door…"

Blaze instantly positioned herself in front of Cosmo. "Whatever you're going to do with her, you will have to go through me first!" She snarled.

"With her?" Dark Oak said, surprised. "What do you-" He paused, then burst into laughter. "Oh! Oh, I see. You really don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?" Asked the confused Blaze.

"It is not my daughter whom I require to achieve my goals… Is you, Blaze the Cat!" Dark Oak declared.

"Wh-what?!" A startled Blaze stammered.

…

"I second that notion," Espio spoke up.

"Yeah, I assumed that Cosmo was going to be the key to his plans or something," Vector agreed. "I mean, that's how it usually goes, right?"

"Yeah, plus it'd explain why Red Pine seemed so dead-set on capturing her before," Amy agreed.

"But if it wasn't Cosmo he wanted, why did he need you, Blaze?" Cream wondered.

"I think I may have an idea…" Rouge murmured, an odd gleam in her eye.

…

"What are you talking about?" Cosmo demanded.

"A Golden Fruit, like all plants, requires the right environment and nutrients to grow," Eggman Nega lectured. "It must be planted in the right soil – a Woman of Beginning, in this case Queen Earthia – and fed a healthy dose of conflict."

"Whenever Helheim invades a world, it selects champions who must battle each other for the right to claim the Fruit," Dark Oak explained. "However, since we were attempting to artificially grow a Fruit, we had no way of designating champions – nor did we truly want to, for creating opponents for myself would significantly reduce my chances of winning the Fruit – so hoped that my conquering Solana would count as the necessary 'victory' that would allow me to claim the Fruit and its power."

"Unfortunately, we were wrong," Nega grunted in irritation. "No matter how much suffering and torment we caused, no matter how much negative energy we fed into this damn tree, it didn't show a single sign of bearing fruit. It quickly became clear that a Golden Fruit can't simply be grown and plucked from a tree like your common apple, it must be earned. And unfortunately, the people of Solana were either too weak or too self-absorbed with their own problems to rise up and face His Excellency and provide the adversary we needed."

"And then my daughter found you, Blaze… And you fought and defeated Red Pine in battle," Dark Oak went on. "The reaction was immediate. At last, my tree began to bear fruit. The Golden Fruit started forming within my dear wife. Your arrival in Solana at last provided me with a rival, a worthy opponent whom I could pit myself against to prove my strength and claim the Golden Fruit. As you traveled across the land and I threw minion after minion at you, the Fruit steadily grew in power and potency with every battle and victory you claimed, and now that you have brought an army to my doorstep, conquering everything that stood before you, it has at last nearly finished ripening. It is already waiting, at the apex of this great tree, for one of us to triumph over the other and prove that they have the conviction and strength necessary to dye the world in their image. All I need to do, Miss Blaze, is defeat you… And the Golden Fruit will be mine at last."

…

"So that's why!" Vector gasped.

"Yes, I thought as much," Rouge said with a nod. "I've heard of things like that before."

"You have?" Knuckles asked.

Rouge nodded. "Certainly. Many powerful acts of magic can only be performed when there is a certain balance involved. A Yin to the Yang, one might say."

"So Dark Oak actually NEEDED you to run around beating up his guys to further his plans? Seems counterproductive," Espio commented.

Sonic shrugged. "Well, it wouldn't be the first time we've been on adventure where we think we're messing up the bad guy's plans but we're actually playing right into his hands without realizing it." The others nodded in agreement.

"And yet, despite us helping them fulfill their plans, we inevitably wind up ruining them as well," Shadow commented. "You'd think they'd know by now."

"Most villains seem to have a problem with pattern recognition," Rouge commented.

"Yeah, I mean really, you'd think after getting pummeled by Sonic so often Eggman'd think to properly shield his cockpit!" Vector agreed.

"MAYBE-HE-KEEPS-MAKING-THAT SAME-MISTAKE-DUE-TO-BRAIN-DAMAGE-FROM-SONIC-SMASHING-HIM-IN-THE-FACE-SO-OFTEN?" Omega suggested.

There was a pause as they considered that. "Well, that got dark," Mighty commented.

"...Oh my," Cream whimpered. "Does…does that mean that because of Mr. Sonic, my father-"

"Blaze, let's continue, shall we?" Sonic said quickly.

"Wonderful idea, beloved," Blaze agreed.

…

Blaze's eyes widened in surprise… And then narrowed in determination. "You wouldn't be the first to think that all they need to do is beat me to achieve their goals. None have succeeded yet."

"Oh, I'm well aware of that, Blaze," Dark Oak said. "I'm not nearly as foolish or overconfident as my underlings were. I'm stronger than they all were, yes, but I'm fully aware you have the potential to be stronger still. I might be able to defeat you… But then again, I might not. Which is why, before we resort to violence, I seek to try… Another tack…"

"Another-" Blaze groaned and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Oh no, is this is the part where you try to convince me to join you?"

"How did you guess?" Eggman Nega asked in surprise.

"Because this is about the point where the main villain always tries to convince the hero to join him," Blaze said flatly.

"Well, depending on your perspective-" Dark Oak started.

"Yes, yes, from your perspective you're the hero and I'm the villain thwarting all your designs and ruining everything, heard it all before," Blaze said, bored. "What makes you think this will actually work? You know this sort of thing never does in the stories, right?"

"Won't you at least hear me out?" Dark Oak asked, put out.

"No, I won't," Blaze said coldly. "I have no interest in playing any part whatsoever in the future you have in store… Even though, to an extent, I can sympathize with your reasons for creating it and admit that, on some level… I actually agree with your reasons for it."

This startled everyone in the room. "You do?" Dark Oak asked, surprised.

…

"Yeah, I second that," Vector spoke up.

"Why would you possibly agree with him?" Asked a confused Cream.

"Because she's evil all along!" Amy yelled. Nobody listened to her.

"I have good reasons. Just listen," Blaze explained.

…

"Blaze, what are you talking about?" Cosmo asked.

"Dark Oak, I have wandered the length and breadth of your land, meeting its people, befriending them and helping them to solve their problems. I have seen them at their best and at their worst, and after everything I've gone through, I've concluded… That, ultimately, you're right. They needed to be conquered, if that was the only way for them to change.

"For too long, this land has been divided. Like you said, a nation in name only. The peoples of this realm cared little for what happened in the world outside their borders, so set in their ways and used to doing things the way they have been done for centuries without interference that even with the threat of imminent destruction they were incapable of banding together against a common threat until spurred into motion by an outsider, namely, me. The elves and the fairies thought they could retreat deeper into the forests, or maybe even survive in the new warped woods you would call into being. The dwarves and the Drow figured their subterranean delvings were too deep for you to reach, and that they could simply dig deeper to escape what happened on the surface. The phoenixes, in contrast, imagined themselves too high to have to worry about what happened on the surface, and were perfectly willing to destroy everything beneath them not just for their own safety, but to make things easier for themselves. The Mulanteans similarly assumed that the affairs of the surface world were none of their concern and would have no effect on them. The wendigos actually BENEFITED, especially because in all the thousands of years they've been around nobody has bothered to come up with anything like a permanent solution for them. The undead of Necropolis, for all that I like them and my daughter adores their Queen, only bothered to give a damn when Black Narcissus started working on ways for Helheim to be able to affect them. The response all of them had to the threat you posed was to either hope it would go away if they ignored or worked around you, and only started fighting in earnest when they realized they couldn't do that, and by then it was almost too late. If that was their response to you, their own king going mad, I shudder to think how they would've acted if those other nations you're so afraid of really HAD invaded!" Blaze said.

"Much the same, I imagine," Dark Oak lamented.

"I don't disagree with you," Blaze conceded. "This land has grown stagnant and begun to fall apart. The High Elves committed horrific atrocities simply because they were confident nobody could stop them. The dwarves tortured a dying old woman for millennia out of fear. The phoenixes looked down upon the people of the surface, in more ways than one, to the point where their leaders would have been perfectly happy to condemn you all and not lose any sleep over it. The Drow probably would've wiped you all out long ago if their society weren't so dysfunctional it was constantly on the brink of self-destruction. The wendigos have been such a black spot on your nation's history that the best you could do with them was wall them up and pretend they never existed. The Mulanteans and the Necropolitans were isolated and detached from the rest of the land to the point where they were barely a part of it at all, largely indifferent to what happened to everyone outside their domain. And you and the other Seedrians, who were once the mightiest in all the land, rulers of all you surveyed, reduced to shadows of your former glory, clinging to your past and the mantle of rulership and desperately hoping that nobody cared enough to challenge you for it. Considering all that, I can understand completely why you thought that the only way to snap them out of their self-indulgent state would be to conquer them and FORCE them to work together! Heck, I've more or less done the same thing. Just ask the Drow. And I'd say that most if not all them were better off thanks to my intervention, wouldn't you? Why, most of them wouldn't be here now were it not for my shaking their world up and making them look beyond themselves, sometimes by brute force!"

"That's… not exactly something I would expect a hero to say," said the surprised Dark Oak.

"That's because I'm not just a hero, I am also a destroyer," Blaze said proudly. "And I've thought long and hard recently about what exactly that means. Wildfires may be dangerous and destructive, but they also clear away deadwood and old growth to make way for something new, isn't that right, Cosmo?"

Cosmo smiled and nodded. "That's right!"

"Sometimes, the old world has to be torn down to make way for something better. It's not always a pleasant process, and there will be opposition to it, but that doesn't mean it isn't something that still needs to be done lest everything succumb to rot. I get that. Really, I do. In fact, I have a vision, a dream for a world of my own I seek to make…and it's not one that the world is capable of sustaining in its current state, if everything I've seen of it so far, and everything else I've heard, is true." Blaze grinned. "I intend to change that."

"But… Then why will you not join forces with me?" Dark Oak asked in confusion. "If you too agree that this world must be united and changed, whether it wants to or not, would it not make sense for you to ally yourself with me to achieve your dream?"

Blaze snorted. "Hardly. For one thing, while I sympathize with your motives and your reasons for doing this, I find the way you're going about it absolutely reprehensible. I only had to conquer two civilizations through force to achieve the united force outside your castle, one of which practically THANKED me for it, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the other ones came to do the same eventually. In addition, the world you seek to make and the one I want are completely incompatible. You believe that it's the people of this world that are the problem, and so the only way to make it a better place is to force them to change by turning them into a completely different species."

"But they will retain their personality and memories-" Dark Oak protested.

"And will still be monsters subservient to your will," Blaze interjected. "They will have been molded and remade in your image, no longer the unique individuals they were before, and while I suppose some of them will not be missed, you're going to be changing the good along with the bad. You're basically going to be RAPING them into fitting your view of an ideal people, something I find absolutely reprehensible.… For while I agree that the peoples of this land are indeed flawed, that's not necessarily a bad thing. For all their negatives, they also have shining qualities of their own which make them worth preserving. The magic of the fairies… The elegance of the Wood Elves… The artistry of the High Elves… The courage and boisterousness of the dwarves… The pride of the dragons… The fluidity of the Mulanteans… The knowledge and piety of the phoenixes… The sheer cunning and ingenuity of the Drow… The wisdom and, yes, COMPASSION of the undead, who were able to make my daughter feel for the first time in her life like she was not alone, the only one in the world like her…" She paused to shoot a fond smile at Cosmo. "The inner strength and kindness of the Seedrians… And all the others, who have endeared themselves to me in one way or another over this long journey. I have grown to love all these people – even, to a small extent, the High Elves – and if you were to succeed in your scheme, you'll rob them, and all the other people of this world whom I've yet to meet, of one of their most precious treasures: their individuality, and the traits which make them stand out from each other and all the rest. This, I believe, is completely and utterly unacceptable.

"I, on the other hand, intend to change the things that MADE them evil or cruel or selfish or indolent. The Drow, for example, were evil and wicked and wretched not because it was their inherent nature, but because their malicious deity put them into a society that pretty much FORCED them into being awful people, and given the chance to try things differently, in a less repressive society, I believe they would've turned out far differently. Even the High Elves, despite the atrocities they've committed, might have been different had their society not been so steeped in Glamour, narcissism, and self-glorification, reinforcing their belief that they were the only people that mattered, and I would like to think that now that I've more or less destroyed their civilization, some of them may be able to see things clearly for the first time and realize there was another way. I intend to do the same on a global scale… I will tear down the broken and dysfunctional regimes and governments and societies which reward cruelty and greed and crush the weak, replacing them with more healthy systems promoting growth and change, inspiring people to become better rather than staying in the same, tired rut they've been in for millennia, constantly ground down by the wheels of the world. I'm aware that this may not work for everyone – the wendigos, after all, were irredeemable evil spirits, and I'm certain there are other places and people like them out in the world who simply cannot, will not be saved, and then, of course, there's *shudder* the whales– but I shall do my best to help everyone else.

"Those who seek to join me in fulfilling my vision of a united, peaceful world will be welcomed with open arms. Those who seek to destroy me or hurt the people I care about and am sworn to protect I will break without remorse. I shall be both savior and destroyer, liberator and conqueror, bringing hope with one hand to those who need it most and death to those who stole that hope away with the other. And then, once I'm through, a new world shall be born… One where people of all races and species and creeds can live together in peace and strive for a brighter future. One where nobody will be feared or ostracized or… Or sealed away or banished for being different. One where…" The familiar image flashed before her eyes, of a kitten alone and crying in terror… Though by this point Blaze couldn't tell what color its fur was. It didn't really matter. "Where a little girl doesn't have to cry alone and know that nobody is coming to help her! That is the world I seek to create!"

…

Everyone was silent for a moment, staring at Blaze in disbelief. "That… Is quite the dream," Espio admitted, impressed.

"You… You really want all that?" Amy asked, wonderingly.

"I do," Blaze said.

"And you really think the best way to bring it about is by taking over the world?" Mighty pressed.

"It seems like the most expedient option," Blaze said with a shrug.

"And how's that working out for you?" Rouge asked, curious. "Is the world you've made so far everything like you imagined it to be?"

"I cannot say that the kingdom I've built is perfect," Blaze said honestly. "But I can truthfully say that I've done my best to make it match my vision as closely as possible. Most of the people I've conquered don't complain very much, after the initial adjustment period."

"A world where a little girl doesn't have to cry alone… I think… I think I'd like to see that world," Shadow said softly.

"Perhaps you can come visit some time," Blaze offered.

Cream gasped and looked at her great-uncle hopefully. "Can we, Grunkle Shadow? Can we please?"

Shadow chuckled and ruffled his great-niece's head. "We'll have to to talk it over with your mother first, I think."

"I-DON'T-KNOW," Omega complained. "THAT-SOUNDS-LIKE-A-BORING-WORLD-TO-ME."

"They've got battle arenas, monsters roaming the countryside, and you can always head out to the front lines to join the armies out conquering other countries," Sonic suggested.

"TELL-ME-MORE," Omega said, intrigued.

"Perhaps later," Silver interjected. "Blaze, continue, please."

…

Cosmo gasped. Blaze had discussed her dream once or twice before, but never quite so eloquently as this. "Blaze… That's… That's beautiful…"

"It is indeed," Dark Oak agreed softly. "Certainly not the sort of dream I would have expected from a self-proclaimed destroyer of worlds such as yourself, Blaze."

"It's not the dream I would've expected from me, either," Blaze admitted. "And once upon a time, I don't think it would've been my dream at all… But I have changed, and so have my dreams, as well as my definition of what being the Destroyer of Worlds really means. After all, what is a world when you get right down to it? It's more than just a planet. In olden times, people foretold the end of the world all the time, but really, for them, 'the world' just meant everything around them, the places and people they knew and were familiar with, because they lacked the vision or imagination to perceive the wider world around them… And when their prophecies came true, and they picked up the pieces after the end, they saw that the sun was still shining elsewhere, and realized that perhaps the world was bigger than they'd ever dreamed, and so began anew.

"And really, when you think about it… Every person is a world unto themselves. After all, isn't it often said in stories that when a person learns a particularly shocking revelation, the whole world seems to turn upside down for them? Whenever a person dies, their world ends. Whenever a person changes, again, so does their world. And so, that is what I shall do. To make my world a reality, I shall change the worlds of others to match my own vision, just as all leaders change the worlds of those they inspire who choose to follow them. In doing so, they destroy the worlds they knew and held so dear…allowing for the rise of something new. After all, what is destruction but another stage on the wheel of existence, constantly turning and transforming the old into the new? Destruction need not be simply an instrument of death and terror, but a tool for change. And that is exactly what I intend to do… Change the world, and in so doing fulfill my duty as the Destroyer of Worlds by rendering the old world little more than a memory so that something new and wonderful may take its place. And I'm not going to use some extradimensional plant to do it, either! I will change this world with my own two hands!"

"Your own… Wait! Do you mean to say… You won't use the power of the Golden Fruit?!" Dark Oak asked incredulously.

"No, I won't," Blaze said firmly. "That thing has brought nothing but trouble, and I can't see anything good come from using it or anything else associated with that accursed forest. Once I defeat you, I'm going to take that fruit and do what I do best… Destroy it utterly, so that nobody, least of all myself, can ever be tempted to use its power again!"

"But… But that's preposterous!" Eggman Nega sputtered, shocked. "Leaving aside the impossibility of destroying something as powerful as the Golden Fruit… There's no way anyone could ever turn down that much power! It's… It's the ability to make a whole new world!"

…

"I have to find myself agreeing with him there," Rouge interrupted. "I certainly wouldn't turn down power like that, and I'm set to inherit the Dark Heart, one of the most powerful energy sources in the world!"

"Yes, well, you aren't me," Blaze said bluntly.

"And besides, Rouge, Blaze wanted to change the world. Aren't you more interested in keeping it the way it is now?" Tails pointed out.

The bat considered this for a moment. "… Fair point," she admitted grudgingly.

…

"And why would I ever need such a thing, when I'm perfectly capable of doing that on my own?" Blaze retorted. "I'm aware it won't be nearly as easy as if I claimed the Fruit's power… But I don't trust anything that could offer a shortcut like that. It feels like a cheat, and often has a way of backfiring on the user in the end."

"But… If you don't claim the Fruit, there's no way you'll ever have the power to achieve your dream!" Dark Oak protested in disbelief. "I may be powerful, but the warlords and monsters outside our borders are even stronger! Without the power of Helheim behind you, how could you possibly think you have a chance of defeating them?!"

Blaze grinned. "Because I have seen the power of Helheim. I have seen its terrible majesty, the strength it can grant, the atrocities and horrors it can create, the way it warps the very world around it to reflect itself… And yet, despite having all that power behind you, you and your underlings still haven't been able to stop me from getting this far! Personally, I find myself wondering if this oh-so-vaunted Golden Fruit is really all it's cracked up to be, if everything I've seen so far is anything to go by. The only power I need to stop you, and everyone who comes after you… Is right here, inside of me!" She declared, pointing to herself.

"Th-that's…you…!" Dark Oak spluttered, incandescent.

"You wretched mongrel! Who do you think you are, to consider yourself greater than the power of Helheim?!" Nega demanded furiously.

Cosmo chuckled. "Oh, you should not have asked that…"

Blaze's grin widened. "Even after all that I've done, you really don't know, do you? Prophecies have warned you of me for untold ages, since before the dawn of civilization. Every culture, society, and species has legends and stories about me and the terror I will bring. Stories about how I will tear down the world as you know it, and leave something completely unrecognizable in its place. How I will utterly destroy all who stand against me. How I will bring death to untold billions, until the soil is turned red from the blood of my victims. Parents tell their children to behave, or else I'll come to kill them in the night, and desperately hope that they aren't accidentally telling the truth. I am Blaze the Cat… Queen of Demons, Chiefest of Calamities, Archfiend of the Abyssal Planes, Flames of Disaster, Avatar of Iblis, and Destroyer of Worlds!"

Cosmo sighed happily. "I love it when you do that."

…

"You really made that your own, didn't you?" Rouge said approvingly.

Blaze smirked. "While it was originally a term of insult and shame, I think I've turned it into a pretty good boast, don't you?"

"A BADASS boast!" Charmy agreed enthusiastically.

…

Dark Oak stared at Blaze for a long time, considering. "… Do you know, I'm actually starting to believe that you might be capable of doing everything you claim you will do, Blaze. You certainly have managed to accomplish a number of feeds that even I, in my most optimistic and naïve, would've believed to be impossible."

"'Impossible' is not a word that is in my vocabulary," Blaze bragged.

…

"Wait, then how did you just use it in a sentence?" Asked a confused Knuckles.

Blaze stumbled. "It… I was just boasting, Knuckles. Of course I know what 'impossible' means. I'm just good at doing things that others believe cannot be done."

"Which is something that could be said about most of us, really," Sonic pointed out.

…

"Father, if you believe that Blaze's wish has a chance of coming true…if even you admit that the world she envisions is a beautiful one… Won't you please let us make that world a reality?" Cosmo begged her father one last time. "There is room for everyone in it… Even you."

"Except for whales," Blaze interjected. "That's non-negotiable."

Cosmo rolled her eyes. "What if they behave?"

"They won't," Blaze said bluntly.

"But what if they did?" Cosmo insisted.

Blaze sighed. "Then I…suppose I might let some in…if I really have to…"

…

"Isn't it rather hypocritical of you to talk about creating a utopia where everyone can live together happily and exclude one species just because you don't like them?" Amy interrupted.

"I've extended the Olive branch multiple times. It's not my fault they keep eating it…" Blaze grumbled.

"And then trying to eat her," Sonic added. "Damn whales."

"I'm not sure this is a side of you I like, Sonic," Mighty complained. "I mean, I only got hit by the one truck, but you don't see me having an irrational hatred of all truckers."

"But that's just it, Mighty," Sonic argued. "You only got hit by ONE truck. You might change your stance after a couple dozen…"

"Everyone's really a bit racist," Charmy added. "That musical with the puppets says so!"

"Really? Which one? I love puppets!" Cream asked, perking up.

"It's… ah… A rather mature puppet show, honey," Shadow said quickly. "One you aren't quite old enough to see just yet."

Cream sighed wearily. "Of course I'm not…"

…

"Father… Won't you please stop this and join us?" Cosmo begged her father. "Together, I'm sure we can create the new world Blaze envisions… A world even you admit would be worthwhile!"

"… I cannot," Dark Oak said solemnly. "I have come too far. I have done too much. If I were simply too stop now, and turn my back on everything I have worked for… Then all the sacrifices I've made, all the atrocities I've committed, will have been for nothing."

Blaze snorted. "That old argument? You do realize that when I defeat you, and destroy all your plans, everything you've worked for will STILL have been for nothing, right?"

"Yes… But that is ONLY if you defeat me," Dark Oak pointed out.

Blaze smirked. "Given my track record so far, I'm feeling pretty confident."

"And yet, so am I," Dark Oak said with a hint of smugness.

"And why's that?" Blaze asked suspiciously.

"Because I have an ace up my sleeve… Isn't that right, White Seed?" Dark Oak asked.

Blaze blinked in confusion. "White Seed? Who-"

And that's when Cosmo, a blank look in her eyes, whipped out a dagger and thrust it at Blaze's back.

…

Everyone started. "Wait, what?!" Amy cried.

Cream gasped. "No!"

"That's… That doesn't make any sense, why would she-" stammered a horrified Vector.

"Did you die?!" Charmy blurted.

There was a pause. Everyone stared at the bee like he was an idiot. "Charmy," Sonic said slowly, as if to a very stupid child. "If Blaze had died, how could she be telling us the story right now?"

"She could have had an extra life," Charmy retorted. "And besides, all of us have died at least once, haven't we?" The others reluctantly admitted he had a point.

"I don't understand… Why did Cosmo do that?" Asked a confused Knuckles.

"No… Don't tell me she was evil all along!" Said the distraught Shadow.

"Yeah, that's such a big cliché!" Mighty complained. Everyone glared at him. "What? It is!"

"No! She can't be! Blaze said Cosmo was her best friend!" Cream said desperately.

"Yes, and aside from that, if she were evil, not only would she not be around now, I highly doubt Tails would be dating her," Rouge agreed.

"No, Cosmo is not and never was evil," Blaze reassured them all. "The truth is a bit more… Complicated."

…

The dagger froze, inches from Blaze's back, on account of the vice-like grip clutching its holder's wrist. "Ah," Blaze said calmly, as if there weren't a deadly blade poised to pierce her back. "I was wondering when you were going to try that."

The two villains were flabbergasted. "Wondering… No! You can't mean to tell us-" Dark Oak stammered.

"You KNEW this was coming?! Impossible!" Eggman Nega screamed.

Ignoring them, Blaze, still in a calm tone of voice, said, "Cosmo, can you hear me?"

Cosmo blinked, the blank look going from her eyes and her hold on the dagger loosening. "Unh…what? Blaze? Why…" Her eyes widened in horror when she realized what she was doing. "Why am I pointing a dagger at your back?!"

Inwardly, Blaze sighed in relief. Her worst fear had not come to pass. "You were pointing a dagger at my back because you were about to stab me with it."

Cosmo gasped and recoiled, dropping the dagger to the floor. "What?! No! That's not possible, I would NEVER-"

"You would," Blaze interjected. "If you were a sleeper agent for your father… Which is something I've suspected for a very long time now."

"What?!" Cosmo gasped in disbelief.

…

"WHAT?!" just about everyone echoed.

"Well, I'm starting to get uncomfortable flashbacks now," Shadow commented.

"She was a sleeper agent the whole time?!" Asked an incredulous Mighty.

"But how? She was awake!" Said the confused Knuckles.

There was a pause, and then everyone stared at Knuckles blankly. "Knuckles, what exactly do you think a sleeper agent is?" Rouge asked after a moment.

Knuckles stammered, flustered. "W-well, I know exactly what it is, of course, b-but I'm not sure Cream knows what it is."

"I know what a sleeper agent is," Cream said.

"… Oh. Well. Good," Knuckles said awkwardly.

"A sleeper agent is sort of like a spy under deep cover," Rouge explained, taking pity on her idiot boyfriend. "Someone who absolutely nobody would ever suspect of actually working for the enemy. In fact, sometimes the spy is undercover so deep not even THEY know that they're actually working for the enemy. And then, one day, the order comes in to activate them, and they strike when their friends and allies least expect it, causing devastating damage, crippling their morale and leaving them wondering forever after just who they can trust, shaking their resolve and making it that much easier for their foe to defeat them."

"You speak as if you've had experience with this," Amy commented.

Rouge faltered. "I'd… Rather not talk about."

"So… Cosmo was actually working for her father the whole time, but didn't realize she was working for her father?" Vector asked, confused. "How does that work?"

"Brainwashing and hypnosis, usually," Rouge said. Amy raised an eyebrow. The bat scoffed. "I told you, I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm getting there," Blaze promised.

…

"What?! Impossible! There's no way you could possibly have known that!" Eggman Nega protested, indignant.

"Ah, but I didn't know," Blaze said with a smirk. "Suspected, yes. Knew for a fact? No."

"But how could you even guess that much? We were very careful," said an intrigued Dark Oak.

"You were," Blaze agreed. "Nevertheless, there were a few clues. The first one, ironically, came up when I first met Cosmo." She glanced at her friend, who still looked bewildered and lost. "Cosmo, do you recall how when Red Pine attacked the village, you were shocked? You said that there was no way he could possibly have found you so quickly?"

Cosmo blinked, startled. "Y-yes, I remember that. We never did figure out how he was able to find us, did we?"

"We didn't, though I had my suspicions," Blaze continued. "The logical answer at the time was that someone from the village had ratted you out. Perhaps even one of your bodyguards."

Cosmo gasped. "What?! No! They would never!"

"You're right, they didn't," Blaze agreed. "The fact that Red Pine's forces killed pretty much everyone and tortured all of your bodyguards to death except for Damil convinced me of that notion. While I supposed it was possible that Red Pine had simply chosen to kill the traitor after he was no longer of use to him, that wouldn't explain how he didn't know that you were in the underground temple looking for me, which almost everyone in the village, and ESPECIALLY your bodyguards, must have known.

"After that, I wondered if perhaps, since Damil WAS the only member of your retinue left alive, maybe he WAS the traitor, and Red Pine had roughed him up on purpose to make his cover seem that much more convincing, and that he was still spying on us… But it didn't take long to disabuse me of that notion. He was far too loyal to you to possibly be a spy."

Cosmo smiled fondly. "He truly is a faithful friend, isn't he?"

"I wanted to put it out of my mind after that, but I still had my suspicions. A part of me even wondered if, perhaps, YOU were actually a double agent, even though I knew it didn't make much sense, because I wasn't sure what other explanation there could be," Blaze continued.

"You suspected me all along?" Cosmo asked, hurt. "I mean, apparently you were right, but…"

"I didn't WANT to," Blaze insisted. "I was indebted to you, Cosmo, for everything you've done for me. For liberating from that horrible prison and giving me new purpose. I didn't want to think that perhaps you might be playing some long game and were using me for some nefarious agenda. It didn't help that there was one lingering part about your story which kept nagging at me."

"What?" Cosmo asked, confused.

"You told me that your sister sacrificed herself to buy you time to escape from your father's forces when he transformed into Dark Oak," Blaze went on. "However, you never went into specifics, and whenever I pressed, you always told me it was not something you wanted to think about."

"It still isn't," Cosmo said with a grimace.

"Which doesn't surprise me," Blaze agreed. "However, you always said that after you escaped, you rendezvoused with Damil and the rest of your retainers. When I questioned him on the matter, he admitted that he had no idea how you had managed to escape, but considered it a miracle and decided not to think too hard on it. I, unfortunately, could do nothing BUT think on it. Wondering if, perhaps, there was more to your escape than you were telling me."

"B-but there wasn't!" Cosmo insisted. After a pause, she uncertainly asked, "Was there?"

"There was," Blaze said. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. Despite these lingering doubts, I did my best to trust and believe in you… And for the most part, my faith seemed to be rewarded. You were a good and loyal friend, and nothing seemed to happen which would indicate that you were a traitor. While we were occasionally ambushed by your father's forces, there was nothing to indicate that they had advance notice that we were coming, and whenever we encountered any of the Four Heavenly Generals or other commanders, they did not know of any of our plans ahead of time. In fact, Black Narcissus tried to hold you hostage and threatened to kill you!"

Cosmo shuddered. "That was NOT a pleasant experience."

"No, it wasn't… but something about that roused my suspicions again and caused me to realize something. Red Pine had been chasing you all over the country trying to find you and bring you back to your father, correct?" Blaze questioned.

Cosmo nodded. "That's right."

"But after we killed him… That was it. No more attempts to capture you followed after that. While we ran into Inves and other minions of your father, they made no particular effort to try and reclaim you. In fact, most them seemed to have no problem trying to KILL you. Even Black Narcissus seemed to be more interested in using you as a bargaining chip and didn't show any inclination of being under orders to return you to your father! Now, doesn't something about that seem strange?" Blaze pressed.

Cosmo's eyes widened in astonishment. "You're… You're right! That doesn't make sense! How did we not realize that sooner?"

"But while that made me suspicious, I still couldn't figure it all out. I knew that there had to be something I was missing, some piece of the puzzle I hadn't yet uncovered… Until we came here, and Dark Oak explained how I was the key component to fulfilling his plans, how he needed a competitor, a rival, to make the Golden Fruit bloom. It was in that moment that I realized the truth…

"Cosmo, you didn't escape your father. He LET you leave, so that you could seek out and find a hero strong enough to oppose him… And then, when the moment was right, to strike her down when she least expected it, and hand your father his ultimate victory!" Blaze declared.

Cosmo recoiled in horror. "What?!"

"Except, of course, that you did expect it," Dark Oak said, impressed, clapping slowly. "Well done, Blaze. You truly are a crafty one, aren't you?"

"Not bad for a mangy feline," Nega said grudgingly.

"No… That… That can't be…" Cosmo whispered in horror. "How… How could…"

"Think back, daughter," Dark Oak said calmly. "Recall what happened in the moments after your sister's death."

Cosmo squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her teeth. "No… I… I don't want to…"

"She died, horribly," Dark Oak said with a tinge of regret. "You ran. What happened then?"

"I… I escaped… I met up with Damil and-" Cosmo started.

"No," Dark Oak said firmly. "You did not. Think harder. Remember."

"Stop this!" Blaze hissed angrily.

"I am only finishing what you have started, Miss Blaze," Dark Oak said. "You've opened her eyes to the truth. Now it is time she understood ALL of it."

"I… I ran… Through hallways and passages, desperately seeking the way out…" Cosmo whispered, trembling, tears streaming down her cheeks. "And then… And then there was an Inves… And I heard your voice… And…ah! AAAAHHHH!" Screaming, clutching her head in pain, she fell to her knees.

"Cosmo!" Blaze cried in alarm, crouching down and grabbing her friend.

"We captured her," Dark Oak said. "Before she could make it out of the palace. I wanted to keep her locked up for her own safety, but Nega had… Other plans."

"I knew there was a possibility that we would be unable to grow the Golden Fruit using only the bastardized power of the Sol Emeralds, so hit upon the idea of deliberately creating a hero to oppose us and provide the necessary counterbalance against my Liege needed to facilitate the Fruit's growth," Nega said smugly. "And realized rather quickly that Cosmo would be the ideal instrument for that task… After all, the surviving princess of a Royal line, seeking the realm for a hero of legend… How many stories and tales have begun on such a simple, clichéd premise? Nobody would ever suspect that she was nothing more than our unwitting pawn, especially if we sent minions chasing after her from the start to make her story seem more convincing. So many altruistic fools would just accept it at face value and play right into our hands. It was perfect!"

"And I don't suppose Red Pine or any of the other generals were aware of this?" Blaze asked, disgusted and furious, both at the villains and at herself for not figuring it out sooner.

Nega snorted. "Don't be preposterous. If they'd have known, it would have ruined the whole thing!"

"Especially once they realized you were setting them up just to fall before me!" Blaze snarled, outraged. "They were your most loyal subordinates! They followed you down this dark and treacherous path! How could you betray them like that?!"

"Miss Blaze, after everything and everyone else I've already betrayed, is this really that much of a shock for you?" Dark Oak asked dryly.

"… Fair point," the cat admitted grudgingly.

"What… What did you do to me?" Cosmo whispered, clawing at her skull. "Why… why can't I remember?!"

"Not too much, really," Nega said smoothly. "Just erased a few memories, planted a few post-hypnotic suggestions into your subconscious to guide you in the direction we wanted you to… Oh, and attached an implant just behind your right eye so that we could see everything you saw and, if necessary, give you a bit of an extra… Push in the right direction."

Cosmo gasped in horror, a hand shooting up to cover her right eye. "You've seen everything I've seen this whole time?!" she cried in disbelief.

"We did. Made for some rather entertaining viewing, too," Nega said smugly.

"Which meant you were privy to all of our battle plans and tactics… And yet you acted on none of them. Why?" Asked the confused Blaze.

"For the same reason my four generals and the rest of my forces were not informed as to my true plans regarding you or my daughter," Dark Oak explained. "If we crushed you too early, we feared that the victory would not be satisfactory enough to meet the requirements for the Golden Fruit's genesis. So, we allowed you to get stronger and stronger while building up our own power at the same time, so that when at last we met face-to-face all would be in readiness for the Fruit to grow." He looked up at the ceiling. "And indeed, I do believe that time has finally arrived. The Fruit is ready. It is almost fully ripened. All I must do now is best you, and its power will be mine."

"And again, you get ahead of yourself," Blaze snarled. "It's the 'besting me' part you should be a bit worried about… For let me warn you, I was angry before, but after everything you've just told me? After reviewing what you've done to Cosmo, how you been stringing me along this whole time?" She grinned savagely. "Before, I was just going to kill you. Now, I'm going to destroy you. And trust me when I say it won't be quick."

"On the contrary, Miss Blaze!" Nega sneered. "It is YOU who are getting ahead of yourself!"

Blaze glanced at the mad scientist. "What?"

The madman chuckled. "You didn't really think a command to kill was the ONLY thing we put into Cosmo, did you? The implant I put in her has an explosive attached to it! All I have to do is press a button, and her head will EXPLODE like an overripe melon!"

"What?!" Blaze and Cosmo cried in disbelief.

"N-no!" Cosmo wailed, scratching frantically at her head, as if trying to claw out the bomb inside of her.

Blaze's eyes flashed, flames igniting around her. "Just when I think you couldn't sink any lower! This… This is abominable!"

"I've sacrificed my Queen, my kingdom, my most loyal servants, and even my principles… What's one more daughter on top of all that?" Dark Oak asked resignedly.

"If you don't want your little friend's head to become a crimson flower, I suggest you surrender right this instant," Nega sneered. "And make it snappy… I have VERY slippery fingers…"

Blaze shook with rage… And then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled, her fiery aura vanishing. "I see. So that is how it is to be, then? Well… I suppose that I have no other recourse…"

Cosmo gasped. "Blaze, no!"

"I'm sorry, Cosmo, but there's no other way I can think of…" Blaze said quietly, turning to face her friend.

Dark Oak chuckled. "As I expected… Despite your demonic origins, you truly are a hero, aren't you? And no real hero could ever betray a friend, could they? Even when it means dooming the whole world…" He rose to his feet, lifting his great sword.

Cosmo desperately clasped Blaze's hands. "Blaze, no, you can't give up! Everyone is counting on you! If you give up, just for me, I… I'd never be able to-"

Blaze placed a finger on her friend's lips. "Shh. It's fine. Everything's going to be all right."

"But-"

"Do you trust me?"

Cosmo was taken aback. "What?"

"Do you trust me?" Blaze repeated.

"I…y-yes, of course, but-" Cosmo stammered.

"Good," Blaze said. Without turning her head, she asked, "The implant is behind her RIGHT eye, you said?"

Dark Oak hesitated, partway off his throne, and Nega frowned in puzzlement. "Eh? Yes, why do you-"

"Oh, no reason," Blaze said calmly, staring right at Cosmo. The Princess's eyes widened in astonishment… And then, she gave the slightest of nods. Blaze smiled in return…

Then shot a claw forward and ripped her right eye right out of its socket.

…

"HOLY FUCK!" Vector shouted as Charmy threw up.

"WHAT THE HELL, BLAZE?!" A horrified Amy demanded.

"Well, how else was I supposed to get the bomb out of her head without killing her?" Blaze asked, annoyed.

There was a pause as everyone considered this, broken only by the sound of Charmy dry heaving. "Oh," Mighty said finally.

"Yes, I can see the logic of that," Espio admitted.

"A bit hardcore even for me, though," Shadow confessed grudgingly.

"MAGNIFICENT," Omega said rapturously.

"There… Really wasn't a better way than that?" Cream asked, looking queasy.

"None I could think of off the top of my head in what little time I had," Blaze said. "Besides, it worked, which is all that matters in the end, I think."

"Well… I suppose I can't fault you for your practicality," Rouge admitted. "I probably might've done the same thing, in your shoes."

"I'm not sure I would have," Sonic confessed. "Then again, my mind doesn't exactly work the same way as hers does."

Blaze kissed his cheek. "Which is perfectly fine, beloved. I like your mind just the way it is." He smirked at that.

"I suppose it grew back, right? Because of her plant… Healing… Thing?" Knuckles asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Blaze said regretfully. "Due to the nerve damage caused by the surgery to implant the explosive in the first place, her eye was never able to heal properly. She accepted it with good cheer, however, viewing the scar tissue as a reminder to always be vigilant against evil, no matter where it might spring from."

"She usually covers it with an eyepatch, which makes her look like an awesome pirate princess, in my opinion," Tails said sheepishly.

Blaze nodded. "She considered growing a flower over it instead, but I told her that would be too creepy."

Rouge shuddered. "Yes, it would be, especially with certain flowers I've heard of…"

"So, what did you do with the bomb?" Vector asked, trying very hard not to think about what it was attached to.

…

"What… What the-" Nega spluttered, dumbstruck.

"Nega! Detonate it! Quickly!" Dark Oak said sharply.

"Eh? Oh! Right!" Nega quickly stabbed a button on his dashboard, but not before Blaze had hurled the severed eyeball halfway across the room, causing it to explode in a blinding flash and deafening roar. Nega flinched as the shockwave knocked his hovercraft back, grateful that he was wearing dark glasses so the billowing smoke didn't get in his eyes…

Which meant that when Blaze shot out of the blast, smoke and flames trailing from her clothes, he saw it coming. His eyes widened in horror as her burning claws swept towards him...

Only for a massive blade to interpose itself between Nega and the vengeful feline, Blaze ricocheting off of it, flipping through the air, and skidding across the floor on her heels, a vicious snarl on her face. "My apologies, Miss Blaze," Dark Oak said, stepping forward, twirling his sword through the air. "But I cannot allow you to slay my ally just yet. I still have use of him for the time being."

"Planting a bomb in your daughter's eye… Unforgivable," Blaze hissed.

"Even more unforgivable than the things I've already done?" Dark Oak questioned.

"As a parent myself? Absolutely," Blaze snarled.

Dark Oak inclined his head at that. "You love that half-breed very much, don't you?"

"I do," Blaze said, a proud smile flickering across her face. "In fact, even if all the other things I said before were not true… My vision for the world, and how it conflicts with yours… I would never have joined you for the simple reason that you and your minions made her cry, and that is something I absolutely cannot forgive."

Dark Oak nodded. "There was a time when I would have felt the exact same way… But I'm not that person anymore, am I?"

"No," Blaze said, voice dripping with disgust mingled with pity. "You aren't." Without taking her eyes off of her foe, she called over her shoulder, "Cosmo? How are you doing?"

"I've been better," Cosmo said weakly, a hand clutched over the bleeding hole where her eye had once been. "Don't worry about me, though. Focus on taking care of my father!"

"I'm here too, you know…" Nega muttered.

Blaze's eyes narrowed, locking gazes with whatever was behind the green orb covering the front of Dark Oak's helmet. Without warning, she dashed sideways, hurling fireball after fireball at her nemesis. Dark Oak's sword flashed through the air, deflecting every projectile flung at him, explosions and bursts of flame flashing across the room as the fire blasts smashed into the walls and floor, causing Nega to yelp as one came very close to singeing his mustache. Blaze backflipped and twirled and pirouetted through the air as her own fireballs flew back at her, lightning-quick reflexes prompting her to snatch up any projectile which came close to her, filling her claws with fire. When she landed, she smashed her flaming claws together, melding the fireballs she'd collected into a huge orb of flame, which she threw at Dark Oak. The overlord's sword shot down, slicing through the blazing sphere, causing its two halves to shoot past him and explode against the far wall, setting more of the foliage choking the room ablaze…

And Blaze, who had been right behind the fireball, using its massive size to cloak her movements, shot towards Dark Oak's face with a Fire Claw. His sword quickly shot up to block her, and her claws smashed into it instead, sparks and embers flying through the air as well as the aggravating screech of nails on metal. Blaze flipped back, landed on the ground, then immediately surged forwards again, claws lashing out again and again and again, Dark Oak's sword moving at incredible speeds to block and counter every attack, exchanging dozens of blows per second, flames and small explosions erupting from the ground around them due to the sparks and energy flung off from the intensity of their rapid clash.

"I must admit," Dark Oak grunted as he countered and parried claw thrust after slash after swipe from his foe. "I was actually hoping it would come to this. While I understood and respected the practicality of my other plans, a part of me always hoped that it would all come down to this: two warriors, at the peak of their martial prowess, fighting with everything they have for the fate of the world. The stuff of legends, is it not?"

"If it is, then my legend is only just beginning… While yours is about to come to an end!" Blaze snarled, claws flashing to deflect a chop from Dark Oak's sword.

"Whoever wins, from this point forward, the loser's legend will be a part of the victor's," Dark Oak replied, using the advantage of his greater size and strength to push Blaze back towards the wall even as they continued exchanging blows. "Even if I die, my memory shall live on in the tales and stories sung about your own exploits… And I promise you, should I win, I will make sure the same happens to you."

"Most kind of you," Blaze admitted grudgingly.

"Nobody deserves to be forgotten," Dark Oak said solemnly. "Especially larger-than-life figures such as ourselves. And I'm fairly certain that win or lose, the actions we've taken to bring us to this point will ensure that we will never be forgotten."

"But as what, I wonder?" Blaze retorted. "As heroes, or as villains?"

"Let's find out," Dark Oak said, thrusting his sword forwards.

Blaze, instead of parrying the blow, sidestepped, causing the sword to shoot past her and bury itself partway into the wall… Which, Dark Oak realized, must have been her intent all along. He started to pull it out, but before he could, Blaze jumped onto its edge and ran down its length with perfect balance, throwing a fiery punch at his face. A gauntleted hand shot up to catch her punch, but she used the remaining momentum to lash out with a kick to the chin that snapped his head back and sent him staggering a few steps back, letting go of his sword in the process. Blaze backflipped from the impact, her feet touching the wall and emitting a blast of flames which boosted her forwards, incinerating more foliage in the process and sending her rocketing towards Dark Oak.

The warlord swiftly recovered and flung a punch at the oncoming feline, but Blaze twisted in midair to dodge the blow, spinning in a horizontal whirlwind of flame that lashed out at the side of Dark Oak's arm as she passed, slicing through chunks of his armor and burning it. As she flew past him, Dark Oak grunted in pain, but used the momentum from his punch to grab the hilt of his sword, ripping it out of the wall, and bringing it swinging around in a massive horizontal chop, sending out a shockwave of energy which slammed into Blaze and flung her into the wall on the other side of the room. Before she could recover, Dark Oak gestured, and the foliage covering the wall came to life, wrapping around Blaze's limbs and holding her in place. Dark Oak opened his free hand, gathering power is he formed a massive energy ball…

And with a cry of fury, fire blasted out from Blaze in every direction, reducing the plants holding her and much of the wall to ash in a second. Half a second later, Dark Oak fired his energy ball. Instead of dodging, Blaze ran towards it, leaped into the air, and struck it with a fiery whirlwind kick, hurling it back at its master. Instead of blocking or cutting the orb in half, Dark Oak sidestepped the energy ball, which shot past him and struck the wall behind him, exploding and causing his cape to billow from the blast. As Blaze charged towards him, Dark Oak drove his sword into the ground, causing the earth to shake and the floor to fracture as great thorny roots erupted all over the place. Blaze didn't bother dodging or sidestepping the obstacles, but plowed right through them, her body engulfed in flames as she used her Fire Boost. Chuckling in amusement, Dark Oak gathered power around himself as well and dashed across the floor to meet her, swinging his blade with all his might.

The two collided with a thunderclap which shook the chamber, the ground cratering beneath them, cracks running across the walls and ceiling, and Cosmo and Nega both getting buffeted back from the resulting shockwaves. The recoil from the impact sent the two combatants flying, but both of them managed to gamely recover, flipping around so their feet made contact with the ceiling or walls, allowing them to push off and launch towards each other again, colliding in the center of the room again and again, rebounding from every clash only to come together again, each impact stronger than the last.

"You… Are very strong," Dark Oak grunted as he struggled with all his might to push his sword through Blaze's firey aura. "Most impressive."

"They do not call me the Destroyer of Worlds for nothing," Blaze said smugly, teeth gritted as she pushed back against Dark Oak just as strongly.

"Even so, I do not think you'll be penetrating my guard," Dark Oak retorted. "My sword is made of an unbreakable alloy… No power in this world can resist it!"

Blaze grinned then, and her hands slowly pushed forwards, struggling their way through Dark Oak's own battle aura. "Then I suppose it's a good thing… That I'm not from this world, am I?"

"What?!" Dark Oak barked as Blaze managed to grab the edge of his sword… And then, in a blast of power, the blade shattered. There was a moment of silence, and then a tremendous thunderclap as Dark Oak was flung backwards, slamming into his throne and destroying it. As he struggled to get to his feet and pull himself out of the wreckage, Blaze started charging towards him. Dark Oak growled and started throwing dozens of rapid-fire energy balls at Blaze. Moving so quickly that it was almost impossible to see her, Blaze glided through the projectiles, fists clenched tightly, something protruding through her fingers. When Dark Oak got fed up and fired energy blasts at the ground right between him and Blaze, causing the floor to shatter, Blaze leapt into the air and hurled what she'd been holding so tightly in her hands – some of the broken fragments of Dark Oak's sword. The shards flew through the air and pierced his already cracked and damaged armor, causing him to cry out and stumble backwards. Blaze spread her hands wide, not seeming to notice or care that they were bleeding from holding the pieces of broken sword so tightly, fire igniting around them. Igniting like a meteor, she shot forwards…

There was a flash, and suddenly she was standing behind Dark Oak in a crouch, back towards him, arms crossed over her chest. She took a deep breath, then lowered her arms to her side and stood up. There was a pause…

And then in a cry of agony, Dark Oak not only burst into flames, but came apart, his body falling to pieces, chunks of burning armor and plant-flesh collapsing to the ground behind Blaze. "It looks like your world has come to an end after all," Blaze said calmly she turned around to regard the smoldering remains of her greatest foe. "Your reign is over. And now mine can begin."

She narrowed her eyes at Nega, floating away at a safe distance. "After I take care of one last thing, of course…"

…

"That was an incredible battle!" Charmy gushed.

"You were AMAZING, Blaze!" Cream agreed, eyes glittering.

"Yeah, almost makes up for how you spent like forever debating philosophy with the guy first," Vector grunted.

"YOU-DEFEATED-HIM-MOST-SATISFACTORILY. I-EAGERLY-WAIT-TO-HEAR-HOW-YOU-DEFEATED-HIS-SECOND-FORM," Omega said gleefully.

Knuckles blinked. "Second form?"

"Well, yeah, if he was the final boss, that means he's GOTTA have a second form, right?" Mighty pointed out.

Espio nodded in agreement. "It stands to reason."

"Maybe even a third!" Charmy chirped.

Shadow nodded. "Yes, no final boss worth their salt only has a single form."

"Oh yeah… That's true," Knuckles realized.

"So what happened? Did he turn into a giant monster?" Amy asked.

"That's usually the case, yes," Rouge agreed.

"No, giant monster was his third form. Something else happened for his second," Blaze said.

"Do tell," Silver said.

…

Eggman Nega gulped, looking nervous for a moment… And then he chuckled, a smug expression flashing across his face. "Now, now, don't be so hasty, Miss Blaze… Your fight with my associate isn't over just yet!"

Blaze blinked in surprise. "What do you-"

Cosmo gasped. "Blaze, look!"

Blaze turned… And was startled, but ultimately not that surprised, when the charred, dismembered parts of Dark Oak's body started twitching. The burnt flesh and armor crumbled off to reveal pristine new material as vines shot out between the parts, pulling them back together and in short order reassembling Dark Oak, exactly as he had been before the fight had started, sans cape and sword. "I'm afraid," Dark Oak said with what Blaze was sure was a grin beneath his mask. "That it will be a lot harder to defeat me than that, Miss Blaze."

Blaze gnashed her teeth in frustration. She should have known. The final boss never went down after just one fight! "No matter. I'll just keep tearing you apart and burning you to cinders until it finally takes and you are no more, Dark Oak!"

"No, I don't think you will," Dark Oak said. "You have given me a good fight, Blaze the Cat… The best fight I've had in a long while, a fight that has more than energized the Golden Fruit to its apex! But now it is time for this fight to come to an end… Behold, as I reveal my true power!"

Blaze couldn't help sighing and rolling her eyes at this. "Of course you are. Why don't they ever just use their full power right from the start?"

"You usually don't," Cosmo pointed out.

"Hush," Blaze said.

The emblem on Dark Oak's chest lit up. "LOCK OPEN! KIWAMI ARMS!"

Several dimensional cracks opened, and a giant metal orange, grape, banana, melon, pinecone, acorn, durian, walnut, lemon, cherry, and peach emerged and started spinning around Dark Oak in a ring-

…

"Hey, why didn't you attack him while he was in the middle of his transformation sequence?" Mighty interrupted.

"Hey yeah, that's something I wish they'd do more often on TV," Charmy complained.

"And something that perhaps we should be doing more frequently as well," Shadow admitted.

"Well, yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Sonic said cheerfully.

Blaze rolled her eyes. "Believe me, the thought had crossed my mind. However, I tried doing that to the other Heavenly Generals after seeing what Red Pine could do, but their Armor Parts always intercepted my attacks."

"Armor Parts?" Amy asked.

"The big metal fruits," Blaze explained.

"Oh," the pink hedgehog said.

"So what kind of fruity form did this guy take?" Vector asked. "I don't think I've ever heard of a 'kiwami' fruit."

"That's because there isn't any," Tails said. "Kiwami is a Japanese word which roughly translates to 'extreme' or 'Zenith.'"

"Anything with a name like that must be very powerful…" Rouge murmured.

"Oh, it was," Blaze said grimly.

…

"DAI DAI DAI DAI DAI DAI-SHOGUN!"

The Armor Parts converged on Dark Oak, and in a shower of sparkling fruit juice, he was transformed. His armor had turned from dark purple to silvery-white. His cape had been restored, but was now pristine, with a red interior and black back. His helmet had changed shape, and was now tapered and conical with a rainbow-colored orb in front, and the horns had been replaced by a crest resembling a crescent blade, with one horn longer than the other.

But that was not the only change. Blaze could sense that the overlord's power had significantly increased, and was at least triple, if not more, than it had been before. Incredible… Such immense, overwhelming power…I'm actually feeling a little scared… A savage grin flashed across her face. This is either going to be very painful…or very fun!

"This… Is MY stage now!" Dark Oak declared, cape billowing behind him… And without warning, a golden aura blazed up around him, generating a shockwave which cratered the floor beneath him and buffeted the other three people in the room.

Blaze's eyes widened in alarm as the golden aura washed outwards, pressing into her, shoving her back and trying to force her downwards. Amazing… His power level just multiplied even further! It's taking everything I can just to keep standing in his presence… Is this what he's really capable of? Perhaps I was a bit too hasty to dismiss the power of Helheim… She ground her teeth, digging deep within herself for more power. Fire ignited around her, cratering the floor she was standing on as well, and with some effort she managed to straighten up, glaring defiantly at Dark Oak…

And then he chuckled, and his power increased even further, the aura blasting out from him growing in strength and intensity, causing Blaze to gasp as the oppressive, crushing force slammed into her, forcing her to take a few steps backwards. Gah! O…kay, starting to think I might be just a tiny bit over my head here…

Nega cackled gleefully. "Spectacular! This surpasses all of my wildest expectations! And to think, this is just a FRACTION of the full power of the Golden Fruit!"

"A… Fraction?" Blaze hissed through clenched teeth as she struggled to keep from being overwhelmed by the seemingly endless waves of power being emanated by her foe.

Nega nodded eagerly. "Yes! I created the 'Arms' used by the others by modifying fruits from Helheim… Dark Oak's, however, was made by extracting the essence of one of the leftover seeds of the Golden Fruit. As such, he is able to tap into a fraction of that divine fruit's power… And if this is just a fraction, just IMAGINE what he can do with the whole thing!"

"I will be able to change the world completely," Dark Oak said. "With this strength alone, I could lay waste to nations… Can you match it, Blaze?"

"I certainly intend to try!" Blaze snarled, calling upon more of her inner strength, the corona around her boosting up as she tapped into more for power, energy waves rippling out from her clash against the Golden power radiating from Dark Oak.

"And you will not be alone in your efforts!"

Everyone's heads snapped around. "What? Who said that?" Dark Oak demanded.

"Did you bring someone else, Miss Blaze? And here I thought this was going to be a solo affair! How unsporting of you," Nega quipped with a straight face.

"That does not sound like anyone I recognize," Blaze said, puzzled.

"Did… Someone follow us?" Asked a confused Cosmo from where she lay slumped against a wall, breathing heavily, her body strained both from the loss of her eye and from the ridiculous amounts of power saturating the atmosphere of the room.

"Not exactly…" The voice spoke again. Without warning, a dimensional crack unzipped open, and a figure stepped through. Much to Blaze's surprise, rather than being an Inves or some other Helheim horror, he appeared to be a tiger with white fur and blonde hair wearing a suit of magnificent silver armor with a shimmering white cape. However, while he LOOKED normal enough, Blaze immediately sensed that he was far more than what he seemed… Possibly because of the fact that she could detect an incredible amount of power emanating from within him, only barely concealed… a power which, oddly enough, felt similar to that being given off by Dark Oak, but… Cleaner, somehow. Purer. Devoid of evil intent.

In addition, she got the strangest feeling that which he saw was not what he actually looked like…

Dark Oak stirred and glanced at the tiger in astonishment. "Your power… It feels like mine, only… Different… Something about you seems… Familiar… How is this possible?"

"Who the hell are you?!" Nega demanded.

"That is a question I would like to know the answer to as well," Blaze said suspiciously.

The tiger smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in his expression. "Once upon a time, I went by the name of Kouta Kazuraba, but barely anyone remains to whom that name would mean anything. Nowadays, I go by the name of Gaim, though there are others who call me… The Man of the Beginning."

Dark Oak was clearly shaken. "Man of… But that's what I… Then you-! You possess the power of-"

"The Golden Fruit? That's right," Gaim said solemnly. "I passed the test of Helheim when it came to my world, and used it to create a new one… Sacrificing much in the process."

"Then what are you doing here? Do you want our Fruit, too? Well, you can't have it!" Nega snarled.

Gaim's eyes narrowed. "That's fine, because I don't want it. I never wanted mine in the first place, but it was the only way to make sure nobody else got it. It's bad enough that so many people who manage to claim its power are dictators and tyrants and monsters of the worst kind… But at least they win it FAIRLY, by the rules of the game. But what you two are doing… FORCING a Helheim incursion and trying to rig it to guarantee yourselves the chance to reshape the world to suit your desires… Somehow, that's even worse, and I'm here to put a stop to it, just as I would stop any who abused the Fruit's power, if I were able." He glanced at Blaze. "Miss Blaze, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard much of you from a mutual acquaintance. He's the one who sent me here, in fact. He thought you might need a hand."

Blaze narrowed her eyes. "By mutual acquaintance, I take it you mean Sagara?"

Gaim chuckled. "Who else?"

Blaze sighed and shook her head. "That meddling snake…I was wondering when I'd hear from him again. He just doesn't know when to leave well enough alone, does he?"

"You have no idea," Gaim said in amusement.

…

"Okay, I am so confused right now," said a dumbfounded Charmy.

"What's so confusing about it? That Sagara guy evidently thought Blaze needed help given that Dark Oak was stronger than expected so called up some other guy who'd already dealt with the Helheim problem on his world, believing he might be strong enough to help out. Seems pretty obvious to me," Knuckles said. Everyone stared at the echidna in astonishment. "What? I don't have to be oblivious ALL the time!" He said indignantly.

"While I believe Knuckles has summed it up rather well, that doesn't change the fact that this intervention is rather… Sudden," Rouge said tactfully.

"Total deus ex machina," Vector agreed.

"Yeah, there's no foreshadowing for this guy's arrival whatsoever!" Amy complained.

"Considering how often some of us have been deus ex machinas who show up to save the day with no foreshadowing whatsoever, that's a little hypocritical," Tails argued.

"Name one time that happened," Mighty complained.

"When I showed up from almost literally out of the blue to save the Smash Brothers from Tabuu during the whole Subspace Emissary thing?" Sonic suggested.

"… I think I was still in a coma during that," Mighty grumbled.

"What took you so long to get there, anyway?" Shadow asked.

Sonic shrugged. "The Subspace Labyrinth is a biiiiiiiig place. Easy to get lost."

"I wasn't 100% satisfied to see this newcomer either, but given the situation I was in, I wasn't really in any place to complain," Blaze said.

…

"While a part of my pride can't help feeling somewhat stung that Sagara thought I needed assistance… I suppose it would be churlish of me to turn down aid when proffered," Blaze said to the mysterious tiger. "However – and I do not mean to insult you by looking a gift horse in the mouth – given that my best friend literally just tried to stab me in the back – which I absolutely do not blame her for, just to be clear-"

"Thank you," Cosmo said. "Just like I do not blame you for ripping out my eye just a minute ago."

Blaze quickly moved on. "I'm not exactly inclined to trust a stranger right now, especially one clearly steeped in the power of Helheim, which, to be frank, I'm not exactly fond of at the moment. You claim to be a friend of Sagara… But I don't exactly trust that snake either, so how do I know I can trust you?"

"You're right not to trust Sagara," Gaim said firmly. "I consider him… Well, as much of a friend as something like him could be, but I don't trust him in the slightest. Similarly, in your place, I might be somewhat wary as well, though I would be willing to trust until proven wrong… Though, given the sorts of things you've gone through, and the sort of person you are, I understand that might not be a viable viewpoint for you. If it helps, however, consider this: I did not seek the Golden Fruit on my world willingly, and only claimed it because there was no other option, because everyone else after it intended to use its power to wipe out the world or worse… And once I had it, instead of remaking the world in my image, I chose to leave it as it was and instead migrated to a new world, one empty and barren of life, so that I could start over and leave the world of my birth in peace."

"You… All that power, and you just… You LEFT your world in the state it was in?!" Dark Oak asked incredulously. "You didn't even TRY to mend the damage that the war instigated by the Helheim incursion caused?!"

"Very irresponsible," Nega said without a hint of irony.

"Of course I did something," Gaim argued. "When I left my world, I took every trace of Helheim with me. I trusted my friends and the rest of my people to be able to take care of things in my absence, and for the most part, that faith has been validated."

"… Incredible. That is not an option I knew was even possible," Dark Oak murmured, intrigued.

"I think I'm actually the first one who tried that, honestly," Gaim admitted. "Certainly surprised a lot of people, I'll tell you that."

"Nor do I imagine that it is one that many others have chosen after you," Dark Oak intuited. "And it is certainly not one that I will choose, once I claim the Fruit. I want to save MY world, not just start over somewhere else!"

Gaim sighed in frustration. "I've seen far too many people like you, who have done far worse things in the name of 'saving the world.' Many people I used to call friends, including my closest rival, were the same way. It didn't end well for any of them. In fact, you'd be astonished how many people who claimed the Golden Fruit and used it to remake the world in their image sorely regretted it afterwards." He glanced at Blaze. "Which makes the fact that you wish to conquer and reshape your world using your own power intriguing. Normally, I'd be opposed to that sort of thing… But considering that you don't want to use any reality-warping 'shortcuts' and your ideals and vision are apparently appealing enough for almost this entire country to get behind you, I'm not so certain. I think that rival I mentioned might have approved."

"I will take that as a compliment," Blaze said. She regarded the tiger for a moment, and then nodded. "So long as you don't intend to turn on me and try to take the Fruit for yourself, or kill me to 'save' this world from my ambitions, I think I would be willing to work with you…for now. I'm sure I could take this foe on by myself, but…I suppose a little help wouldn't be remiss."

Gaim smiled. "I will do my best to prove your trust in me is not unwarranted."

"Well, this is all well and good, but I don't think two against one is exactly fair, now is it?" Nega sneered.

"Considering that you planted a bomb in my friend's head and tried to blackmail me into surrendering using it, I don't think you're exactly one to talk about fair," Blaze snarled.

"There's always someone like Ryoma…" Gaim muttered darkly.

"Who?" Blaze asked in confusion.

"Let's just say your floating friend there isn't the first mad scientist I've run into who figured out how to harness the power of Helheim relatively safely and had zero scruples whatsoever," Gaim said bitterly.

"So I'm not the first to do something like that? Well, that's rather disheartening…" Nega grumbled. "Regardless, I think it's only fair to even the odds a little… Excellency, I believe that little project I've been working on will be sufficient?"

"Do as you wish, Nega," Dark Oak said dismissively. "I do not care how many opponents I must defeat, so long as the Fruit is mine in the end!"

Nega chuckled sinisterly. "Excellent…" He pressed a button on his dashboard, and the wall behind what was left of the throne split open to reveal a passage leading deeper into the fortress. "Blaze the Cat! Interloper! This path leads into the crown of the Doom Tree, where the Golden Fruit awaits! Let's see who makes it there first, shall we?" Cackling, he flew his hovercraft and the passage.

"Blaze! Gaim! Follow if you dare, and we shall settle this once and for all!" Dark Oak declared, hovering off the ground and gliding backwards after Nega.

Blaze glanced at her new ally. "Shall we?"

"Allow me to change into something a little more fitting," Gaim said, placing a large black metal buckle with a socket in front and what looked like a large knife positioned to one side of it onto his waist, a band shooting out from the side and wrapping itself around his body to form a belt. He produced what looked like a strange stylized padlock with an orange on the front, popping it open. "Henshin!"

"ORANGE!" The unseen announcer declared.

Gaim slammed the lock into the socket on his belt and clicked it into place.

"LOCK ON!"

Gaim pressed down on the knife, 'cutting' through the orange and causing its front to flip down, a shimmering round hologram of a sword briefly appearing.

"SOIYA!"

A crack opened and a giant metal orange descended onto Gaim's head, his shining white armor transforming into a dark blue and gold undersuit and cape disappearing, with a sword of some kind hanging from the belt on his left hip.

"ORANGE ARMS!"

In a burst of orange juice, the giant orange unfolded to form armor over Gaim's shoulders, chest, and back, revealing that his head was now covered in a full helmet with yellow fins on the side, an orange visor, a faceplate, and a crest somewhat resembling a curved blade on his forehead.

"IN THE SPOTLIGHT ON STAGE!"

"This is my stage!" Gaim declared dramatically.

Blaze blinked. "… That's the third time I've heard someone say that phrase. What does it even mean?"

"The third?" Gaim asked, taken aback. "But that's MY catchphrase…"

…

"What DOES that mean?" Amy wondered.

"As I later learned, before he became… Well, an armored space god, Gaim used to be a dancer. His catchphrase is a holdover from those days, to signify that he has taken the field, or rather, the stage," Blaze explained.

"Ah, so he used to be a performer! Interesting," Rouge commented.

"How's a guy go from being a dancer to a space god?" Knuckles wondered.

"The same way a regular kid can become a superhero, I suppose," Sonic said. "These things just…happen, sometimes." The others murmured and nodded in agreement.

…

"You look very… Orange," Cosmo said, sounding a little dizzy. "Though that might be the shock from losing an eye talking."

Blaze frowned in concern. "You should probably get some medical attention. Though I can't imagine that'll be easy to find in a place like this…"

Gaim gestured, and a crack opened, but instead of leading to Helheim forest, it showed the interior of Cosmo's tent. "This should get you outside and back into your camp. You should be able to find help there, especially since my wife and children should have showed up about now with our army."

"You brought reinforcements?" Blaze asked in surprise.

"What, you didn't think I came here on my own, did you?" Gaim asked. He hesitated. "… Pretty much all of my Army are Inves, though. I imagine that may be a bit of a problem."

Blaze considered this for a moment. "… Do they look like Dark Oak's Inves?"

"Not that much, really," Gaim confessed.

"Then so long as we don't advertise that, it shouldn't be… TOO much of a problem, especially not compared to some of the creatures who joined my cause…" Blaze murmured.

"I'll just tell everyone they're friends here to help," Cosmo promised. "My word should help convince them it's fine. And maybe I won't mention that they are Inves, that'll probably help."

"It would at that," Blaze agreed.

"I'll tell everyone that you and our new friend here are fighting to stop Dark Oak and Nega and end this war for good," Cosmo vowed. "Would you like me to convey a message?"

"Tell them that I have every faith that they can win, and that I will be fighting to my last breath to end this conflict once and for all," Blaze said. She hesitated, then added, "And please give Honey a hug from me, would you?"

"I will," Cosmo promised. "I'll tell her that her mother loves her very much."

"Thank you," Blaze said. Without warning, she surged forward and hugged her friend.

Cosmo blushed. "I-is this the hug you want me to give Honey?"

"No," Blaze said, nuzzling the Seedrian's hair. "This is for you. Thank you for everything, Cosmo. You're the best friend a demonic conqueror could ask for. And I really AM sorry for ripping out your eye."

"That's all right," Cosmo said, hugging her back. "Better an eye then a head, right?"

Blaze chuckled. "I suppose it is, at that."

Reluctantly, they parted. "Give them hell," Cosmo said fiercely.

"I will," Blaze promised.

Cosmo nodded. "I will see you once this is all over, then. Good luck, Blaze." With that, she limped into the crack, which sealed behind her.

"Friends are wonderful, aren't they?" Gaim asked wistfully, a hint of loss in his voice.

"They are," Blaze agreed, not wanting to inquire. "We should probably go. They have a bit of a headstart."

"Not for long," Gaim said, producing another weird padlock. He popped it open and tossed it into the air, and much to Blaze's amazement, it unfolded and expanded, transforming into a silver, black and gold hover bike. Gaim hopped on. "Care for a lift?"

…

"A hover bike, huh?" Vector mused. "Think it could take the Marvelous Queen?"

Blaze frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, hypothetically speaking, if we were ever to try and take Fang in, it might be nice to have a way to counter that sweet ride of his," the crocodile said.

"That sweet, sweet ride," Charmy said longingly.

"Fang completely wiped us out with that thing," Mighty pointed out sourly. "Heck, I'm not sure he really needed it…"

"Still a sweet ride," Charmy insisted. "Definitely better than most of the bikes Shadow rides."

"Bite me, insect," Shadow growled.

"Wouldn't he sting you instead? Bees are more stingers than biters," Knuckles said cluelessly. "Trust me, I know from experience. I learned the hard way not to disturb a beehive just because I wanted some honey…" He shuddered at the recollection of all the horrible, horrible stings. Shadow sighed.

Blaze considered for a moment. "I don't think so, no," she said finally. "From the impression I got of the Dandeliner-"

"The what?" Cream interjected.

"The Dandeliner. That's what that kind of flying bike is called," Blaze explained.

"Great, more flowers…" Knuckles grumbled.

"While the Dandeliner can fly and has a weapon system, it's not that durable. More of a mass-produced vehicle than a tricked-out custom like I suspect Fang has," Blaze explained. "On the other hand, I believe that Gaim himself could probably defeat Fang… Unfortunately, he's not exactly easy to get a hold of, given that he lives on a planet at the furthest edge of a completely different universe from either of ours."

"Darn," Vector grumbled.

"It's probably for the best, anyway," Espio said. "We can't rely on visitors from another dimension taking care of all of our problems… No offense, Blaze."

"None taken," the cat said.

…

Blaze quickly got over her surprise and smirked. "No, I think I can manage on my own."

Gaim nodded as he revved up his bike's engines. "Fair enough."

Blaze crouched, mustering her power. "Before we begin, a question. That's not your final form, is it?"

"No, it's not," Gaim agreed. "Far from it, in fact."

Blaze raised an eyebrow. "May I ask why you haven't gone there right from the beginning?"

"Because this is your story, not mine," Gaim said. "I'm just here to help, not overshadow you. If everything Sagara has told me about you is true, I don't think you'll need my full power unless things get really bad."

Blaze considered this. "While I suppose I should be annoyed by that… I appreciate the gesture. Thank you." She gave her new ally a sharp look. "Of course, if a situation crops up where your true power might be more to our benefit…"

"I won't hold back if it risks getting people hurt," Gaim promised. "I'm not that kind of person."

"Neither am I," Blaze said, relieved. After a moment, she asked, "Incidentally, at your full power… COULD you defeat Dark Oak and Nega by yourself?"

"Yes," Gaim said without a moment's hesitation. "At my current level, there aren't many threats left that can pose a serious challenge to me if I go all out. However, the fact that his power source is similar to mine makes things a little trickier. Not much, but a little. As such, it's nice to have someone else to fight alongside."

"Agreed," Blaze said. "I'll try not to hold you back, then."

"I have no fear of that," Gaim said. "In fact, if you manage to fulfill your ambitions, I fully expect you to surpass me someday."

Blaze grinned savagely. "That is a day I greatly look forward to. Shall we?"

"Let's ride," Gaim said, revving his bike.

With a rumble, the hover bike rose into the air and shot into the passage at the back of the room, Blaze taking off in a flash and burst of flames, racing alongside him as they chased after their foes. The corridor was long, but at the speed they were moving they reached the end in a matter of moments, finding themselves in an absolutely massive shaft stretching miles above their heads and going deep into the earth, a huge wooden chamber covered in vines and Helheim plants, a corkscrew ramp winding its way up from where they were standing into the tallest reaches of the Doom Tree.

Dark Oak was waiting for them, hovering in the great space taking up the center of the shaft. "There you are," the warlord sneered. "You took longer than I expected. If you'd kept me waiting for much longer, I might have started without you."

"I'm surprised you didn't already," Blaze quipped. "What happened to this being a race for the Golden Fruit?"

"Nega needed to finish setting a few things up," Dark Oak explained. "Plus, I wouldn't have been satisfied if we began before you had a chance to catch up."

"How sporting of you," Blaze drawled sarcastically.

"And where IS Nega?" Gaim asked.

As if in response to his question, the great wooden shaft started rumbling. Maniacal laughter echoed up the height of the chamber as a massive yellow and black mechanical Dragon rose from the pit below. Its body shape was more serpentine than the dragons Blaze had hatched, however, made of large segments attached to each other by flexible joints, red spines growing in double rows down the back, weapons emplacements bristling from the sides, a pair of large fan-like wing-shaped thrusters growing from about the midpoint, a pair of claws about two thirds of the way up its body with large silvery orbs orbiting them, and an elongated reptilian head with massive fangs, a pair of whisker-like cables ending in barbs trailing from the snout, and a bubble cockpit placed between the eyes in which Eggman Nega could be seen, cackling with glee. "Behold, my latest creation!" The mad man boomed, the speakers built into the Dragon's body causing his voice to reverberate throughout the tree. "The Nega Egg Dragon!"

"I've seen bigger," Blaze and Gaim said the same time, unimpressed, then glanced at each other in surprise.

"You have?" Gaim asked.

"I killed a huge ancient Dragon in the heart of a volcano a few months ago. It was a mercy kill," she said quickly. "And I've sworn to raise its children as my own."

"I once encountered a giant undead T-Rex whose head could split open to reveal a giant human skull that was the leader of an evil kingdom of the dead that wanted to turn my birth planet inside out, so that they could live again and everyone else would die, but was stopped by a giant robot train/dinosaur piloted by some rather colorful friends of mine while I fought the father of the ghost boy whose powers they were using to invert the planet who was helping them because they promised his son would be brought back to life and his family would be reunited if their plans succeeded," Gaim said.

…

"… Wait, what?" Asked a dumbfounded Vector.

"Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt the first time I heard it, too," Tails said.

"Okay, I'll admit our own adventures can be pretty weird at times, but that… Is something else," commented a perplexed Shadow.

"The universe he comes from is apparently a pretty lively place," Blaze admitted.

"How were they going to use a ghost boy to turn the planet inside out? I'd have figured you'd need something like an evil Eldritch abomination to do that," said a confused Knuckles.

Espio nodded. "Eggman certainly did."

"When he was alive, the boy was angry that his mother had to cancel plans to go on a trip with him because of work, so he texted her a photo of himself holding a sign saying he hated her, then he ran out in traffic and got killed, and his sorrow for those being the last words he said to her (more or less) was so great he wanted to turn them inside out. So he came back as a ghost. With the power to turn things inside out," Blaze said slowly, somewhat embarrassed.

"That's so sad!" Cream cried.

"And… Strange," said a confused Espio.

"Well, we've probably run into stranger things," Shadow said.

"Like what?" Amy asked.

"One time, Knuckles baked himself into a birthday cake for me," Rouge said. "And it was a total accident, too. Which is a shame, because it would've been a rather nice surprise otherwise."

"Baking is hard…" The echidna muttered.

…

Blaze stared him blankly for a moment. "… I'm… Not sure that counts as a Dragon," she said slowly, not sure how else to respond to that.

"Well, I've also fought Dragon-like Inves, but they aren't as big," Gaim admitted.

"Likewise," Blaze said.

Nega scowled. "The two of you could at least PRETEND to be impressed…"

"Well, I'm sure neither of us has seen a killer robot as large as that before," Blaze said politely.

"Actually, a friend and I once destroyed an evil living mechanical planet that was attempting to assimilate both my birth planet and the new world I'd created using the power of the Golden Fruit," Gaim said. "Does that count?"

"… NO!" Nega shouted angrily.

Blaze stared at the warrior blankly. "… And here I thought I was experienced…" She muttered.

…

"Wait, he destroyed a PLANET?!" Shadow interjected, incredulous.

"With a friend," Blaze pointed out.

"HOW?" Omega asked, clearly and worryingly intrigued.

"They kicked it, I believe," Blaze said.

Everyone stared at her. "They… Kicked it?" Amy asked slowly.

Blaze nodded. "Yes, that seems to be how they finish off most enemies back where he comes from."

Rouge looked down at her feet and grimaced. "And here I thought being able to drill through solid metal feet-first was impressive… I think I'm going to need to do some more training."

"A living mechanical planet that assimilates worlds? What, was it the Borg or something?" Vector asked.

"No, Megahex-the living planet-was stronger," Blaze said. "I doubt Gaim would have actually been KILLED by something like the Borg."

Cream gasped. "Gaim's dead?!"

"WAS dead. He got better," Blaze said.

"… How?" Asked the baffled Mighty.

"He backed himself up on something. Not too different from an extra life, really," Blaze said.

"Oh, that makes sense," Knuckles said.

"I'm not sure it does," Shadow said.

"I'm not sure I care," Espio said.

"I just want to hear the story!" Charmy complained.

…

"Enough of this! This has dragged on for too long. It is time to end this, Blaze!" Dark Oak declared.

The cat narrowed her eyes. "I quite agree." She glanced at Gaim. "I'm not going to insult you by asking if you will be okay handling Nega on your own. All I ask is that you leave Dark Oak to me."

Gaim nodded. "No problem. But, if you DO need a hand…"

"You'll be the first to know," Blaze promised. She pointed a finger at Dark Oak. "Dark Oak! This ends now! And this time, I will destroy you so thoroughly there won't even be ASHES left to regenerate from!"

"And I will show you what comes of abusing the powers of Helheim, Nega!" Gaim declared.

"Let's see if you can back up those words," Dark Oak said with a chuckle, teleporting away in a swirl of leaves and reappearing above the ramp, then warping away again, reappearing higher up the slope.

"Get back here!" Blaze snarled, dashing up the ramp after her foe, leaving trails of flame in her wake.

"Let's see how that little ride of yours compares to my Dragon!" Nega cackled, his mecha opening its mouth and emitting a chamber-shaking roar before turning its head upwards and flying towards the top of the shaft, its long sinuous body spiraling behind it.

"I'm always up for a challenge," Gaim said, gunning his bike's motor before shooting after the Dragon with a savage mechanical roar.

Dark Oak kept teleporting his way further up the ramp, but with her speed, Blaze was able to catch up to him rather quickly, the villain only able to stay ahead of her by periodically warping in between bursts of floating backwards at impressive speeds. "If you're trying to beat me in a race," Blaze snarled. "Don't expect to win!" Flames engulfed her hands, and she started flinging fireballs at Dark Oak.

"Ah, but I'm not trying to beat you in a race," Dark Oak sneered. "I'm just trying to beat you, period!" He teleported several times in rapid succession to avoid the fireballs. Blaze, thinking quickly, changed her aim, leading her shots so that they'd hit Dark Oak just as he rematerialized. He grunted as the projectiles impacted against his armor. "Was that all? I barely felt that! Now, can the same be said for you?"

He flicked his wrists, and a pair of dimensional cracks opened, two handguns with barrels like Gatling guns and adornments resembling grapes embossing the sides falling out and landing in his hands.

"BUDOU RYUHOU!"

Pulling back the hammers, Dark Oak opened fire on Blaze, purple Dragon-shaped projectiles blasting out of the gun barrels at rapid speed and shooting towards Blaze. Her reflexes kicking in, she zigzagged across the ramp, doing her best to evade the shots and make it harder for her foe to get a bead on her. Even so, there were a few very close calls, since the shots seemed to not only have a limited homing capability but an explosive aspect as well, throwing up bursts of purple energy whenever they struck anything, be it the floor, wall, or each other. Chuckling, Dark Oak pulled back harder on the hammers, causing golden energy coils to spiral up the lengths of his barrels, combining with purple grape-like spheres expelled from the sides of the guns to form a pair of massive energy balls.

"GRAPE SQUASH!"

With a squeeze of the trigger, he fired, the balls exploding into hundreds of Dragon-shaped projectiles which filled the air between him and Blaze, too many for even her to dodge around.

So, she didn't bother. Hands flaring up, her arms shot forwards again and again, faster than the eye could see, snatching up every energy bullet that came her way, the flames in her hands surging with every projectile she grabbed. Once she had so many that her hands were completely invisible beneath the roiling waves of purple fire, she slammed her fists together, turning the flames into the more customary red-orange she was used to, and hurled a massive ball of fire at Dark Oak. The overlord rapid-fired the ball with his guns, blowing it apart in a massive explosion…

Which Blaze shot through,, a Fire Claw aimed right for Dark Oak's chest. At the last second, he teleported away, reappearing behind her, flinging his guns away as a pair of new cracks opened up and a pair of daggers with a strawberry emblem on the blades flew into his hands.

"ICHIGO KUNAI!"

He thrusted one of the blades forwards, aiming for her back. Before the dagger could be buried in her flesh, Blaze pirouetted in the air, flames blasting out from her and knocking the kunai out of Dark Oak's hand. Twisting about to grab a dagger as it flew through the air, she landed on the ground, skidded a bit, then launched herself back into the air with a blast of flames. Dark Oak immediately teleported away, but she spun about and flung the kunai directly behind her. Just as she predicted, Dark Oak rematerialized just in time for the kunai to bury itself up to the hilt in his chest orb. As he grunted in surprise, Blaze landed, skidded once more, then once more launched herself upwards in a burst of flame, slamming into the kunai's pommel, causing it to explode in a burst of cherry juice and crack the orb.

"Hmmph… Not bad… But that's still just a scratch!" Dark Oak said dismissively, flinging his other kunai way and preparing to summon another weapon.

"Enough scratches can add up to quite a lot over time," Blaze reminded him, brandishing her claws. "Let's see how many more I can put into you, shall we?"

Meanwhile, Gaim was chasing after the Nega Egg Dragon, opening fire on the giant machine with his Dandeliner's blasters. While his bike's shots struck true, they only caused cosmetic damage to the great wyrm's metal hide. "Is that all you've got? Let me show you some REAL firepower!" Nega boasted, the gun emplacements mounted on the sides of the dragons swiveling backwards and opening fire, Nega twisting his machine about through the air so that as many cannons at his creation's serpentine hide as possible were shooting at the armored Rider.

Gaim took one hand off the controls of his ride to draw his orange slice-shaped Daidaimaru blade, swinging it rapidly through the air to deflect as many of the energy bolts as he could while continuing to steer around the rest. Unfortunately, a few shots got through, despite his best efforts, and small explosions wracked the vehicle as plumes of smoke and flame started emitting from its sides. He sighed in exasperation. "Really need to get a more durable model one of these days…"

Nega cackled as the Nega Egg Dragon swooped in for the kill. "So much for showing me what happens to those who abuse Helheim's power! Looks like you're all talk, after all, Gaim!"

"Hardly," Gaim said, steering his faltering vehicle right for Nega's cockpit.

"Wh-what?! What are you…GAH!" Nega yelled in alarm, reflexively jerking his robot's head out of Gaim's flight path. The smoldering hoverbike shot past…

But Gaim jumped off the vehicle as it passed over the dragon's back, producing two more of those strange fruit shaped locks. One he threw downwards, the other he clicked open.

"PINEAPPLE!"

He popped out the Orange lock in his belt, slamming the new one in its place.

"LOCK ON!"

He pressed down on the knife, 'cutting' it open, causing a new hologram to briefly appear.

"SOIYA!"

A dimensional crack opened over his head, and a familiar-looking giant metal pineapple descended onto his head as his armor vanished in a spray of orange juice.

"PINEAPPLE ARMS!"

In a shower of pineapple juice, the pineapple unfolded outwards, forming armor similar to that worn by Red Pine when he powered up, a ball and chain identical to the one the evil general had wielded materializing in the Rider's hands.

"PULPERIZE AND DESTROY!"

…

"Wait… Wasn't that Red Pine's thing?" Asked a confused Knuckles.

"Gaim had it first. Like he said, Nega isn't the first person who's tried to weaponize Helheim fruit," Blaze explained.

…

As Gaim descended, the first Lockheed he'd tossed out unfolded outwards to become a more conventional white and red motorcycle. He landed on it just as the bike landed on the Dragon's back, revving it into gear and driving along the surface of the serpentine machine.

"H-hey, what do you think you're doing?! Get off of there!" Nega snarled, shaking his robot's coils in the attempt to fling the hero off.

"Not until I've finished!" Gaim said, practically defying gravity as he drove his motorcycle down the length of the Dragon, turning into each curve and somehow managing to steer around any humps or dips, riding out the metal waves like a pro. He swung his ball and chain over his head before flinging it behind him, the spiked ball getting lodged between two spines, the chain trailing behind the Rider without visible end as he continued on his way.

"STOP THAT!" Nega snarled, losing his temper. He turned the Dragon back on itself, so that he could fire low-power lasers and launch missiles from his cockpit, projectiles raining down along the undulating length of the mecha's form as he tried to hit the irritating gnat zigzagging down his back, dragging that chain along the way, wrapping it around his creation's form. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't seem to land even a glancing blow on the Rider…

But he didn't need to. It was only a matter of time until the inevitable happened, and Gaim ran out of road. Nega cackled gleefully as Gaim reached the end of his Dragon's body, flicking the tip of his tail to send him flying…

But Gaim, rather than panicking, yanked on his chain, which seemed to have finally gone taut. Abruptly, the pineapple-shaped spiked ball broke free from its resting place, digging into the dragon's metal hide as it was dragged along the length of chain wrapped so tightly around the machine's serpentine form, ripping a huge gash spiraling around the length of the mecha's frame, minor explosions bursting all over the machine's body as it tore through weapons emplacements, thrusters, and even smashed through part of one wing. "GAH! What the-"

"You didn't think I did that for no reason, did you?" Gaim asked as the pineapple finally returned to his hand, shaking off a few pieces of metal that had gotten stuck on its spikes. He jumped out of the seat of his doomed motorcycle, tossed a lock that turned into another hoverbike which he landed in, and swapped his pineapple lock for one more closely resembling a strawberry.

"STRAWBERRY! LOCK ON! SOIYA!"The omnipresent voice shouted as he slammed the new lock into place and cut it open.

A dimensional crack opened over his head and a giant strawberry descended on his head as his current armor vanished in a spray of pineapple juice.

"STRAWBERRY ARMS!"

The strawberry unfolded outwards to form new armor, the bottom and top of the strawberry positioned over his shoulders, with the rest covering his front and back, and a pair of red triangular fins jutting from the sides of his head, while a green metal sprig rose from the top of his head. A pair of kunai manifested in his hands.

"SHUSHUTTO SPARK!"

"Throwing knives? What are those supposed to do?" Nega sneered.

"Why don't I show you?" Gaim said as he did a flyby of the Dragon, dodging projectiles as he flung kunai after kunai into the lengthy gash his pineapple had torn into its length, having a seemingly never-ending supply of the blades, each perfectly hitting its mark…

And having no visible effect. "Ha! Is that all-" Nega started, only to be cut off when every kunai abruptly exploded. Each explosion was small, but considering they blew up right in the middle of exposed circuitry and superstructure and other delicate equipment, the damage was exponentially increased, bigger and bigger blasts erupting out from the initial impacts in a cascading chain reaction as more and more vital systems were overloaded and destroyed. Nega cried in rage and alarm as his marvelous machine was consumed in flames. Fire suppression systems and safety countermeasures kicked in to put out the myriad blazes, but not before the damage had been done: a huge scorched jagged smoldering rift wound its way along the serpentine length of the Dragon's body, still spewing sparks and a little smoke; several of the weapons emplacements had exploded; and one of the wings was only barely still attached to the rest of the body. The Dragon was still flying thanks to multiple redundant backup systems, but it was far from peak condition, and it showed. "You… YOU… YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Nega howled, livid.

"Oh, but I've just begun," Gaim said, popping the lock out of his belt again and producing another one.

"WATERMELON! LOCK ON! SOIYA!" The ubiquitous voice shouted as he slammed the new lock into place, jumping off his bike as a crack appeared in front of him, and an absolutely MASSIVE metal watermelon rolled out. It unfolded to allow Gaim into its top, changing around him to create a suit of powered armor with a pair of large green wing thrusters allowing for flight, a protective harness over his upper body to hold him in place, big blade-like 'feet,' and oversized hands with what looked like blasters for fingertips.

"WATERMELON ARMS! BIG BALL BIG BANG! GYRO MODE!"

"Just how many of those do you have?!" Asked an incredulous Nega.

"You'd better hope you don't see them all," Gaim growled as he opened fire, shooting seed-like bullets from his suit's fingertips as he strafed the Dragon. "Because I doubt you'll live to tell the tale."

Meanwhile…

"KAGEMATSU! BANASPEAR!"

With a gesture from Dark Oak, dozens of cracks opened. Several yaris with pinecone-shaped additions below the blade shot through the air towards Blaze, while a lance somewhat resembling a peeled banana landed in the warlord's hand, and he drove it into the ground, causing banana-shaped energy projections to start erupting from the ground without warning, creating a deadly field of both vertical and horizontal attacks for the feline to evade. Blaze narrowed her eyes at the bullet (or rather, yari and spear) hell before her, but didn't slow down in the slightest, fleetly sidestepping around the banana spikes as they burst out of the ground before and around her, gracefully pirouetting, backflipping, and twirling through the air to squeeze through the narrow gaps between the hurtling yaris and the banana protrusions, only barely managing to avoid getting skewered or grazed by the blades. Getting an idea as she performed another expert flip, she snatched one of the yaris out of the air as it breezed by her, twirling it in front of and around her as she continued running through the bananas, her stolen weapon serving as an improvised shield to deflect and knock away the other yaris still shooting towards her, giving her a bit more breathing room to maneuver.

Dark Oak chuckled. "So, that's how you want to play it, is it?"

"MELON DEFENDER!"

A crack opened and a large shield with blades at the bottom and a texture resembling the skin of a cantaloupe flew into his free hand. Holding it and his lance before him, he launched forwards in a horseless joust, cape billowing behind him. Narrowing her eyes when she realized what he was up to, Blaze darted through the last of the banana spikes and charged to meet him, yari lowered to point at her opponent. The space between them was rapidly eaten up as the two approached each other at incredible speeds, neither showing any sign of dodging. At the last second, just before she could get skewered on the spear, Blaze took a half-step to the side and thrusted her yari forwards, embedding it in Dark Oak's shield. "And what was that supposed to-" he started, only to be cut off when she used her grip on the weapon to flip on top of it, then use it as a springboard to launch up and over the shield. Flames engulfing her, she surged downwards in a strike which smashed into the top of the warlord's head, stunning him and sending him stumbling a few steps back, dropping his weapons.

Blaze landed, then immediately surged forwards in a Boost Dash, slamming into the startled Dark Oak's chest and smashing him into the wall at an angle, so that instead of simply burying him in the wall he was dragged along its length as she kept up her fiery dash, sparks flying from where his armor met the wood, bits of it being torn off along with his cape. Flailing desperately with the free hand not being dragged along the wall, he called up the only weapon he could think of to help him.

"WALNUT BOMBER!"

A pair of massive orange metal fists flew out of a crack. One of them struck the wall and shattered as it tried to fit itself onto the hand pinned to the warlord's body, but the other fit itself like a glove (which, I suppose, it sort of was) around his free hand. He swung his fist down on Blaze's head, intending to crush her skull. Catching the movement out of the corner of her eye, she disengaged at the last second, backflipping away before she could get hit, the massive fist smashing into the ground hard enough to crater it. Dark Oak grunted as he staggered to his feet, looking down at the right half of his armored body, which had sustained a significant amount of damage from being sideswiped along the wall, in annoyance. Raising his armored fist again, he prepared to take another swing at Blaze…

When suddenly there was a shudder and groan, cracks zigzagging away from the crater where Dark Oak had punched the ground. Blaze's eyes widened in alarm, and Dark Oak chuckled and quickly teleported away as that section of the ramp started collapsing. Using her super speed, Blaze was able to nimbly leap from crumbling chunk of path to crumbling chunk quickly, landing on solid ground in no time. Unfortunately, that ground turned out not to be quite a solid she would've liked, as it began to collapse beneath her feet as well. Alarmed, she started running at top speed, the ramp falling away into darkness behind her.

Dark Oak reappeared in front of her, cackling cruelly as he warped all over the place to taunt her. "Let's make this a bit more interesting, shall we?"

"It's not interesting enough already?" She snapped back.

"Hardly!" Dark Oak replied

"DONKACHI!"

A crack opened, and a warhammer resembling an acorn flew into Dark Oak's hands. With a chuckle, he tossed it into the air, and in a puff of smoke it expanded to at least 10 times its original size, hovering in the air above Blaze, eclipsing her in its shadow. She groaned. "Oh great, I see where this is going…"

Dark Oak swung his arm downwards, and the hammer mimicked his motion, smashing down at Blaze, who quickly sidestepped the attack without slowing down, not wanting the collapse of the ramp to catch up with her. Dark Oak raised his arm back up and brought it down again and again, and the hammer again mimicked his motions, smashing down repeatedly in an attempt to crush the cat, who always managed to evade the attack just in time. "…Hmm… Perhaps I should spice this up even further…"

"You really don't have to!" She grunted, dodging the hammer blow once again.

"Oh, but I insist!" Dark Oak said, extending his arms to his sides.

"KIWI GEKIRIN!"

Two cracks opened, and a pair of wind and fire wheels resembling kiwi slices flew into his hands. Charging them up with green energy, he hurled the blades away from him. Blaze tensed, keeping an eye on the blades while making sure not to stay under the hammer's shadow for too long…

And much to her surprise, the wheels didn't go anywhere near her. Instead, they flew into the ramp ahead of her, digging into the thick wood, sparks flying as they spun through it in a jagged zigzag pattern before eventually bursting out in a shower of wood chips and flying back into Dark Oak's hands. There was a deep groan, and suddenly massive chunks of the ramp fell away, leaving only an incredibly narrow, incredibly twisting path with absolutely no room to maneuver or dodge. "… Oh, come on!" Blaze snarled, realizing she would have no choice but to run out onto that incredibly precarious path, lest she tumble into the abyss.

"I'm honestly curious to see how you get out of this one, Miss Blaze," Dark Oak said, raising his hand and the hammer as Blaze dashed out onto the winding path.

"You may just get that wish," she growled, thinking quickly.

Dark Oak's hand swung down, and the hammer dropped…

And at the last second, Blaze surged forwards in a Burst Dash, making it out from under the hammer's shadow just before could crush her, shattering the already-weakened wood behind her. As the impact caused the tiny path she was already standing on to start to collapse as well, she shot upwards in a blast of flames, grabbing onto the handle of the hammer and using her momentum to lift it into the air with her, its weight a bit of a strain even for her demonic strength. Before she could lose her grip, she let out a mighty yell and swung the hammer over her head, bringing it down on the startled Dark Oak. The warlord was so surprised by this incredible feat that it didn't even occur to him to teleport…

"MELON DEFENDER!"

… Which is why he summoned his shield once more, enlarging it to be at least half again as big as he was. The hammer's head slammed into the shield and rebounded, tumbling end over end until it hit the wall and bounced off, falling into the pit. Dark Oak lowered the shield…

And Blaze slammed into him with a Fire Claw, punching and kicking the startled king again and again with flaming fists and feet as their momentum carried them through the air, slamming into the head of the Nega Egg Dragon—who hadn't seen it coming since Nega had been in the middle of a dogfight with Gaim-knocking it for a loop.

"Now's my chance!" Gaim declared, flying his watermelon rig higher into the air.

"YOROI MODE!"

His armor reconfigured itself around him, changing from a flying machine to a massive suit of green mecha armor resembling a samurai, wielding a double-bladed sword. He raised his sword over his head and let out a battle cry as he plummeted downwards towards the Nega Egg Dragon, unable to fly in this form. Eggman Nega managed to recover just in time to see the descending giant warrior, yelped in alarm, and tried to maneuver his mecha out of the way. Unfortunately, while he managed to avoid getting a giant sword through his head, Gaim still managed to cleave through his dragon's damaged wing, sending it falling into the pit.

"GYRO MODE!"

He quickly shifted his suit back into its flying configuration before he could fall too much further and fired a volley of bullets directly upwards, damaging the Dragon further. "GAH! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Nega screamed furiously, the Dragon opening its mouth, gathering power, and firing a MASSIVE laser down at Gaim. The armored hero managed to barrel roll out of the way in time, and the beam shot into the lightless depths of the chasm below, striking the distant bottom with an impact that shook the whole tree, a huge pillar of fire blasting upwards briefly from the resulting explosion that nearly incinerated all four combatants. "Dark Oak! I think maybe it's time we switched dance partners!"

"I-ungh! Couldn't agree-gah! More!" Dark Oak grunted as Blaze snarled and hissed as she viciously clawed as his armor, eventually managing to rip her off and fling her at a wall, the impact stunning her as she slid down and landed on the safety of the wooden ramp, dazed and struggling to catch her breath. Rather than press the advantage, Dark Oak turned and flew towards Gaim, passing the Nega Egg Dragon going in the opposite direction, reaching out a hand to slap one of the dragon's claws to tag out.

"All right, Rider," Dark Oak snarled as he approached Gaim. "Let's see which of us truly has better control over the powers of Helheim, shall we?"

"If you insist," Gaim said, disengaging the Watermelon lock from his belt, causing his armor to vaporize in a shower of watermelon juice. As he started to fall, he quickly tossed out another lock to summon a hover bike and changed back into his Orange Arms suit.

"Back to that thing already? From how you were talking, I assumed you had more in your arsenal," said a disgusted Dark Oak.

"Oh, but I do," Gaim said, producing a new, fancier-looking lock resembling a lemon and popping it open. "I'm just setting things up for the next act."

"LEMON ENERGY!"

He popped open a panel on the side of his belt buckle, revealing a second socket which he inserted the lock into before pressing down on the knife, cutting both of them open.

"LOCK ON! SOIYA!"

As the hologram briefly flashed before his waist, a crack opened over his head, and his Orange armor folded back up and rose up to meet a large metal lemon descending from the rift, fusing with it.

"MIX!"

The lemon landed on Gaim's head and unfolded outwards, covering his front and back in orange and black armor with thick golden trim coming down to his hips, and ornate black shoulder armor, leading him to resemble a samurai archer, especially since the weapon that appeared in his hands looked a lot like a red high-tech bow.

"JIMBER LEMON! HA-HA!"

"Two at once?!" Dark Oak stammered, astonished. "Yellow Zelkova was the only one other than myself who managed to do that, and even then it nearly killed him!"

"There is more to Helheim than you or Nega can possibly imagine. You're just scratching the surface," Gaim declared, raising his bow and aiming it at Dark Oak. "I intend to make sure you don't dig any deeper."

"We'll just see about that, won't we?" Dark Oak snarled, extending a hand to the side.

"SONIC ARROW!"

A bow identical to the one Gaim was holding appeared in the warlord's hands. He aimed it at his foe, drawing back the string, causing an energy arrow to manifest. Gaim did the same, and the two released their strings the same time, the projectiles colliding in a brilliant yellow explosion.

As Blaze picked herself back up, she found herself cast into a great shadow, and looked up in annoyance to see the Nega Egg Dragon looming over her. "Oh great…" She grumbled.

"I think it's time the two of us tangled, Miss Blaze!" Nega cackled. "I must say, I'm rather vexed that you managed to destroy so much my handiwork in the past… Let's see how you fare against the likes of me! Get a load of this!"

…

"Oh yeah, that brings me back," Sonic fondly reminisced. "The Egg Viper will always hold a special place in my heart for one of the coolest boss battles I've ever had with Eggman…"

…

The dragon's eyes lit up, crackling with energy, and fired a pair of massive laser beams… In opposite directions, slamming into the walls on either side of Blaze and trapping her on a several meter-wide portion of the ramp. Why he didn't just fire the beams at her directly, she didn't know, and decided it would be best not to give him any ideas.

The Dragon roared, and missiles launched from the remaining spines on its back, arcing through the air and homing in on her platform. She started dashing back and forth in what little space she had to run in, using her speed and agility to dodge the missiles as they smashed into the ground and exploded, hurling fireballs at the mecha all the while. The robot flicked its wrists, and the orbs floating around them shot off and spun in a circle before the dragon's face, an energy shield crackling to life between them that absorbed the projectiles, the orbs lighting up and firing bursts of plasma that sent shockwaves of energy rippling out across the ground whenever they impacted, forcing Blaze to get even more flexible and maneuverable to dodge them as well as the missiles.

So, that shield can absorb my fire attacks and redirect them back at me… She mused. I wonder what would happen if… As she continued gracefully dancing and flipping around, she started throwing fireballs again… But this time, aimed them at the orbs themselves. Since they were spinning, not all of her projectiles landed a hit and got absorbed into the shield and blasted back at her… But quite a few of her fireballs struck true, and those that hit the orbs caused visible, albeit slight, damage to them. Bingo!

Abruptly, the orbs separated and went back to revolving around the dragon's claws… And Blaze realized that while she'd been focused on evading and attacking the orbs, the Dragon head opened its mouth and was charging up an attack. A huge energy ball at least 10 times her size came blasting out of the mechanical monster's jaws, and she barely dashed out of the way before it impacted, engulfing nearly two-thirds of her platform in a tremendous explosion. She cursed herself for not noticing it sooner as the blast died down; if it had hit the ground just a few feet closer to the center, she might've been caught between it and the laser barrier, with nowhere to go.

Nega cackled madly, the dragon's whiskers twitching, and suddenly they darted forwards, electricity crackling around the barbs at their tips. Blaze's eyes widened in alarm, and she was forced on the move once more as the tendrils lashed out, trying to impale her on their barbed tips, striking again and again…

Until suddenly, one of the tendrils thrusted with a little too much power, and embedded itself in the floor. "Gack! Curses!" Nega snarled, tugging on the whisker to try and wrench it out.

Now's my chance! Abruptly, Blaze rushed at the grounded whisker, leaping onto it and grinding down its length towards the Dragon's head.

"H-hey, you can't do that!" Nega protested in alarm, sending electrical pulses down the length of the whisker towards Blaze.

The cat proved that she could, indeed, do that by hopping over each pulse as it came near her until she got close enough to jump off and hurled herself at Nega's cockpit with a Fire Claw, smashing into it with enough force to crack the reinforced glass and rock the head back, ripping out the stuck whisker in the process. "Gah! Why you little-"

Enraged, Nega took control of both his whiskers, causing them to double back on themselves and launch themselves at Blaze, who had landed on the tip of the dragon's nose. Before they could bury themselves in her back, she backflipped, the tendrils shooting under and past her, right towards Nega's cockpit. The madman flinched backwards in alarm as they flew towards him…

And stopped, millimeters away from the glass. "Phew! That was-"

Blaze slammed into the back of one of the barbs with a flying kick, driving it forwards and causing it to smash through the cracked cockpit glass, and it might've pierced the scientist's chest if it hadn't gotten stuck. Screaming in terror and alarm (and trying to ignore how wet his pants had just become), Nega grabbed the controls and started shaking the Dragon's head around, knocking Blaze off, though fortunately she managed to land gracefully back on the platform instead of falling into the pit. "You… You! YOU!" So red with fury that he found himself lost for words, Nega started pushing lots of buttons on his control panel instead. More missiles launched themselves from their silos, and the orbs launched themselves as well, creating a much larger and harder to avoid obstacle as they slammed into the ground, forcing Blaze to quickly detour around their shadows, lest she be struck by them as well as the missiles. However, she made sure that whenever she passed one of the orbs after it had hit the ground, but before it rose back into the air, she lashed out at it with her claws, gouging into the metal.

Eventually, Nega recalled the orbs, forming his spinning energy shield once again while powering up another energy ball in the dragon's mouth. As before, Blaze hurled fireballs at the shield, aiming for the orbs instead of the energy field itself, landing a few more blows… And was satisfied to see cracks and ruptures beginning to form on some of the sphere's surfaces.

Eventually, Nega recalled his spheres, his energy ball fully charged and ready to fire. Just as it launched, Blaze turned and ran towards the back wall, dashing halfway up it, and launching herself away from it in a burst of flames, shooting right towards the massive energy ball. Just before she could collide with it, she flipped around and slammed her feet into it as hard as she could, kicking it back towards Nega. Laughing at her foolishness, Nega formed his shield again, and the energy ball was absorbed into it, the orbs lighting up with tremendous energy as they prepared to discharge…

Only to simultaneously explode, the energy field vanishing in a crackle of static as the remains of the spheres plummeted into the pit. "Wh-what?!" Nega cried in disbelief.

"You should've been paying more attention, Doctor," Blaze sneered. "I knew those spheres were the linchpin for that shield defense of yours, so I went out of my way to attack them. If they had been in perfect condition, they might have been able to absorb and redirect all that energy back at me… But since they WEREN'T in perfect condition, it's really no surprise they couldn't handle that much power."

"That… That's actually very clever," Nega admitted grudgingly. "I might be impressed… If I weren't so filled with UNYIELDING RAGE!"

Blaze grinned. "If that's the case," she quipped, hands bursting into flame. "I can't wait to see how you feel once I completely take you apart…"

While this was going on, Gaim and Dark Oak were flying around the central shaft, firing arrows at each other. So far, they seemed to be at a bit of a stalemate, since they were both equally quick on the draw, and both their aims were superb, so no arrow laid a mark on either of their armors because they kept intercepting and destroying the other halfway across the shaft. Dark Oak was starting to get annoyed by this impasse, so he decided to switch things up a bit. He formed an arrow in his bow, charging it up…

And then, the second before he fired it, he teleported behind Gaim and shot the arrow at his back. The Rider barely managed to swerve to the side before it could pierce his shoulder blades, the arrow grazing his shoulder as it streaked past him and exploded against the far wall. Cackling, Dark Oak started wildly teleporting around the shaft, taking a page out of Red Pine's book. Gaim frantically swiveled about, arrow primed and ready to fire, as he struggled to draw a bead on his enemy. Unfortunately, the area was a lot larger than where Blaze had fought Red Pine, the dark lord's weapon was a lot faster than the general's ball and chain, and Dark Oak had the added advantage of three-dimensional space to move about in, making it even harder to figure out where he was in time to avoid an arrow, let alone shoot back. It also probably didn't help that Gaim wasn't nearly as fast as the cat.

As such, it was really only a matter of time until the inevitable happened and one of Dark Oak's arrows struck true, exploding against Gaim's side in a blast that nearly knocked him off his bike, causing him to scream both in pain and alarm as he desperately struggled to remain mounted on his vehicle and keep it from flying into wall. Laughing madly, Dark Oak started teleporting again, even faster, and Gaim knew he would have to switch things up as well.

He disengaged his lemon lock, causing his raiment to disappear in a splash of lemon juice as his orange armor reformed on him. He then produced a new lock resembling a peach and plugged it into the open socket, going through the activation sequence.

"PEACH ENERGY! LOCK ON! SOIYA! MIX!"

A new crack opened and a giant metal peach descended, fusing with the orange armor as it flew up to meet it and slamming down on Gaim's head, unfolding to create a new set of armor virtually identical to the one he'd been wearing just seconds ago, except it was in pink.

"JIMBER PEACH! HA-HA!"

"And what good is that supposed to do?" Dark Oak sneered.

"You'll find out shortly," Gaim said calmly.

Dark Oak grunted and started teleporting again. Gaim made no attempt to move, hovering in place, head slightly bowed. An energy arrow was notched into his bow, but he was holding it on his lap. What does he think he's doing? Dark Oak wondered, perplexed. Well, whatever it is, let's see if it can protect him from THIS!

He stopped his teleporting, prepared to fire his arrow…

And suddenly, Gaim whipped his bow up and shot an arrow at the warlord, who was too startled to teleport away in time and got struck in the chest, his own arrow going wild. "Gah! Wh-what the-"

Seeing Gaim drawing back his bow again, Dark Oak quickly started teleporting again as he prepared his next arrow. How did he know when to shoot? He wondered, incredulous. Surely I wasn't slow enough to give him an opening, was I? Let's see if he can do that again…

He sped up his teleports, warping all over the chamber, so quickly he was barely visible at any point for more than a blink of an eye before he vanished again. Despite this, Gaim didn't seem particularly bothered, and again notched an arrow into his bow and held it patiently, relaxed. Eventually, Dark Oak judged it time to make another attack attempt and paused long enough to fire an arrow…

Only for Gaim's own arrow to pierce his chest just before he could let loose his own projectile. "Raaaah! How… How did-" The warlord stiffened. "Wait… That new armor of yours! It amplifies your senses and reaction time, doesn't it?"

Gaim nodded. "That's right. My hearing was enhanced enough so that I could know whenever you were about to shoot an arrow at me, as well as where to shoot my own. I'm surprised you figured that out so quickly, usually it takes my opponents a lot longer to realize that."

"That's a very useful ability…" Dark Oak admitted grudgingly. "But let's see how well it holds up against this!" He charged up an arrow in his bow… And KEPT charging, until it looked like he had at least a dozen notched in the weapon at once. He released them… Not at Gaim, but into a crack which appeared right in front of him. With a loud unzipping sound, several dozen cracks opened up to form a sphere around Gaim, and arrows rapidly started unloading from them in every direction, while a laughing Dark Oak kept loosing more and more bolts into the crack before him.

"It can't," Gaim admitted, frantically using his enhanced reflexes and sword to try and deflect as many arrows as he could. "But THIS can!"

When there was a lull in the assault - even Dark Oak couldn't keep it up forever without pause - Gaim again switched out locks, replacing the peach with one resembling a cherry.

"CHERRY ENERGY! LOCK ON! SOIYA! MIX!"

A new crack opened and a giant metal cherry descended, fusing with the orange armor as it flew up to meet it and slamming down on Gaim's head, unfolding to create a new set of armor virtually identical to the one he'd been wearing just seconds ago, except it was in red.

"JIMBER CHERRY! HA-HA!"

"And what power does this new form grant you?" Dark Oak asked as he started firing arrows into the crack again.

Gaim revved his motorcycle as the cherry parts of his armor started glowing. "Speed."

The arrows shot out of the cracks around him… But as his armor's speed boost ability activated, they seemed to slow down to a crawl, moving with almost inexorable slowness through the air, the wake of displaced air they left behind them actually visible from this perspective. Gaim sped his bike forwards, easily maneuvering around the slow-moving projectiles, navigating past them and the numerous cracks surrounding him, and out into the open air towards Dark Oak, who had clearly realized what was going on and was starting to teleport as his foe raced towards him…

But unfortunately, he wasn't nearly fast enough. Gaim powered up his Sonic Arrow and fired several bolts at the warlord as he approached. Due to the ridiculous speeds he was moving at, he actually zoomed past the arrows almost moments after shooting them, but that didn't bother him. As he drew near Dark Oak, he drew his Musou Saber and slashed out with it as he sped by, cutting through the leaves which had begun to swirl around the warlord and slicing through his armor, canceling his teleportation as he cried out in pain… Then yelled even louder when the arrows struck his chest and exploded, flinging him backwards, allowing Gaim to get in a second hit with his blade as he shot past.

"Ugh..unh… And here… I thought that Blaze was fast…" Dark Oak grunted as he managed to stabilize himself in the air, clutching the gash in his side in pain.

…

"Hey, did that cherry armor make him faster than YOU, Sonic?" Charmy asked.

"No!" Sonic cried indignantly. He paused, and then glanced at Blaze. "… Did it?" She shrugged.

…

"Just how many different armors do you have, anyway?" Dark Oak snarled as he recovered.

"Quite a lot, actually," Gaim admitted. He disengaged both his cherry and orange locks, causing his armor to vanish in a shower of fruit juice, then produced a new one, resembling the orange but larger and bulkier, with a port on the side. "But I'm only going to need a couple more to beat you." He clicked it open.

"KACHIDOKI! LOCK ON! KACHIDOKI ARMS! INTO BATTLE! EI, EI, OH!"

As Gaim assumed his strongest form yet, the fight between Blaze and Nega continued to intensify. The enraged mad scientist was not only firing a seemingly endless array of missiles and energy blasts at the feline warrior, but whipping his last remaining whisker around as well, sweeping it across the ground or through the air instead of thrusting it like before. Blaze masterfully and gracefully evaded as many of the attacks as she could while flinging a constant stream of fireballs at the oncoming missiles and the dragon's head, slowly chipping away at its armor and causing Nega to snarl and get more and more frustrated as his mecha steadily kept taking damage while she continued to remain unharmed. "How can you possibly keep this up?!" He snapped finally. "Most people would have tripped up by now, or needed to stop for breath! How are you managing this?!"

"I'm not most people," Blaze shot back, catching the whisker swinging towards her out of the corner of her eye. She backflipped over it, then landed on top of it as it went under her, grinding down its length towards the head of the Dragon.

"Oh no you don't! Not this time!" Nega snarled, flicking the whisker upwards and hurling the startled Blaze into the air. The Dragon opened its jaws and surged to try to catch her in its mouth, the huge energy beams still being projected from its eyes cutting large tracks in the wall of the shaft and slicing through some of the upper reaches of the ramp and part of the far-distant ceiling in the process.

Blaze narrowed her eyes as the Dragon's gaping mouth rushed towards her. Gathering power into her claws, she started rapidly hurling dozens of fireballs into the open jaws. The fireballs burst upon impact, riddling the interior of the mouth with small explosions, until finally one or more of them hit something important, and there was a much larger explosion which rocked the robot and knocked the lower jaw off one of its hinges.

"GAH!" Nega cried in alarm as the Dragon flinched away, shaken by the damage. Blaze shot past the head and landed on the back of one of the mecha's serpentine coils, beginning to run up its length while dodging around the scorched and blasted areas torn open during Gaim's previous attack. Without thinking, Nega pivoted his head down to get her in his sights…

Forgetting in the process that his robot's eyes were still firing lasers, shearing through his machine's lower body and sending a full third of its length tumbling away into the abyss. Swearing in fury, he switched off the lasers and brought the coil Blaze was running on closer to him, the Dragon's head surging down towards it in an attempt to crush her beneath its weight. Blaze somersaulted out of the way of the head just before it could crush her, grabbing onto a protrusion on its side as it lifted back into the air so took her with it. "Wh-where did you go?!" Nega asked frantically, swiveling the Dragon's head here and there to try and spot her.

Instead of answering, Blaze picked her way up the side of the Dragon's head until she reached the top. Nega's eyes widened when she came into view, but didn't even have time to open her mouth before she launched forwards in a Fire Claw, slamming into his cockpit with an explosion which further cracked the safety glass and hurled her backward through the air. She quickly gained control of her flight with a few controlled bursts of fire and neatly landed back on the ramp, smirking to herself as the Dragon's body was wracked with explosions. "You… YOU! THAT DOES IT!"

The Dragon's eyes lit up, firing the massive laser beams on either side of her to hem her in once more… And then they started closing in on towards her with the intent to vaporize her. "I don't know why I didn't just do this in the first place!" Nega sneered. "Let's see you get out of THIS!"

Blaze's eyes widened, her mind racing as she tried to think of a way out of this…

When there was the sound of a large explosion and Dark Oak slammed into the top of the Dragon's head, knocking it downwards and causing the huge beams to shear through the floor of the ramp and keep going down instead of closing in on Blaze. "Gah! Your Majesty! What do you think you're-"

"I think," Dark Oak grunted as he pulled himself up. "It might be time to switch again."

"I've got no problem with that," Gaim said as his hover bike descended into view. His new armor was especially impressive, resembling a shogun rather than a warrior or samurai, orange plates hanging down from his waist to form an armored skirt, plated orange armor covering his arms and chest and back with a large medallion with a curved sword emblem emblazoned on his torso, a pair of orange sashimono flags with his emblem on them rising from his back, and an ornate helmet with elaborate golden horns for a crest covering his head.

Nega eyed Gaim worryingly. "Actually, I think I might-"

"Too bad, no tag backs," Dark Oak said curtly, shoving off from the Dragon's head and flying towards Blaze.

"But-but!" Nega protested desperately.

"Ready for round two, doctor?" Gaim asked, holding up a powerful-looking gun with a disk on the side.

Nega swallowed. "… Oh dear."

"I hope you are ready as well, Blaze!" Dark Oak snarled, manifesting his sword.

"Always-" Blaze started, only to pause as the ground beneath her started trembling. "What-"

With a heavy groan, the platform she was standing on abruptly collapsed, the damage inflicted from Nega's laser beams slicing through it apparently too much for it to handle. She cried out in surprise as she started to fall…

When suddenly, several very thick vines erupted from the wall, twisting and turning their way up and around the length of the shaft. Blaze landed on one of them and immediately started grinding up it. "What the-"

"You're welcome!" Gaim called before turning his attention back to the nervous Nega.

"I don't know whether I should be grateful or annoyed," Dark Oak commented, flying beside the vines as Blaze continued grinding up them. "On the one hand, he saved your life and is using my own tree against me… On the other hand, he gave me another chance to give you the warrior's death you so richly deserve!"

"By the time this is over, I think you'll be leaning a bit more towards 'annoyed,'" Blaze commented, hurling fireballs at him.

Dark Oak chuckled as he teleported out of the way of her projectiles. "We'll see…" He snapped his fingers and several cracks opened.

"PINE IRON! DURI NOKO! KIWI GEKIRIN!"

The familiar pineapple-shaped flail, jagged-edged broadswords, and Kiwi slice bladed rings flew out of the cracks by the dozens. The weapons changed form as they flew through the air, the pineapples becoming spiked balls, the swords bladed strips, and the rings… Well, they stayed more or less the same. Instead of flying at Blaze, they instead scattered themselves along the length of the vines, creating a minefield of spikes, blades, and spinning buzzsaws with only narrow gaps in between. Blaze swore as she saw the array of deathtraps laid out before her and quickly started jumping from vine to vine, desperately trying to navigate through the myriad obstacles covering her path. "Gaim, I don't suppose you could provide me with a fresh vine?" Blaze yelled at the Rider, jumping vines to keep from grinding into a string of spiked balls, only to have to switch back almost immediately to avoid some buzzsaws spinning towards her.

"Sorry, I'm a little busy!" He shouted back as he chased after the damaged Dragon, firing shots from his powerful gun at it.

"Don't worry, Blaze," Dark Oak chuckled. "I have every confidence you can make it through this. But why don't we make things just a little MORE challenging?"

"You really don't have to, this is quite challenging enough, thank you!" Blaze said through gritted teeth as she rapidly hopped back and forth between vines with almost no margin of error to spare.

"Oh, but I insist!" Dark Oak said with false politeness, opening more cracks.

"BUDOU RYUHOU!"

The twin pistols fell into Dark Oak's hands. He twirled them, cocked them, and then started teleporting about, firing grape bullets at Blaze from every angle, giving her yet another hazard to worry about. This is getting ridiculous! She thought as she desperately tried to divide her attention between grinding, rapidly switching tracks to keep from running into the seemingly endless array of traps covering the vines, and doing so while ALSO dodging Dark Oak's gunshots, which were, of course, trying to drive her right into the very traps she was attempting to avoid. I can't keep this up forever! Eventually, something's got to give!

So I just have to make sure that something isn't me. But what can I … Ah! Of course! Why didn't I think of that in the first place?

She tapped into her inner flame, the fire flaring up as she drew upon its power. Flames burst up around her, and with a howl she flung her arms out to sides, unleashing a wave of fire which rushed forwards up the vines, obliterating every trap they came into contact with and clearing the organic grind rails in seconds, leaving them somewhat burnt but still serviceable.

"… Pretty sure that's cheating…" Dark Oak muttered. "Well, you aren't the only one who can do that."

A new crack opened.

"SUIKA SOJINTO!"

A gargantuan watermelon dropped down onto the vines far up ahead and started rolling down towards Blaze, the giant vegetable so big it took up all the rails, leaving no escape. "Hey, that's not how that weapon is supposed to work!" Gaim protested.

"I don't care!" Dark Oak snapped back.

Blaze narrowed her eyes as she saw the huge green sphere of doom rolling towards her. That fire wave trick won't work on something that big, and my regular fireballs aren't strong enough to destroy it… And I don't have time to power up my flame of ultimate Destruction, either. She grinned savagely. Looks like I'll just have to take it head on!

Calling upon her flame again, fire crackling around her, she started rapidly, hopping from vine to vine to vine, gradually picking up speed with each rail switch until she became a fiery blur, zigzagging across the vines as she moved faster and faster towards the watermelon. Dark Oak frowned, uncertain what she was doing. "What are you thinking?" He murmured, curious. "Well, whatever it is, I'd better put a stop to it!"

He started teleporting again, opening fire with his guns once more. Much to his consternation, however, now that there were no more traps littering the vines, there was nothing stopping Blaze from using her reflexes to switch rails every time she was about to get hit by a grape bullet, going even faster in the process with each hop and making it that much harder for him to hit her. The speed boosts were incremental, but they added up over time. Dark Oak was strongly starting to consider throwing out traps again, but knew he didn't have time before the watermelon just ran over them, so was forced to hope that it would do his job for him…

And if not, well, he could always try something else.

The watermelon was upon them. Dark Oak quickly teleported out of the way, while Blaze, moving like a shooting star, boosted right into it.

Dark Oak wasn't certain what he had expected to happen when Blaze and the watermelon collided. For her to be squished, perhaps, albeit unlikely. For the watermelon to explode, quite probably. He most certainly did NOT expect what DID happen to occur: when Blaze slammed into the watermelon, with the force of her fiery speed boost propelling her forwards, she actually PUSHED the watermelon back up the vines, easily rolling it before her even though it was several times her size.

…

"Katamari!" Charmy shouted.

"What?" Asked a confused Blaze.

"Never mind," the bee said. Omega, despite himself, started humming an incredibly catchy tune.

…

The watermelon started picking up speed as Blaze continued rolling it forwards, seeming to shed none of her momentum despite the fact that she was using it to propel a giant orb up a steep incline. As Dark Oak watched in disbelief, too stunned by the impossible sight he was seeing to even think about attacking, Blaze pushed the watermelon up a 'hill' in the rails so hard that it was launched into the air as it went over the crest, soaring through like a huge green balloon.

It took longer than the warlord cared to admit for him to realize that the giant watermelon was hurtling straight towards him. Swearing, he quickly opened a pair of cracks.

"DURI NOKO!"

The saw-edged blades flew into his hands, and he slashed them through the air once, twice, three times. There was a pause, and then the watermelon burst before it could slam into him, it's neatly cut chunks flying past him while a torrent of juice splattered him, though he used his cape as a shield to keep most of it from soaking into his armor.

This, unfortunately, turned to be a mistake, for when he removed his cloak from his line of sight he was just in time to see Blaze's Fire Claw right before it slugged him in the face, snapping his head back. She laid into him repeatedly with a flurry of frenzied claw slashes as they flew through the air, eventually slamming into another one of the grind vines. Blaze leapt off just before the impact, neatly landing on the vine and grinding up it, while the less fortunate Dark Oak rolled off and fell into the chasm. Blaze smirked as she continued her grind, hopping rails a few times to build up speed, then leaping off and landing on the ramp once the vine passed close enough to it. She began to run again, certain she wouldn't be alone for long.

She wasn't. In a swirl of leaves, Dark Oak appeared before her, hovering backwards up the ramp to keep a safe distance between them. Blaze noticed with pleasure that his armor was now cracked, dented, and covered in scorch marks, there were several large cracks running through the orb on his face and the fruits on his chest, his cape was shredded, and one of his horns had been broken off. The warlord said nothing for a moment, breathing heavily, as he regarded his foe, and Blaze grinned, gratified to see how much she was wearing him down. "I think," he said after a moment. "It is time for us to end this."

Blaze chuckled savagely. "Bring it."

As the two combatants clashed arms once again, Gaim and Nega continued their dance through the air as well. While the Nega Egg Dragon was severely damaged and losing a good chunk of its tail, ironically, this actually made it somewhat faster and more maneuverable, since there was less of it to tax the engines, beyond the strain on them due to the damage the mecha had sustained already. "Why did you have to stick your nose into this?!" Nega snarled, firing a fusillade from his remaining broadside guns. "This isn't your world! Nothing we do here could possibly have any effect on you!"

"You're right, it wouldn't," Gaim said, scratching the disk on the side of his DJ gun, causing it to make a higher-pitched melody. He pulled the trigger and opened fire, shooting a stream of blasts at machine gun speed, blasting the dragon's projectiles right out of the air and filling the air between them with a string of little explosions. "But a friend asked me to lend a hand, and what sort of a hero would I be if I turned my back on people who needed me?"

"Ha! Some hero!" Nega snarled, twisting the Dragon about and lunging right towards Gaim, who quickly swerved out of the way. Nega expected this, however, and immediately rolled his mecha about, bringing his claws up to swipe at Gaim. The Rider quickly pulled one of the flags from his back and used it to slash through the appendage before it could knock him out of the air, the severed limb falling away. Nega snarled, but by this point he was so angry and his machine already so damaged he wasn't sure he even cared. "Tell me, Gaim, just how many worlds HAVE you saved from Helheim? Other than your own, that is? Where were you when THEY needed you?"

Gaim hesitated for a moment, and then scratched his gun's disk again, causing it to make a sound more medium in pitch. "I wasn't there, not as often as I should have been," he admitted, opening fire again, this time shooting shotgun-like blasts, which broke off chunks of the dragon's hull. "There were plenty of times when maybe I could have intervened… But did not."

"And why's that?" Nega sneered, firing missiles at the Rider while bringing the Dragon back around for another pass. "Because despite all your talk and self-righteousness, you really can't bring yourself to care that much about people you barely know, people you've never met before?"

"No," Gaim said angrily. "That's not it at all!"

"Then why?" Nega taunted, the Dragon's eyes powering up as he prepared to fire the giant lasers. "What makes this world so special that you'd come to it, instead of ignoring it and leaving it to rot like all the others which Helheim has consumed over the centuries?"

Gaim scratched the gun's disk again, this time making a much lower-pitched noise. "I may be a 'space -God,' but that doesn't mean I can do as much as I'd like to," he growled, pointing his gun at the Dragon and starting to squeeze the trigger. "While my power may come from Helheim, that doesn't mean I can control it. It tolerates me, but if it really, REALLY doesn't want me somewhere… Then there just isn't a lot I can do about it. There's lots of justifications I could make up for myself, like how I trust in the inhabitants of those worlds to find a way to save themselves, how I don't want them to become dependent on me or interfere with their development, how I don't want to steal their chance to choose their own fates… But ultimately, all it boils down to is I can't save those worlds because Helheim won't let me. I hate it, but there isn't anything I can do about it, not without potentially jeopardizing the world I've brought into being or the people I care about. In my own way, I am as much a slave of the forest as any Inves." He narrowed his eyes behind his visor. "Which just means that, on the rare occasion when I AM allowed to interfere… I'll fight as hard to save the people of those worlds as I did to save mine!"

He fired his gun almost an instant before Nega fired his lasers, sending a massive cannon-like burst streaking through the air and slamming into one of the Dragon's eyes, causing all the energy it did been building up to backfire and overload, exploding spectacularly and disintegrating a full third of the Dragon's face, as well as dislodging what was left of its lower jaw. Nega howled in rage in terror as his mecha violently flailed about, the laser shooting out of its good eye and sweeping across the far wall, slicing through the grind vines and ramp and causing explosions to erupt across the shaft in its wake. As the mad scientist desperately struggled to put out the small fires igniting in his cockpit and get his controls working again, Gaim removed the lock from his belt and inserted it into a socket on his gun and started squeezing the trigger as he aimed it at the flailing Dragon's remaining wing. A massive amount of orange energy was absorbed into the gun, which he then fired at the wing in the form of an absolutely MASSIVE energy blast, so strong that it ripped the wing right out of its holding and sent it tumbling end over end into the abyss, ripping off several more spines and bits of the dragon's not-so-serpentine form as it went.

With the loss of yet another important engine, the Dragon didn't stop flailing so much as go into freefall, hurtling downwards as a screaming Nega frantically tried to bring auxiliary systems online. Secondary thrusters emerged, with some effort, from hatches along the dragon's body… And failed to ignite. Sweating frantically, Nega tried the tertiary and quaternary thrusters… And much to his relief, those managed to work, though far more than he'd like to fail to come online. He sighed in relief as he managed to stabilize his flight…

And screamed again when he realized he was about to crash into a wall. Pressing buttons and flipping switches frantically, the Dragon stiffened its lengthy body behind it and started spinning like a corkscrew, black and yellow energy crackling to life around it… And when it slammed into the wall, instead of crashing horrifically it, it went THROUGH the wall, drilling into its surface and burrowing into the wood, quickly disappearing from view.

"Huh. I was not expecting that." Gaim cocked his gun and looked around warily. "Now, where are you going to come from-"

With a tortured metallic shriek, the Dragon abruptly burst out of one of the walls and came shooting towards Gaim. Yelping in alarm, he barely managed to swerve out of the way before the Dragon could smash into him, scratching his gun back up to the high-pitched setting and shooting rapid-fire bursts which, unfortunately, didn't seem to be doing a good job of penetrating the aura wrapped around the machine.

As the Dragon burrowed back into the wall, Gaim quickly scratched his gun down to the low-pitched setting and waited. When the Dragon burst out of the wall again, Gaim blasted it in the face. The high-powered projectile managed to penetrate the aura, exploding in the Dragon's face and causing it to flinch out of its charge, hissing in agony, or the equivalent thereof, considering it was just a machine.

"Time to finish this!" Gaim said, whipping out his Musou Sabre and strapping it onto the top of his gun, combining the two into a single weapon. He then once again put his lock in the waiting slot and squeezed the trigger on the combined weapon, powering it up.

"1, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000,000, 1000,000,000,000, IMMEASURABLE: KACHIDOKI CHARGE!"

Howling a battle cry, he revved his engine and raced towards the stunned Dragon, lashing out with his blade as he approached. Nega squealed in alarm and tried to dodge…

And at first, it looked like he succeeded, Gaim, passing right by the mecha. Nega sighed in relief…

And then, with a metallic groan, the head and what was left of the Dragon's body separated, tumbling into the chasm.

Nega screamed in terror as he entered freefall, red lights flashing all over his cockpit as he desperately tried to regain control. With an electronic whine, hatches opened all over the surface of the severed head, more thrusters popping out and flaring to life, managing to arrest his descent. His relief didn't last for long, though, because his instruments indicated Gaim was closing in on him fast. Sparks flew up all around the surface of the severed head as the Rider opened fire with his gun, once more separated from his blade, pelting the metal cranium with energy bursts. With a few button pushes, machine guns emerged from the back of the head and started shooting back at Gaim as Nega frantically tried to fly what was left of his vehicle away from Gaim.

This has gone too far, he thought in frustration and fear. I underestimated him… And clearly, he's still hasn't shown his true power! There's no way I can beat him on my own… Perhaps with Dark Oak's help, however?

Speaking of the warlord, he was pulling out all the stops against Blaze, throwing everything he had at her, and I mean EVERYTHING. Pine Iron spiked balls shot out of cracks all over the place, either smashing into the ground or forming a maze of chains to try and trip Blaze up, with not much space between them. Ichigo Kunai were constantly flying from out of nowhere, exploding whenever they hit a surface and knocking out chunks of the platform to make up for failing to hit their target. Suika Sojinto naginatas and Kiwi Gekirin rings spun through the air like buzzsaws at all levels, creating hazards to jump or duck under. Banaspear lances and Kagematsu yaris either shot through the air or burst out of the ground. Donkachi hammers and Mango Punisher maces slammed into the ground all over the place. Duri Noko swords swiped through the air and cut out chunks of the ramp. And through it all Dark Oak was teleporting like mad, never staying in any one place for too long, only appearing with just enough time to fire off a few shots from his Budou Ryuhou handguns or Sonic Arrow bow before vanishing again.

And it was not enough.

Blaze dodged over, under, and around the pineapple orbs, managing to somehow always find a gap between the web of chains to gracefully twirl or tumble through. She snatched kunai out of the air, holding them between her fingers or in her teeth, swinging them about to deflect incoming projectiles or hurling them to destroy obstacles in her path. She was always able to jump over or slide beneath the naginatas and rings whenever they flew at her, somehow always managing to squeeze through even when there were so many stacked up vertically or horizontally it seemed that there was no way for her to slip past them. The lances and yaris she was also able to grab and use for herself until they inevitably broke or were wasted being thrown at Dark Oak, who always seem to be able to teleport out of the way just in time. The hammers and maces, while very powerful, were always too slow, just missing her by a fraction of a second every time they came crashing down. The swords weren't much better, and also fell prey to her sticky fingers, being turned against their kin. The bullets and arrows seemed to always come closest to hitting her, but not close enough, especially since whenever Dark Oak fired one off Blaze always seemed to have a weapon on hand to deflect them with or could dodge behind one of the other many, MANY other obstacles trying to kill her.

And through it all, Dark Oak was starting to get more and more frustrated… And afraid. No matter what he conjured up, no matter what he threw at her, it never seemed to be enough. She did not tire, she did not stop, she would not die. How is this possible?! He wondered, incredulous. I have the power of Helheim behind me, and a fraction of the Golden Fruit at my command… She should have been dead ages ago. I doubt any other hero or warrior could possibly have lasted this long! How is she doing this? Just… Just what IS she?

"What ARE you?!" He demanded out loud.

Blaze slid between a pair of yaris, reaching up to snag a naginata out of the air as it spun by just over her, snapping back to her feet and twirling the two weapons around her, deflecting a barrage of knives, blades, and bullets as she went, quick-stepping around pineapple balls, hammers, and maces. "Haven't we been over this already?" She asked with a smirk. "I am Blaze the Cat, Queen of Demons, Chiefest of Calamities-"

"Yes, yes, Archfiend of the Abyssal Planes, Flames of Disaster, Avatar of Iblis, and Destroyer of Worlds, I know, I KNOW!" Dark Oak snapped, infuriated.

"And is that not answer enough?" Blaze asked, thrusting her yari into the ground and using it as a pole vault to flip over a veritable wall of rings and naginatas spinning towards her. Yaris shot down from the ceiling to try and impale her, but she hurled her own naginata ahead of her, the spinning blade slicing through the spears and allowing her to pass through unscathed.

"Even the mightiest of demons has their limits!" Dark Oak snarled, with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Yes, but I'm not just a mighty demon," Blaze shot back, landing on a lance shooting underneath her, and springing off of it, somersaulting through a web of chains before landing back on the ground in taking off just before a hammer could smash her. "There is a light within me… A flame which will never ever go out… And so long as it keeps burning, so long as I have people depending on me, and the determination and drive to make my dreams a reality… So long as there is even one foe still standing before me… I will not stop. I will NEVER stop!"

…

"I think, beloved, that when I first realized you were the same in that sense… That, I think, is when I started to realize I was falling in love with you," Blaze said fondly.

"Awww," just about everyone cooed as Sonic blushed.

"Hmmph," Amy grunted.

…

Dark Oak faltered for a second, realizing with a sudden shock that she was telling the truth. And I thought my own conviction was ironclad… He thought, alarmed. But it's nothing compared to hers! And yet… I cannot yield! Much like my namesake, I will not bend, no matter what adversity faces me! Even when a fire rages through a forest, there is still SOMETHING left standing of the trees! She talks big about being a wildfire which will burn the world clean… But all forest fires go out when they run out of fuel, whereas the trees, even the badly burnt ones, might still remain standing after the fire!

With a mighty roar, he threw his arms back, his body surrounded by a golden aura as he called upon even more of his power, shock waves blasting out from him and rocking the chamber, nearly causing Blaze to misstep and get skewered by a lance. With a wave of his hand, the remaining weapons dissipated in motes of light, and he clutched his hands together, spreading them apart to form a massive golden energy ball vaguely shaped like an Apple, which he hurled at Blaze. She dodged it, but the power behind the sphere was tremendous, utterly disintegrating piece of ramp it struck, as well as a good chunk of the wall. Dark Oak spread his arms out, forming more energy balls which he started hurling rapidly Blaze, teleporting all over the place once more to make it harder for her to predict where his attacks were coming from as well as strike back.

Gritting her teeth, the feline dashed all over the place, zigzagging to avoid the energy balls, frantically hurling fireballs of her own to try and intercept the swarm of blasts heading her way, tremendous explosions erupting whenever the projectiles collided and bathing the shaft in baleful golden light. At times, she was even forced to run up the wall, or even dash briefly across the underside of the ramp above her to avoid the orbs of golden death.

After a few minutes of this, Dark Oak switched tactics, violently slashing his arms through the air. At first, Blaze thought he was going to fling some sort of energy blade at her…

And then the wall just in front of and beside her erupted, thorny vines shooting out to block her path. With only milliseconds before she crashed into it, she leaped into the air, somersaulting through a tiny gap in the vines and landing on the other side. Dark Oak swept his arms through the air again and again, causing more walls of vines to burst from the walls, floor, and ceiling, just ahead of her each time giving her only a fraction of a second less to react and dive through the conveniently placed opening in the barrier. As a new wall sprung into being almost the instant she twisted through the last one, she quickly angled her dive towards the small opening just ahead…

Only for the opening to suddenly seal shut microseconds before she could pass through it. Her eyes widened as the thorns shot towards her…

And then, without warning, flames erupted from around her in a tremendous burst, obliterating the wall, as well as the one just behind her, much to Dark Oak's surprise. He quickly formed more walls, but she didn't bother trying to find a way through them, but simply plowed through them with the new speed and power granted by her Fire Boost, scorching the ground beneath her feet. She smashed through barrier after barrier, speeding her way up the ramp until she was inevitably moving faster than the warlord could create walls to try and stop her.

With a growl of frustration, Dark Oak drew his sword and vanished in a teleport, reappearing further up the ramp ahead of Blaze. With a battle roar, his golden aura blasted out around him in a blazing corona, cratering the ground beneath his feet as he charged down the ramp at speeds almost rivaling Blaze's own. Their eyes locked as the distance between them rapidly shrank, both their bodies tensing as they prepared for the inevitable clash. With only seconds before they could collide, Dark Oak swung his blade at the feline's head…

And was just a picosecond too slow, as Blaze flipped over the sword and surged forward with a Fire Claw, smashing into Dark Oak hard enough to nearly shatter his chest armor. He was flung backwards, hitting the ground hard enough to rebound off it and bounce and roll a ways forward. Before he could recover, Blaze slammed into him again, flinging him into the air and off the ramp, howling in agony as the cat struck him with fireball after fireball, each burst juggling him further into the air.

This came to an end when the head of the Nega Egg Dragon swooped down from out of nowhere, catching Dark Oak on its nose, and quickly flying away. "I think, Your Excellency," Nega grunted, glancing anxiously behind him to see that Gaim was still in hot pursuit. "That we might want to consider a strategic retreat."

"No," Dark Oak snarled. "If we flee now, we will prove ourselves forever unworthy of the Golden Fruit. No, I think it's time for us to finish them… Together!"

He jumped onto the top of Nega's cockpit, charging golden energy into his hand and slamming his palm down onto the surface beneath him. Energy washed out from his hand, turning the black and yellow hull of the machine pure gold, as well as mending all the numerous injuries it had sustained throughout the long battle, replacing its destroyed eye and lower jaw as well as its whiskers. Nega goggled in disbelief and started cackling insanely as his badly depleted energy gauges not only went back to full, but went beyond triple their maximum capacity. "Oh yes, THIS I can work with!" He crowed gleefully, aiming his targeting software at the cat running the along the ramp below.

The Golden Dragon's mouth opened, golden energy coalescing in its jaws as the air crackled around it with incredible power. With a roar, a tremendous shining energy blast lanced out from the Dragon's mouth, striking a stretch of ramp just ahead of Blaze, causing it to shatter. The cat's eyes widened in alarm, but she quickly jumped, using her speed and feline reflexes to nimbly hop from fragment of track to fragment of track and land on the other side before they could fall completely.

"You missed!" Dark Oak growled.

"Look, I'm not used to this much power, okay?!" Nega snapped back. He paused, an evil grin slowly forming on his face. "And you know, this actually gives me an idea…"

The Dragon's eyes lit up, and golden lasers started shooting out of them. One struck the wall just behind Blaze and started sweeping up the ramp towards her, forcing her to move faster to keep from being vaporized by the lethal energy. The other laser, on the other hand, rather than being a continuous beam was a series of blasts which obliterated large sections of the track before her, forcing her to cross either by jumping across pieces of debris before they could fall, make very long jumps, or briefly run across the wall to get over the gaps.

Blaze grit her teeth but kept running, hurling fireballs at the dragon head all the while. Unfortunately, due to the increased durability granted by the golden energy coursing through it, the fireballs only splashed harmlessly against the glittering hull, causing the two villains to laugh. Cursing under her breath, Blaze forced herself to pick up speed, noting that the laser behind her was practically licking at her heels. As the section of track in front of her exploded, she jumped, using a Fire Claw to get some extra air…

Only for the ground she was about to land on, much to her horror, to explode as another laser blast struck it. Not only did this leave her with nothing to land on, but the massive golden laser was only moments away from washing over her…

When suddenly, Gaim swept down on his hover bike, snatching her just before she could get caught in the beam and pulling her to safety. "Need a lift?" He quipped as they sped away.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up," she commented, squeezing his arm in thanks.

Nega cackled. "No matter, it just makes this easier for us! Now we only have ONE target to shoot at instead of two!" The Dragon started firing its eye beams at the hover bike.

Gaim dodged the blasts, then pointed his gun back and opened fire with its middle setting. Before the shots could impact, however, Dark Oak pulsed with golden light, and suddenly the dragon head was encased in a spherical force field of golden energy, Gaim's energy bullets dissipating harmlessly against it. "He's tapped into more of the Golden Fruit's power… Nothing in either of our conventional arsenals will be able to break through that," Gaim commented.

"Which means we will have to resort to something UNconventional, I take it?" Blaze asked.

"Precisely," Gaim said, producing a large, bulky golden lock with a glittering orange surrounded by gems resembling other fruits embossed on the front and what looked like a key extending from the side opposite the handle. "Get ready to jump!" He yelled as he abruptly turned his bike around, steering it right towards the head.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but if you want to kill yourselves that much faster, it's all the same to me!" Nega chortled, firing a blast from the Dragon's mouth.

"Now!" Gaim shouted.

Both riders leaped into the air just as the energy blast struck the bike, causing it to explode spectacularly. As they flew through the air towards the Dragon, Gaim clicked his lock open.

"FRUIT BASKET!"

Numerous cracks zipped open in the air around them, eleven giant metal fruits flying out and spinning around Gaim. Gaim slapped the lock into the open socket on his belt, the key in its side fitting precisely into a slot on the side of the lock already in place, flipping it open with a twist of the handle.

"LOCK OPEN! KIWAMI ARMS! DAI-DAI-DAI-DAI-DAI-SHOGUN!"

…

"Wait a second… Isn't that the same-" Espio started.

"As Dark Oak's transformation before?" Blaze smirked. "Yes, only Gaim's was the real deal."

…

As Blaze's eyes widened in amazement, the fruits all converged on Gaim, and in a flash of light his armor had transformed yet again. It was silvery-white, with a black and gold chest plate with images of an orange, melon, strawberry, grapes, and watermelon emblazoned on them, with a long red cape tumbling down his back. The left and right sides of his belt had been replaced by holsters for the six locks he had used prior to this going down his hips, and his helmet was now conical with a curved sword-shaped crest on his forehead and a visor shimmering red, yellow, green, and orange. He looked an awful lot like Dark Oak's current form…

No, that wasn't true, Blaze realized. It was the other way around… The evil warlord's armor just happened to look like Gaim's, which she instinctively realized was the genuine article, whereas Dark Oak was just wearing a pale imitation. "Incredible…" She whispered, awed by the feeling of pure power washing off of Gaim's form in droves. So this is his true power…

"Yeah, my friends thought so the first time they saw this, too," Gaim admitted, abashed. "I guess it is kind of something, isn't it?"

Dark Oak stirred, staring at the other warrior in alarm. These power levels… they're unreal! Even rivaling my own! Is this what the Golden Fruit is capable of?! "Nega, shoot them down, now!"

"On it!" Nega called back, the dragon's eyes and mouth powering up for another attack.

"I don't think so!" Gaim said, pressing down on the knife-shaped lever on the side of his belt, causing both of his locks to flash. "Burai Kick!"

He somersaulted through the air and shot towards the Dragon head in a flying kick, Golden energy coating his foot. The Dragon fired its lasers and energy blasts, all of which converged on the Rider…

And had no effect on him, as the power of his kick allowed him to plow right through them, golden light splintering from his form as he went, the deadly beams, carving erratic lines through the walls around them, slicing through platforms and vines. Blaze, eyes wide, could do little more than follow in his wake, careful to stay just behind him so as not to get hit by any of the fragmented beams. And here I thought this was supposed to be my show, she couldn't help thinking to herself, jealous for just a moment… But no longer than that, before she chided herself for such a charitable thought. On the other hand, if he weren't here, I'd be fighting two very powerful opponents by myself, and while I'm sure I could manage, it'd be even harder than it is now. Practicality should take precedence over pride.

…

"That sounds like a very sensible lesson," Cream commented.

"It is," Blaze agreed. "One that is often harder to practice than it is to say, but one that should be striven for nonetheless." Some of the more prideful members of the group fidgeted but said nothing.

…

With a great cry, Gaim's kick collided with the force field… And shattered it completely, Golden fragments flying everywhere and dissipating into the air. Still, yelling, he kept going, aiming his kick towards Dark Oak. Nega, who was seated directly beneath the warlord, understandably panicked, but Dark Oak stood his ground, using his power to open a crack and summon a weapon.

"MELON DEFENDER!"

The familiar shield flew into his hand just in time for him to raise it to block Gaim's kick, sparks flying from the surface of the shield as Gaim's energy-charged kick slammed into it at full strength, and Dark Oak was forced to plant his feet firmly into the top of the cockpit, digging deep grooves into it as he was pushed back a few feet by the force of the kick. Even so, he was able to hold his ground…

Until Blaze, who he had, regretfully, forgotten, shot over Gaim and smashed into his face with Fire Claw, cracking his orb and flinging him backwards with a cry of agony, a cry which was amplified when Gaim's kick, no longer impeded by the shield, smashed into his back, slamming him into the rear of the dragon head hard enough to crater it and rock the vehicle.

As Blaze and Gaim landed nearby and raced towards him, the warlord snarled in fury and desperation as he staggered to his feet, unleashing a tremendous wave of golden energy which shook the Dragon's head… And had no effect on the two warriors, who fought back with battle auras of their own, golden for Gaim and flaming for Blaze. Growling in frustration, Dark Oak mustered his power, causing a rather sizable number of cracks to tear open in the air around him.

"DAIDAIMARU/PINE IRON/ICHIGO KUNAI/SUIKA SOJINTO/BANASPEAR/DONKACHI/DURI NOKO/SONIC ARROW/MANGO PUNISHER/BUDOU RYUHOU/KIWI GEKIRIN/MELON DEFENDER/KAGEMATSU/KURUMI BOMBERS!"

Every single weapon Dark Oak had called upon throughout the long battle flew out of the cracks, swirled around the warlord, and shot towards the two heroes…

"DAIDAIMARU/PINE IRON/ICHIGO KUNAI/SUIKA SOJINTO/BANASPEAR/DONKACHI/DURI NOKO/SONIC ARROW/MANGO PUNISHER/BUDOU RYUHOU/KIWI GEKIRIN/MELON DEFENDER/KAGEMATSU/KURUMI BOMBERS!"

Only to run into an exactly identical swarm of weapons summoned by Gaim, the cloud of armaments violently clashing against each other before being flung away, floating through the air around the head. "What?!" Dark Oak shouted, incredulous.

"I've been using that trick longer than this country of yours has existed," Gaim said dismissively, swishing his cape behind him. "You may aspire to obtain the power of the Golden Fruit, and maybe even managed to tap into a sliver of its incredible might… But in the end, you are not one who's been chosen. There is nothing golden in you!"

"Then what do you call THIS?!" Dark Oak shouted, armor glowing a brilliant gold as he fired a massive energy beam at the two of them. Gaim calmly extended a hand, the beam striking a golden barrier inches away from him and splintering harmlessly. He started walking forwards, pushing the beam back towards Dark Oak, who was trembling and snarling as he tried to generate enough power to overwhelm the other warrior…

And did not notice that Nega's cockpit had transformed, elevating a few feet out of the top of the head on a pivot and swiveling around, a number of turrets and cannons popping out of the sides. Snickering evilly, the mad scientist targeted Gaim's back and pressed a trigger…

Only for the stream of machine gun bullets he'd fired to be deflected by Blaze, who'd snatched up one of the Melon Defender shields drifting around the battlefield and leapt to defend Gaim's back. "Did you forget there were two of them?" The cat quipped.

"I'd assumed there wasn't much he could do against us at this close a range. Clearly I was wrong," Gaim said, nodding to her in gratitude.

"That you were!" Nega growled, firing a salvo of missiles at the two heroes. The duo quickly rolled out of the way of the projectiles, which rained down all over the ground where they had been standing, the bombardment nearly striking Dark Oak.

"Hey, watch where you're shooting! I'm here too!" Dark Oak snarled.

"Then use that fancy teleporting trick of yours to get out of my way!" Nega snapped back, swiveling his cockpit to try and get one of the heroes in his sights. Dark Oak grunted in frustration and did just that.

He reappeared a few meters away, snatched up one of the Pine Irons, then teleported again, reappearing behind Blaze and swinging the pineapple down at the back of her head. She rolled out of the way before it could strike her, the pineapple smashing into the top of the dragon head and getting stuck. Unfortunately, she found herself rolling right into the path of Nega's cannons. "Got you now!" The scientist sneered, opening fire.

Gaim suddenly leapt down in front of Blaze, using a Melon Defender to protect both of them from Nega's barrage. Blaze noticed a Budou Ryuohou gun nearby, snatched it up, then volleyed over Gaim's head, opening fire at Nega's cockpit. Dark Oak suddenly materialized in front of the cockpit, wielding a Suika Sojinto naginata, which he twirled through the air before him to deflect the grape bullets before flinging it at Blaze. Gaim snatched a Kagematsu yari and thrust it before and beneath Blaze, striking the spinning naginata and knocking it away. Blaze landed on the back of the yari and sprung off, grabbing a pair of Duri Nokos swords as she flipped through the air and bringing them down on Dark Oak's head, charging them with her powers so they burst into flame. Dark Oak quickly grabbed a pair of passing Daidamarus blades and crossed them before him, catching Blaze's swords on his own. He quickly swung his blades outward, nearly knocking the swords out of Blaze's hands, but she managed to maintain her grip as she flipped backwards, landing on top of Nega's cockpit. Dark Oak charged at her, and with a snarl, she leapt up to meet him, sparks flying as the two clashed blades again and again.

"Hey! Get off of there!" Nega growled, swiveling his cockpit frantically to try and get the two combatants off of him. Noticing this, Dark Oak floated a few inches up into the air, not only giving him an increased height advantage against Blaze, but also meaning he no longer had to maintain his footing, whereas the feline found herself having to struggle to maintain her balance due to being pressed from above by Dark Oak's swords and below by Nega wildly spinning his cockpit around. Fortunately, Gaim intervened, grabbing a Banaspear and thrusting into the ground, causing a group of banana-shaped spikes to erupt from around Nega's cockpit, the turret's weapons emplacements getting caught in the protrusions as it spun around, bringing its frenzied gyrations to a grinding stop. "H-hey! Cut that out!"

"No," Gaim said, grabbing a discarded Ichigo Kunai and flinging it at Dark Oak. The warlord reflexively brought up one of his swords to deflect it, but in the process left an opening which Blaze quickly took advantage of, launching upwards in a Boost Jump which both scorched and partially melted the top of the cockpit and allowed her to knock away Dark Oak's other sword, freeing her to lash out with both blades, cutting deeply into the warlord's chest. Dark Oak cried out in pain, but managed to grab a Duri Noko of his own as it floated by, bringing it up in time to counter Blaze's next strike, the two locking blades.

Nega, relieved the two of them were now off his cockpit, quickly brought his cannons up to bear, aiming at Blaze's back. However, before he could open fire, Gaim hurled a Kiwi Gekirin through the air, and the razor disk sliced through the cannons, causing their ends to fall off and the rest of them to explode moments later. "Gack! That does it!" Nega growled, fiddling with his controls.

Thrusters lit upon the underside of the Dragon head… But only on one side, causing the makeshift vehicle to start rotating in the air. "Uh-oh," Gaim said as he noticed the angle of the ground rapidly changing beneath his feet. "Blaze, we need to move!"

Blaze, who had just landed nearby after being rebuked by Dark Oak, grunted in irritation. "A rotating platform? Haven't had to deal with one of those since Phoenixia." She hurled her blades at Dark Oak, who quickly deflected them, then swiftly started running towards the rising edge of the head, Gaim hot on her heels. Dark Oak snatched up some Kiwi Gekirin and hurled them at the duo, but Gaim grabbed a Pine Iron floating by and swung it behind him, deflecting the bladed wheels before they could hit them. The two heroes reached the crest of the sloping platform just before it became it nearly vertical…

And saw, to their dismay, Nega was flying awfully close to the wall. "Suddenly, I'm not certain this was the best idea," Blaze commented as the wall rushed towards them.

"Likewise," Gaim agreed.

The two of them quickly jumped back just before Nega smashed the side of the Dragon head into the wall, sparks flying and a metallic shriek filling the air as he ground along its length. Blaze and Gaim started sliding back down the slope of the acutely tilted head, but Blaze dug her claws into the metal and Gaim grabbed and drove a Daidaimaru into the hull to try and slow their descent before they could fall into the abyss. Nega cackled and fired his thrusters again, which not only violently propelled them away from the wall but completely flipped the head upside down, leaving the duo dangling helplessly above the gaping pit below.

In a swirl of leaves, Dark Oak appeared beneath them, Sonic Arrow drawn and primed to fire. Blaze and Gaim looked at each other, nodded…

And, simultaneously, let go, falling towards the warlord below. "What-" Dark Oak exclaimed, startled that they'd actually try something so suicidally stupid, right before they were upon him, Blaze savagely tearing into him with claws and fangs and flames, while Gaim had managed to grab a Kurumi Bomber on the way down and was punching him repeatedly in the face. "GAH! GET OFF! GET OFF!" He screamed desperately, throwing his Sonic Arrow away and struggling to dislodge his assailants. In a swirl of leaves, he teleported away, but unfortunately, given that they were clinging onto him so tightly, they were warped right along with him, allowing them to continue their assault. Frantic, he rapidly teleported all over the place, more out of frenzied agonized desperation than strategy, trying to disorient them so much they let go, but if anything, the confusion only drove them to hurt him that much harder.

Eventually, they wound up crashing back onto the Dragon head, which Nega had righted since he'd started to feel somewhat queasy from being upside down. The impact finally knocked Blaze and Gaim off, but the two warriors quickly got back to their feet, while Dark Oak seemed to be having trouble standing. His cape was in tatters, his armor ripped apart and smoldering in many places, the colorful fruit on his chest blackened and dented beyond recognition, and the orb on his face so splintered it was a marvel he could see anything through it. "I… Have had… ENOUGH!" He roared, golden energy exploding off of him, rocking the head, shaking the chamber, and buffeting the two heroes back, though they quickly formed their own auras to protect themselves.

In a swirl of leaves, Dark Oak teleported onto the top of Nega's cockpit, armor glowing with golden power.

"DAIDAIMARU/PINE IRON/ICHIGO KUNAI/SUIKA SOJINTO/BANASPEAR/DONKACHI/DURI NOKO/SONIC ARROW/MANGO PUNISHER/BUDOU RYUHOU/KIWI GEKIRIN/MELON DEFENDER/KAGEMATSU/KURUMI BOMBERS!"

The many weapons he had summoned earlier flew towards him and started rapidly circling him in concentric rings. He crossed his arms, and the weapons moved outwards as a sphere of golden energy formed around him and the cockpit, the weapons orbiting the sphere like electrons around an atom's nucleus.

"KIWAMI SQUASH!"

The weapons started spinning even faster as rather nasty-looking bolts of energy crackled off of the sphere and the glow surrounding Dark Oak intensified. "Looks like he's about to use some kind of ultimate attack," Gaim commented.

"Then I suppose it behooves us to finish him before he finishes us," Blaze replied.

Gaim nodded and flicked the knife lever on his belt.

"DAIDAIMARU/PINE IRON/ICHIGO KUNAI/SUIKA SOJINTO/BANASPEAR/DONKACHI/DURI NOKO/SONIC ARROW/MANGO PUNISHER/BUDOU RYUHOU/KIWI GEKIRIN/MELON DEFENDER/KAGEMATSU SHIN/KURUMI BOMBERS!"

All the weapons he'd summoned earlier flew towards him. He drew his DJ gun, then glanced at Blaze. "I'm going to create an opening for you. Will you be ready?"

Blaze scoffed. "What sort of question is that?"

"A poor one," Gaim said with a chuckle. He pressed down on the lever again, causing it to shout, "SOIYA! KIWAMI AU LAIT!"

The weapons orbiting him shot towards the ones circling Dark Oak and Nega, sparks and explosions filling the air as they clashed once again, drawing Dark Oak's weapons away from the energy sphere and creating an opening. Gaim removed his Golden lock and inserted it into the socket on his gun.

"FRUITS BASKET: KIWAMI CHARGE!"

Gaim pulled the trigger, firing a massive energy burst surrounded by swirling projections of fruit at the Golden barrier. With a tremendous explosion, the bursts struck the barrier and shattered it, sending all the weapons flying and causing Dark Oak to stagger, the energy he'd been gathering dissipating. "Now!" Gaim yelled, but he needn't have bothered, for Blaze had already been in motion the second Gaim had pulled the trigger. A Burst Dash blazing into life around her, she jumped into the air and slammed into Dark Oak with a full-power Fire Claw, shattering his orb visor and punching a hole straight through his chest, flames erupting from his back and destroying what was left of his cape. Howling in agony, he was flung backwards from the impact, flying through the air.

As Blaze was rebounded by the impact, Gaim suddenly shot by on a hover bike, grabbing her as he passed as he flew after the stunned and severely injured Dark Oak. He snapped his Musou Sabre into place on his gun, pulling the trigger as he powered up an attack even greater than the one the he had used before to decapitate the Nega Egg Dragon.

"1, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000,000, 1000,000,000,000, FRUITS BASKET: KIWAMI CHARGE!"

"Hinawa DaiDai Musou Zan!" Gaim roared as he slashed his sword through Dark Oak as they shot by him, energy projections of fruit flying from the blade's edge as it sliced through the warlord, triggering a tremendous explosion.

…

"Wait, what did he say?" Asked a confused Amy.

"Matchlock Great Orange Unrivaled Slash," Rouge translated.

"That's a bit of a mouthful," Mighty commented.

The bat shrugged. "Japanese often is."

"Speaking of which, what's with all the Japanese, anyway?" Charmy asked. Blaze shrugged.

…

Blaze leapt off the back of the bike before they could get too far away from Dark Oak, diving back towards the warlord, whom she was sure was not finished yet. Sure enough, as the smoke cleared, he was still floating in the air, his armor ripped to shreds, a great deal of twisted green biomass exposed, xylem dripping from his numerous wounds, but he was not yet dead. Blaze grinned, intending to see if she could do something about that.

Before Dark Oak could recover, Blaze slammed into him with a fiery kick, deciding to emulate Gaim's technique from before, flames enveloping her form but especially concentrated in her foot, exacerbating the damage. Dark Oak cried out as fire ravaged his already badly injured form, and Blaze gritted her teeth in determination and savage pride as they hurtled downwards, colliding with the Nega Egg Dragon's head in a tremendous explosion that totally obliterated the vehicle.

Blaze was hurtled away from the blast, smoke trailing from her form. Gaim swooped down on his bike and caught her, yelping from the heat radiating from her form. "Ouch! I can feel that, even through my armor! That doesn't bother you at all?"

Blaze patted out a few small fires burning on her clothes, pleased to see they were more or less unharmed. "I wouldn't make a very good pyrokinetic demon if fire hurt me, now would I?"

"A fair point," Gaim admitted.

Blaze looked at the smoldering conflagration that had once been the Nega Egg Dragon and grimaced. "I don't suppose that finished them off, did it?"

"Does it ever?" Gaim replied.

Blaze sighed. "No, I suppose not."

Sure enough, Eggman Nega's hovercraft shot out of the flames, smoke and fire trailing from its form, Dark Oak clinging to the side. The mighty warlord was in terrible shape, most of his armor completely destroyed, exposing skin which might have been green at one point if it hadn't been so wholly consumed by Helheim corruption and burned almost pitch black from all the fire damage Blaze inflicted on him. Even as they watched, he seemed to be frantically trying to put out a few stubborn flares clinging to his body. "Don't worry, Your Majesty!" Nega growled as he started his badly wobbling flying machine upwards, the roof of the shaft only a few hundred meters above them. "This is just a minor setback. We're almost to the Fruit, once you get that, there will be no stopping you!"

Dark Oak glanced behind them, locking eyes with Blaze. "Unfortunately, I can no longer be entirely certain of that. Even so, I will not give up. Not yet."

Gaim revved his bike's engines. "Let's finish this!"

"With pleasure," Blaze said, forming fireballs in her hands.

They flew upwards after Nega and Dark Oak, shooting lasers from the bike's cannons and fireballs generated by Blaze. Nega's hovercraft did its best to dodge the projectiles, while Dark Oak managed to muster enough energy to fling a few blasts back their way, not really intending to hit them so much as keep them on their guard. As the top of the shaft drew ever closer, Nega pushed a button on his dashboard, firing a pair of missiles from the front of his hovercraft. They struck the roof and exploded, blasting open a hole and throwing up a cloud of smoke which the villains vanished into. Gaim and Blaze rapidly followed them into it…

And came out, much to their surprise, in sunlight.

"The tree…" Gaim whispered. "We've reached the top!"

"The sun…" Blaze whispered, squinting up at the brilliant light shining down on them, eyes watering not from pain, but from joy. "I haven't seen it since I left Phoenixia… It's even more beautiful than I remember…"

The two of them found themselves in the crown of the great Doom Tree, a hollow space the size of a football stadium formed from all the tree's great upper branches converging at the top. While most of the sky all around them was covered by dense green foliage, with shafts of light beaming down through the cracks, there was a big gaping hole in the canopy right above their heads, allowing sunlight to shine down on the hollow.

However, sunlight wasn't the only source of light bathing the treetops. Small golden apple-shaped fruits grew from almost every branch, as well as little saplings sprouting up from the ground here and there. A pure, radiant light emanated from each fruit, causing the tree crown to look like a nursery of baby stars. "Is this… The Golden Fruit?" Blaze asked in wonder as they passed over a veritable orchard of the brilliant fruits.

"Yes and no," Gaim said, snatching the fruit from one of the saplings as they passed it and examining it with a critical eye. "They're golden fruits, yes, but not THE Golden Fruit. Think of them as weaker offshoots, spawned by all the excess energy this big tree has been draining from the land around it. There's power in them, yes, but not anywhere near the extent a real Golden Fruit has."

"So what would happen if someone ate one of these?" Blaze asked suspiciously.

"Their wounds would be healed, their health restored, their power replenished if not temporarily boosted, and their lifespan significantly increased," Gaim said with the air of one lecturing on a subject he was an expert in. "No wish-granting, no godlike powers, and definitely no transforming into a completely other form of being. Unlike most Helheim plants, these are perfectly safe for consumption. You want one? Given how intensely you've been battling up to this point, and given we probably have at least one more fight to go, I figure you could use a pick me up. Er, not to disparage your skills or anything, but…"

Blaze regarded the fruit he proffered her skeptically. Her months of travel throughout Solana had instilled a deep distrust of anything born from Helheim into her… However, she felt no instinctive revulsion when she looked at the fruit, no warning from her flame. "You sure it wouldn't turn me into an Inves if I ate it?" She asked dubiously.

Gaim nodded. "My wife grows plenty of these back home, so we can give visitors something to eat that won't turn them into horrible monsters. Not that we get many visitors, granted, given that our planet is sort of under heavy quarantine because the rest of the universe is terrified of another Helheim invasion, and rightfully so, but…" He shrugged. "I'd offer to try it myself, to show you it's fine, but given that my body has been completely adapted to survive in any place that's been touched by Helheim, that's probably not the best guarantee."

Blaze looked at the fruit for another moment of uncertainty. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't had anything to eat in a while. And the fruit DID look rather enticing…

Before she realized it, she had taken a bite out of the fruit. As the golden juices dripped down her chin, her eyes rolled back in her head, and an involuntary moan rose from her throat as the succulent flesh of the Apple-like object graced her tongue. It was the most delicious thing she'd ever tasted, an incredibly complex and indescribable mix of flavors that seemed to simultaneously trigger all the pleasure centers in her brain at once, a warm rosy feeling spreading throughout her body, causing all the numerous aches and pains she'd picked up during her long battle against Dark Oak and Nega to fade away completely. She felt invigorated, a weariness she hadn't even noticed bearing down on her vanishing as strength filled her, her inner flame rekindling brilliantly as her power replenished itself.

Within moments, she had completely consumed the fruit, messily splattering Gaim's cape and the front of her coat in sparkling juice. As she desperately licked her paws to get the last traces of juice into her mouth, she heard Gaim chuckle and flushed, realizing she'd made a spectacle of herself. "Good, isn't it?"

Trying to school her face into an expression of stoic calm, she said, "If you tell anyone of this, I shall kill you."

"Sorry, you just looked… Nevermind." He snatched up another fruit and offered it to Blaze. "Would you like another?"

"I would, thank you," she said, graciously taking the food from his hand and delicately nibbling on it. That lasted for all five seconds before she consumed it as ferociously as she had the previous one. What could she say? She was hungry.

…

"Wow. Must be some pretty good fruit," Charmy commented.

"Is," Tails said. "Sonic and I have some whenever we happen to be in Blaze's world."

"Just how good is it?" Asked a curious Cream.

"Let me put it this way. They're ALMOST as good as South Island chili dogs, and I don't say that lightly," Sonic said with a hint of reluctance.

Mighty gasped. "You speak blasphemy!"

"No, it's true, they really ARE that good," Tails insisted.

Mighty scoffed. "I'll be the judge of that. Blaze, you wouldn't happen to have any of that food on you, would you?"

Blaze shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. It doesn't handle interdimensional transit very well."

"How convenient," Mighty said, not quite believing her.

Shadow stiffened. "Wait a minute… Magic fruit that's so healthy it can make you stronger and extend your lifespan… Blaze, is this what Tikal was talking about earlier? The fruit that's the source of your kingdom's longevity?"

"Oh yeah, almost forgot about that," Vector said.

"I forgot completely," Knuckles confessed.

"That does not surprise me," Espio said dryly.

Blaze nodded. "It is. I may be getting a bit ahead of myself here, but after Dark Oak was defeated, all traces of Helheim were removed from Solana… Except for the harmless lesser strain of the Golden Fruit, because of… Well, as I said, that's getting ahead of myself. It's become one of our greatest sources of prosperity, its succulent life-giving juices able to cure almost any illness and prolong life spans to the point where death by old age is almost unheard of, even able to reverse aging in those who are already quite old to a limited extent. It has also helped us to grow strong, and is one of our primary sources of power and strength. One of the few downsides is that we need to eat it constantly to maintain its effects, and it doesn't grow very well outside of Solana due to the unique composition of our soil, thanks to everything it went through during Dark Oak's reign. As such, pretty much all of the vassal states and nations making up my Empire outside of the heartland are rather heavily dependent on us to export the fruit, which can sometimes make it quite difficult to produce enough to keep up with demand, especially as my reach spreads ever wider across the world. This also makes our supply lines important targets for many of our enemies, who want the fruit for themselves… And that's just scratching the surface of all the other difficulties just possessing this fruit entails, and that's not even touching on all the trouble we had completely reworking society from the ground up to accommodate for an entire nation of immortals without creating a culture doomed to stagnate or lead into severe social stratification due to it being much harder to improve your status in life because the people above you are far less likely to retire or drop dead and create an opening, like they would have in a place where aging was still a thing." She sighed, and then shrugged her shoulders. "Still, the benefits of having the fruit far outweigh the negatives, and while my subjects may occasionally grumble about all the hard work and taxes that go into making sure there's enough fruit for everyone, nobody would even CONSIDER giving it up. And on the bright side, it's relatively easy to grow and matures very quickly, and we don't have to worry too much about overpopulation because it significantly reduces reproduction rates… Although there are problems with THAT as well, but you don't need to hear about all that, I think."

"Huh," Mighty said. "I never thought that there would be that many problems attached to what's basically an unlimited immortality inducer that's available to all."

"Or for that matter, using it to create a country where everyone can live forever," Shadow commented.

"Most people don't," Tails said. "These sorts of things are usually much more complicated than most people think."

"She would probably have fewer problems if she were to limit the fruit's distribution, but the fact that she is willing to give it to everyone instead of hoarding it herself and those closest to her speaks volumes about the sort of ruler she is," Espio commented.

"Yeah, and definitely better than those stuffy old echidnas," Charmy agreed.

Knuckles sighed. "I'd probably be more upset at that crack if you weren't absolutely right. My ancestors were jerks."

"You see, Amy? Blaze really IS a nice person! Not the horrible she-Devil you're always accusing her of being!" Cream said cheerfully.

"Eh," Amy grunted.

"In my kingdom, the vast majority of our population are either naturally immortal, undead (which amounts to basically the same thing), or exceptionally long-lived, so we don't need to rely on an external stimuli to maintain our longevity," Rouge commented.

"I thought you needed blood," Sonic said.

"Yes, in the same way you mortals need food or water," Rouge explained. "If we don't get any for a while, our bodies eventually shut down. Of course, it's not quite as permanent as it would be for your kind- just a drop of blood is usually enough to revive us – – but while blood is necessary for us to keep functioning, it's not the source of our immortality." She shrugged. "Of course, our society is far from perfect either, but what would you expect from a kingdom of monsters?"

"I'm not sure any nation is perfect, really," Blaze admitted. "Mine is far from perfect, but I still do the best I can to make it a good enough place for everyone to live in and try to live up to the ideals I hold dear. Of course, to cement the birth of that nation, I had one last foe to dispose of…"

…

"Now that you've sated your hunger, let's find Nega and Dark Oak," Gaim said, peering out across the great orchard. "Where did they go? We were right behind them!"

"There looks like a good start," Blaze said, pointing at a clearing in the very center of the orchard. Another tree grew from the center of this clear space, about half again as tall as all the others, its branches heavy with shining fruit, a large hollow open in its front filled with amber, a figure embedded inside. Dark Oak was standing before the hollow, trying to force a hand through its surface to reach a glimmer of light shining from within it.

Gaim did a double take. "How did I not notice that sooner?!" He gunned his engine and started for the clearing…

When suddenly, Eggman Nega's vehicle erupted from the orchard beneath them and slammed into the bike from below, nearly knocking them out of the sky. "You didn't forget about little old me, now did you?" The madman cackled, firing a barrage of missiles and lasers at them.

Gaim quickly regained control of his bike and maneuvered out of the way of the blasts. "We don't have much time. Blaze, I'll hold him off, you have to hurry and get to Dark Oak before he gets the fruit! You cannot, under any circumstances, let him eat it!"

"Don't worry, I've no intention of letting that happen," Blaze said, leaping off the bike and landing gracefully in the orchard below.

"What, you aren't going to wish me luck?" Gaim called down after her as she started running towards the clearing at the center of everything.

"Do you need it?" She shouted back.

Gaim chuckled. "Fair point."

"No! I'm not going to let you get away-" Nega snarled, targeting Blaze, only for Gaim to ram into his vehicle, knocking it back. "Gah!"

"You aren't going anywhere, Nega," Gaim growled. "Let's finish this!"

As the sounds of roaring engines and laser fire receded behind her, Blaze rushed through the orchard, leaves rustling as she dashed past them, the light from the fruit mingling with the sunlight to give the place a radiant, otherworldly glow. This place is beautiful, Blaze could not help thinking despite herself. I never would've thought that something as lovely as this could spring from something generated by Helheim… There's probably a valuable lesson to be learned from that, but I don't really have time to dwell on that right now! I have to stop Dark Oak!

As she ran, she cupped her hands at her side, focusing her power into them. A ball of fire formed between them, then condensed, growing tighter, hotter, darker, less a burning sphere than a hole in the world.

…

"THAT-IS-THE-SAME-ATTACK-YOU-USED-TO-ANNIHILATE-RED-PINE. DID-YOU-DESTROY-DARK-OAK-THE-SAME-WAY?" Omega asked eagerly.

Blaze shook her head. "While that might have made for a nice bookend to the whole adventure, I did not. What I did do, however, was almost as satisfying…"

…

Just as the dark orb reached peak power, Blaze burst out of the trees and into the clearing just as Dark Oak removed his hand from the amber, which Blaze could now see contained the still figure of an adult Seedrian woman resembling Cosmo, but much older and no less beautiful, wearing a long-sleeved white and light green dress with yellow cuffs and jewel piece, white tights, powder blue shoes, powder blue hair down to her knees, and a white flower sprouting from the top of her head with a pair of vines dangling down from it past her waist. With her eyes closed and a peaceful look on her face, one could easily be mistaken for thinking she was sleeping… Were it not for the gaping hole in her chest right about where her heart should have been, coinciding with the hole Dark Oak had punched through the amber casing. Blaze only glanced at the woman – – Earthia, Cosmo's mother and Dark Oak's Queen – – for a moment before focusing on what was clutched firmly in the warlord's hand: a transparent golden apple, with a shimmering, vibrant core of energy pulsing within it… The Golden Fruit, of which all the other shining fruits filling the orchard were nothing more than a pale imitation. Trembling with anticipation, so enraptured by his hard-fought prize he was unaware of Blaze's presence, Dark Oak raised the fruit to his mouth, jaws opening wide to take a bite…

And then Blaze shouted, "DARK OAK!" And threw her ball of pure Destruction.

Startled, Dark Oak glanced away from the fruit and saw Blaze, eyes widening in horror when he saw what was flying towards him. He tried to jump to the side…

And the ball struck the Golden Fruit, knocking it out of his hand and engulfing it in black flames.

"NO!" Dark Oak screamed in horrified disbelief, desperately trying to grab the burning fruit, not caring about the flames of quantum destruction… Only for them to snuff out before his fingers could even brush them, leaving absolutely nothing behind, not even embers. The Fruit was gone. "No…" He whispered, falling to his knees, his shoulders slumping in absolute, utter defeat.

It was over. His ambitions, his vision for the world, his dreams for a better future… All of them gone. He had lost.

…

"YES! You did it!" Cream squeaked in delight.

"And you really did what you said, and destroyed the Golden Fruit…" Rouge marveled. "I'm not sure I could have. I would've wanted it for myself."

"Which is why it's probably a very good thing Helheim is never coming to our world… Again. Er, it isn't, is it?" Mighty asked uncertainly.

Shadow shrugged. "We haven't detected any Helheim plants or Inves in our world. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it will never happen again. The last incursion was thousands of years ago. Some might say we are long overdue for a repeat visit…" Everyone shuddered at that thought.

"AS-UNMITIGATEDLY-BADASS-AS-YOU-DESTROYING-THE-GOLDEN-FRUIT-WAS, WHY-DID-YOU-NOT-SIMPLY-DESTROY-DARK-OAK-WITH-THAT-PROJECTILE?" Omega asked.

Blaze smirked. "Oh, I had a reason for that…"

…

As Blaze approached the broken warlord, the ground rumbled slightly. The trees around them withered, the leaves crumbling, the fruits shriveling up and losing their golden hue, the bark beneath their feet, hardening as it petrified. In a matter of moments, Earthia's corpse rotted into a decayed husk, the amber encasing her cracking and turning brittle. "It's over," she told Dark Oak, standing only a few feet away from him. "You've lost."

Dark Oak just knelt there, staring at his hands, at the space where the Golden Fruit had once been. He'd been so close. So close… "You should have hit me instead," he said quietly. "Then I would not have had to live with this terrible knowledge that all I have done, everything I've strived for, was all for nothing."

"Which is precisely WHY I hit the fruit, and not you," Blaze said coolly. "Letting you die would've been easy. Letting you live with the knowledge that you've been utterly defeated, that all your dreams have been completely shattered, that all the myriad atrocities you've committed accounted for absolutely nothing in the end… That, I think, is a far worse punishment, exactly what you deserve."

Dark Oak chuckled bitterly. "A very cruel mercy, Miss Blaze."

Blaze smirked savagely. "Well, I may be a hero, but I AM a demon."

"She will never forgive me, will she?" Dark Oak whispered.

"That is for her to decide… But no, I do not think she will," Blaze said. She didn't know whether he was referring to Cosmo or Earthia. She wasn't sure it mattered, really.

Dark Oak nodded solemnly, accepting this. "Nor should she. I certainly would not, in her shoes… What will you do with me, then?"

"Put you on trial, I suppose," Blaze said. "Despite what I said, a very large part of me is badly tempted to just kill you here and now… But I think it would set a bad precedent for my future reign if I got it by murdering my predecessor in cold blood. Because that's what it would be, really, if I were to kill you right now. You wouldn't even fight back, would you?"

"No," Dark Oak agreed. "I would not. There is no point." He chuckled sadly. "I don't believe I have enough strength left at this point to fight you even if I wanted to."

"You shall have a trial," Blaze continued. "You will have to be confronted with everything you've done, all the people whose lives you've ruined. They have a right to see you face justice for what you've done."

"And once I am found guilty," Dark Oak said, for neither of them had the slightest delusion that he might even for a second be found innocent. "You shall kill me?"

Blaze shrugged. "Perhaps. Or maybe I shall imprison you. Or banish you. As I said, killing you would be the easy way out. Making you live with what you've done… Now, that would be so much more satisfying."

Dark Oak shook his head in bleak amusement. "You really are a cruel one, aren't you? Certainly not the hero I had expected… But perhaps it is better this way. It will take more than a soft heart to deal with what is to come. Winning a war is the easy part. It's ruling the government that comes after that is less so. You will have no shortage of enemies, both within and without. Those who you once considered your closest allies may eventually become as big a threat to your rule as the greedy nations beyond our borders. You will need to be strong, to keep this new country you seek to forge united, to withstand the external and internal forces which will seek to tear it apart, if you are to have any hope of making your dream a reality."

"I know," Blaze said.

Dark Oak nodded, and then turned to face Blaze, his expression – – or what little of it Blaze could see through the twisted mess that was all that was left of his helmet – – blank, whatever emotions were stirring within him nearly impossible to discern. "Yes, you do, don't you? You've thought of this long and hard… I can tell, by the look in your eyes. The road before you will be long and hard… But then again, so was the road leading you to me." A ghost of a smile passed across his lips. "I suppose a part of me might not mind living, if there is a chance of seeing the world you wish to create. However, please promise me one thing."

Blaze nodded. "Do not worry. No harm shall come to your daughter. I owe her everything, and so she will be right at my side as I forge my new world into being."

"No, that's not it," Dark Oak said, much to her surprise. "Though I do thank you for that. Although my actions towards her may seem to imply otherwise, I am grateful for how you have done your best to protect her and be her friend through these difficult times. No, that's not what I wanted to ask you."

"Then… What?" Blaze asked, confused.

"The path of a ruler is a long and hard one. Along the way, your values, your ideals, everything you believe in, may be twisted by circumstance to become completely unrecognizable from where you started out. Remember that I, too, once had a dream, one which I thought was as beautiful as yours… And look at where it has led me. Please… Whatever you do, whatever might come… Do not turn out like me."

"… I won't. I promise. And besides…" Blaze smiled wryly. "I doubt my friends would let me turn out that way, anyway."

"No, they wouldn't, would they?" Dark Oak mused. "From what I've seen of them through my daughter's eye, they would not. If only I had had friends like yours, instead of vassals… Perhaps…" He shook his head. "It is irrelevant, I suppose. What's done is done. If I'm to face justice for my actions, I will do it unflinching. I am a king, and so can do nothing less."

…

"… Huh. Weird. I'm actually starting to feel… A little sorry for him?" Charmy murmured.

"That poor man… I mean, all the things he did were horrible and unforgivable, but… The way he just accepted his defeat and the loss of everything he'd worked for with such quiet dignity… It's so sad!" Cream whimpered, tearing up.

Mighty groaned. "I hate it when this happens. I almost prefer facing the irredeemably evil guys more. At least then, you don't have to worry about pitying the bastards…"

"I don't suppose he actually made it to trial?" Shadow asked.

Blaze closed her eyes sadly. "No. He did not."

…

Blaze nodded, and reached out a hand, ready to take Dark Oak to his fate…

When suddenly Nega's hovercraft, badly damaged from his clash with Gaim, burst out of the dying trees at the edge of the clearing. "Not so fast, Your Majesty! We aren't through yet!"

As Blaze snarled and turned to face the madman, flames igniting around her, Dark Oak wearily said, "It is over, Nega. Give it up. We've lost."

Nega chuckled darkly. "Oh, on the contrary, Excellency… YOU may have lost, but me? I'm just getting started. You didn't think I wouldn't have a contingency in place for just such an eventuality, did you?"

Blaze's hackles raised. "What are you up to?!"

Nega grinned cruelly and pushed a button on his control panel. "Why don't you see for yourself? Blaze, you may have ruined that poor fool's dreams for a better future… But I won't leave here until I'm satisfied I did everything I could to make sure that YOUR dreams were also destroyed!"

He laughed insanely, and didn't even bother getting out of the way when an angry Blaze hurled a fireball at him, engulfing his vehicle in flames and causing it to explode with him in it. A burning object was launched from the conflagration and hit the ground near the cat, who was unsurprised to see that it was Nega's head, his flesh melting away to reveal a cybernetic face, teeth locked in a grotesque rictus grin. "Tch… A robot. Why am I not surprised?" She turned to glance back over her shoulder at Dark Oak. "I don't suppose you have any idea where he really is, or what he's up to, do you?"

Dark Oak shook his head. "I'm afraid I have no idea. He didn't tell me everything, after all. I know that he harvested hundreds if not thousands of the fruits here for his own means, but I don't think that's…eh?" Much their surprise, a dimensional crack suddenly unzipped over his head. As Blaze shot a look at him, he quickly raised his hands and said, "Don't look at me, I didn't do that. I don't have enough power left to open one of those even if I wanted to."

Blaze frowned as she looked up at the crack. Something about it looked… Wrong. Not like a portal to Helheim, but a gateway to a world of absolute darkness. The black clouds swirling around the hole and the red electricity crackling around it as something slowly started to emerge, as well as the air of absolute malice exuding from it, didn't help matters.

"YOMOTSUHEGURI! LOCK ON!"

…

"Yoma-what now?" Asked a confused Amy.

"Oh dear. Yomotsuheguri more or less translates to 'Hell Fruit' or 'Underworld Fruit' in Japanese," said a concerned Rouge.

"And I highly doubt anything that has 'Underworld' in its name can at all be friendly," Shadow commented.

"Hey, Espio, how come you don't know this Japanese stuff? Aren't you a ninja?" Knuckles asked.

"That's incredibly offensive and stereotypical," the chameleon said with a huff. "Not all ninjas have to be, or know, Japanese!"

"Yeah, just the ones who actually trained and didn't just take a correspondence course," Alonzo the elephant commented, appearing briefly long enough to get that quip in before disappearing again. Espio grumbled.

…

A large metal fruit resembling a bunch of grapes, only red and pulsating with darkness, descended from the hole. "That… Does not look like any Armor Part I recognize," Dark Oak said warily. Blaze narrowed her eyes, readying flames in her hands.

Abruptly, Gaim burst out of the trees. "Phew! Sorry it took me so long to get here, Nega got a lucky hit in and shot me… Oh no. No no no no no! Blaze, get away from that thing!" He yelled in horror when he saw the metal fruit descending from the dark portal.

"What is-" Blaze started, only for the mysterious fruit to release a wave of darkness which blasted her away, knocking her off her feet and sending her tumbling across the clearing into Gaim, who was nearly bowled over as he caught her.

"HAIII! YOMOTSUHEGURI ARMS! THE UNDERWORLD! YOMI! YOMI! YOMI!"

The fruit unfolded over Dark Oak's head, forming red armor plating over his shoulders and back, a winged breastplate with a group of large green medallions with gold edges emblazoned over his torso, and covering his head with a red helmet that had a large green visor set in a gold faceplate with red-edged green fins extending from the sides and a green crest rising from the top. A tattered red cloth hung down from his waist, and his armor had turned black on the limbs, with red and gold on his lower arms and legs. He cried in pain as the armor sealed itself onto his body, red steam rising from the seams instead of juice. "AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!" He howled, convulsing in agony. "It… Burns! IT BURNS! Get it off! GET IT OFF!"

"What… What's happening?" Asked a horrified Blaze as she stared at Dark Oak, desperately trying to claw off his armor, dark energy crackling off of him, bolts of energy striking the ground at her feet and causing her to flinch back.

"When Helheim came to my world, and everyone was battling to claim the Golden Fruit, my best friend at the time also entered the fight, consumed with his jealousy for me and a twisted desire for Mai, the woman who would one day become my wife. When Mai was chosen to be the Woman of the Beginning, and my friend learned what that meant for her, a mad scientist who he REALLY should've known better than to trust promised that he could safely remove the Fruit from Mai's body, but convinced him that I would never allow him to do that because I wanted the Fruit for myself (which was totally not true, obviously) so gave him a forbidden experimental Lock Seed to make him strong enough to fight me…the Yomotsuheguri, which was so powerful that it actually rivaled my Kiwami, with the drawback that every second you use it you experience horrifically crippling pain and it'll eventually kill you if you wear it for too long."

"And your friend thought it would be a good idea to use this?!" Blaze asked incredulously.

"He was going through a lot," Gaim said vaguely. "I let him inflict a fatal blow on me during our fight, so that I could get close enough to rip out and destroy the Yomotsuheguri Lock Seed before it could kill him. I survived because by that point I had almost completely finished my metamorphosis into… Well, what I am now."

"And your future wife? This… Mai?" Blaze asked.

"The mad scientist removed the Fruit from her, exactly as promised… Which killed her, of course, because the Fruit had bonded with her heart," Gaim said flatly. "The scientist had never intended to try and save her life, something he viciously mocked my friend for actually thinking he would have any interest in doing."

"I assume you killed him for that," Blaze said. She would have, in his shoes.

"I never got the chance to, actually,," Gaim said. "I was still recovering at the time, so the task fell to my chief rival… But that's another story. Anyway, Mai recovered, though just like me, she could never go back to what she was before."

"And your friend?" Blaze asked.

"He got better as well," Gaim confirmed. "My helping wake his older brother from a coma probably helped restore his sanity… But like I said, that's a whole other story, and not one we should be discussing right now."

…

"Hey yeah, why were you jabbering about all that when Dark Oak was in the middle of some horrifying transformation sequence?" Amy accused.

"Don't we do that all the time with most of the guys we fight?" Cream inquired.

"… No…" Amy said unconvincingly.

…

"If this new power has as many drawbacks as you say, I don't think we've anything to worry about." Blaze commented, frowning at Dark Oak. "In addition, you're more experienced than you were the last time you encountered something like this, and there's two of us."

"No, something feels different about this one," Gaim countered. "This version of the Yomotsuheguri feels… Stronger. Darker. Fouler. The one my friend used was still experimental. I get the feeling that this one is the final product. There's no telling what could happen…"

"Giant monster," Blaze said.

"Huh?" Gaim said in confusion.

"He'll turn into a giant monster. That sort of thing is par for the course for the final showdown, isn't it?" Blaze reasoned.

Gaim considered this for a moment, then laughed ruefully. "Not all the time, in my experience, but far too often for my liking." He stiffened. "Do you feel that?"

"Yes… His power just increased exponentially. Whatever's about to happen is going to take place any second now," Blaze said, tensing. "Brace yourself!"

"GAAAuuuAuuAuaaauUuGhhhHHH!" Dark Oak cried out, his body convulsing violently, armor bulging out in rather sickening places, Helheim plants snaking out of the cracks and crevices to wrap around his body and dig into the ground, rooting him in place. "I can't… I can't stop it! It hurts! It HURTS!" He trembled, his body starting to swell up and causing his armor to begin tearing apart, more and more Helheim growth spurting from the openings. "Blaze! My daughter… Tell her…GRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

…

"GRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH? That's an awfully strange thing to tell his daughter," Knuckles said, perplexed.

"I think he was trying to tell Blaze to tell his daughter that he loved her, but was cut off due to the physical trauma of his transformation," Espio said.

"Oh," the echidna said.

…

Dark Oak's armor shattered, and a tremendous bulbous mass of Helheim growth began to expand outwards in every direction, consuming the tree behind it and quickly spreading out to fill the clearing. "I think that's our cue to leave," Blaze said, grabbing Gaim and running into the dying orchard as the hungry mass rushed after them as it continued its expansion, almost literally on her heels. She frantically hurled fireballs back at it, but her flame seem to only do minimal damage to the mass, new growth quickly forming to replace whatever parts she destroyed. Gaim, struggling to hang onto her, hurled one of his locks ahead of them, quickly unfolding into a hover bike. Without being prompted, Blaze jumped onto it, and Gaim quickly climbed over her to grab the controls, starting the engine and blasting off just before they could be overwhelmed by the growth.

They rocketed into the sky as the green mass swelled up to completely fill the tree's crown, roots and tendrils emerging from its lower circumference as it grew higher and higher, digging into the bark of the tree and wrapping along its branches and trunk. As the tendrils made contact with the tree, its bark, which had already started taking on a rather petrified appearance ever since Blaze destroyed the Golden Fruit, now started to look outright dead as the growth that had once been Dark Oak drained whatever remaining nutrients and energy remained in the tree to fuel its own genesis. The branches shook, the leaves disintegrating and allowing sunlight to shine down across the entirety of kingdom of Solana for the first time in months, causing the army of Blaze's allies down below to flinch as their eyes, having grown used to a land of darkness, were once again exposed to the light of the sun (save for the phoenixes, who had been living above the canopy in their flying city ever since the crisis had began), causing many to cry out in pain as they were blinded by the light, or, in the case of the more photosensitive beings who hailed from deep underground, to desperately run for shelter.

They weren't blinded for long, however, as the grotesque mass bulged ever higher, soon blotting out the sun. It sent forth more feeders to gather power to sustain itself, causing the land around the tree, which had already taken on a rather desiccated look, to begin to crumble, forcing the ground forces to desperately make a rather harried retreat to try and outrun the collapsing earth. Tendrils burst out of the widening fissures and chasms, snatching up allied soldiers and Inves alike, constricting them as they squeezed every last ounce of life out of them until they disintegrated, energy flowing back up the vines and into the central mass, which was now starting to ooze down the upper third of the trunk, its growth gradually starting to slow.

As Blaze and Gaim watched in rapt horror from their high vantage point, the top of the mass writhed and undulated, three lumps forming on its surface. The tree groaned as the lumps abruptly burst, three massive serpentine necks ending in draconic heads surging up and outwards from the central mass, each all but identical, save for the placement and configuration of the horns on each head, as well as one being covered in black fur with purple eyes, one covered in english violet fur with lime green eyes, and one covered in mantis colored fur with teal eyes. The three heads stared out at the ravaged kingdom surrounding them, and the stunned army below, then opened their mouths and roared to the heavens, laser beams shooting out of their mouths and sweeping across the sky.

"You were right," Gaim said faintly. "Giant monster."

"Called it," she said dazedly.

…

"Yeah, that was kind of inevitable, wasn't it?" Vector agreed.

Shadow nodded. "Wouldn't be one of our adventures without the final adversary turning into some sort of horrific abomination of nature that needs to be destroyed posthaste for the fate of the world."

"So, what was this one called? Poison Oak? Dark Hydra? Tree of Destruction? Lethal Lotus?" Rouge asked.

"Final Mova," Blaze said.

There was a pause. "… The heck is a Mova?" Asked a confused Knuckles.

Blaze shrugged. "I have no idea."

"… Then why did you call it that?!" Amy demanded.

"I'm not the one who named it," Blaze said defensively. "Personally, I think that Poison Oak idea might have fit better. Well, too late now."

"So, I guess you went Super for the first time to fight it or something?" Mighty asked.

Blaze nodded. "Correct."

"I thought the first time you turned into Burning Blaze was when you and Sonic teamed up to fight the Egg Salamander between dimensions," Cream pointed out.

"It was," Blaze said. "Or rather, it was the first time I'd assumed that form in… Quite some time. Several decades ago, something… Happened to me that, for a long time afterwards, made it difficult for me to trust anyone again. My relationships with my friends and loved ones suffered, and so too did my connection to the Sol Emeralds, leaving me unable to call upon their power… Until I came here for the first time, and you and Sonic and the others helped me remember the importance of friendship, allowing me to move past… What happened back then, and reconnect with the people I care about back home, something for which I will always be grateful." Cream smiled, gratified that she'd been able to help her friend put her life back together.

"What happened to make you that way?" Knuckles asked, curious.

Blaze stiffened. "I would rather not talk about it."

Rouge frowned, a thought occurring to her. "Wait… I seem to remember you mentioning at least once that Sonic isn't the first person you've been in love with. Did-"

"I SAID I'd rather not talk about it," Blaze snapped, the grass around her feet igniting briefly. Everyone flinched back, and her Biter whimpered and cowered away from its mistress.

Sonic put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, but slowly eased up as he rubbed her back, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. "It was bad," Sonic said flatly, shooting everyone a glare. "And that's all you need to know. Ever. Got it?" Everyone quickly nodded, murmuring their assent.

"Geez, sure seems like you've got a lot of trauma up there…" Vector muttered to himself.

"With a life as long as hers, I'd be surprised if she DIDN'T," Rouge said, scowling at the crocodile.

"Something you know from experience?" Espio intuited.

Rouge frowned. "I may be immortal, but I'm still pretty young. While I've had some pretty nasty experiences over the years, I haven't had anything really soul-scarring… Yet. My mother, though… She's been around a long, long, long time, and seen and done things I still don't know the half of. There's a lot about her past she doesn't like to talk about that I have to learn from other sources, and given that my mother tells me EVERYTHING, and is a woman who refuses to be consumed with regrets, that should tell you something."

"I've been alive for a really, really long time, but I don't have any soul-scarring trauma," Knuckles complained. He considered for moment. "Well, unless you count that one time I walked in on Tikal and Chaos-"

"And I think that's more than any of us need to hear on that topic," Amy said quickly, covering Cream's ears.

"Actually, I'm kind of interested-" Tails started.

"AND I THINK THAT'S MORE THAN ANY OF US NEED TO HEAR ON THAT TOPIC," Amy said very loudly.

Sonic shot Tails a raised eyebrow. "Really?"

"Given that Tikal is a spiritual being made of pure energy and Chaos is a quasi-deity with a liquid body, from a scientific standpoint, I'd be rather curious as to how the mechanics of such a coupling would work," Tails said calmly.

Sonic raised his other eyebrow. "Science. That's your only reason to be interested?"

"Sonic, I haven't even reached puberty yet. That sort of thing only holds my interest in an intellectual capacity, and nothing more," Tails insisted.

"Oh, so you WEREN'T being a perverted little Fox that time I caught you snooping around Cosmo's underwear drawer-" Started Sonic.

"I lost a bet with Honey, all right?!" Tail snapped. "And besides, that wasn't Cosmo's underwear drawer, she doesn't even wear…um…" He coughed awkwardly, suddenly aware of everyone staring at him. "Aaaand let's move on from that awkward topic before anyone can ask how I know that."

"How did you know-" Knuckles started.

"So!" Blaze said loudly. "There we were, with a giant monster beneath us…"

…

"Oddly enough, this is not the first time I've fought a giant tree monster," Gaim said, staring down at the monster that would later be called Final Mova, though neither of them knew it at the time, so they just thought of it as being the transformed Dark Oak. As it flailed its heads about, occasionally spewing lasers into the air, seeds fell off its body, and whenever they hit the ground far below, they split apart and turned into Inves, targeting Blaze's army, which was struggling to pull itself together after this latest upheaval.

"Is that so," Blaze said faintly, desperately trying not to think about Honey, and Cosmo, and everyone else she cared about down below, hoping they were safe.

"Yeah, this one time, back before I became a space God, I got transported to a parallel universe where an alternate version of my home country was in the middle of a Civil War – – or, as we called it back in those days, a 'modern-day Sengoku Period' – – except all the warlords had a special kind of War God called a 'Bujin Rider' on their side, but the alternate version of myself was pure evil for some reason and led an army of monsters, intending to gain absolute power by defeating all the other Bujin Riders and capturing Mai, mistaking her for the Woman of the Beginning… Which, actually, she was, he just got her a bit early. Oh, and he also caused a nationwide drought. Anyway, when some friends and I had him on the ropes, he fused with a big Helheim tree and assumed his ultimate form, which was sort of like this… Well, except this tree's bigger, and the last time I didn't have to deal with a three headed dragon." Blaze stared at him. "… What?"

"Your world of origin is a very strange place," Blaze said.

Gaim snorted. "Trust me, I haven't even told you about the time where I wound up in another parallel world where everyone was weirdly obsessed with soccer, and I had to fight an artificial Golden Fruit that had somehow turned into an evil Kamen Rider-"

"A what?" Blaze interrupted, confused.

"Kamen Rider. Means Masked Rider, basically. It's, uh, what people like me are called back home," Gaim explained. "Since we wear masks and ride around on motorcycles. Except for the guy who came after me, he had a car, and not everyone who's a Rider actually HAS a bike, but...anyway, the artificial Fruit was corrupting the hearts of other Riders to make them fight each other so he could absorb their powers-I got turned evil briefly too, surprisingly-and I ultimately beat him in a soccer match with the help of another Rider who turned himself into a silver soccer ball… Except he later got better and tried to cause trouble again quite some time after I resolved the whole Helheim crisis, and I had to come back from my new planet to help my reformed best friend put him down, but that's a whole other story we probably don't have time to go over it now."

"No, I don't think so," Blaze agreed, bewildered.

…

"… Soccer? Really?" Asked a baffled Mighty.

"That doesn't seem so weird," Cream said. "After all, aren't there lots of shows about worlds where everyone's lives revolve around children's card games or other things like that?"

"Well, yeah, but those are cartoons, we're talking about real life here," the armadillo pointed out.

Shadow raised an eyebrow. "We live in a world where one of your best friends can almost casually break the sound barrier whenever he feels like it and is in a relationship with a half-demon Queen from another dimension, there's a floating continent flying around the skies guarded by an echidna too dense to realize he's immortal who's frankly pretty bad at his job-"

"Hey!" Knuckles shouted.

Shadow ignored him. "The world is routinely threatened by aliens, cosmic horrors, and a rotund mad scientist with a strange fixation on eggs, who, in a disturbing turn of events, happens to be the father of an adorable little rabbit who, as it turns out, is also the daughter of an infamous mob boss and apparently my great-niece, you spent several years in a coma fighting a war in the world of dreams, vampires exist,and secretly rule the world, and your former colleagues have somehow managed to avoid being found dead in a gutter despite being frankly rubbish detectives and having barely half a brain cell between them-"

"Hey!" The Chaotix protested.

"And it's the idea of a world where everyone is obsessed with soccer that seems unrealistic to you?" Shadow finished, ignoring the would-be sleuths.

"… Fair point," Mighty admitted. "My objection does seem kind of petty, when you put it into perspective."

"In an infinite multiverse, all things are possible," Rouge said wisely. "… Even the really weird things."

"LIKE-A-WORLD-WHERE-AMY-AND-SONIC-ARE-ACTUALLY-AN-ITEM?" Omega asked.

"Oddly enough, yes," Rouge said.

"Hey!" Amy protested.

"By the way, speaking of vampires, they apparently exist in Gaim's world too," Blaze spoke up. "Except they're made of stained glass, and eat life energy instead of blood."

Everyone paused to consider this for a moment. "… Stained glass? How the heck does that work?" Asked a confused Amy.

"Wouldn't they, like, break or something?" Charmy asked.

Blaze shrugged. "Maybe it's very durable stained-glass? He didn't elaborate. Apparently another hero on his world took care of them by becoming their King or something. It wasn't really a thing he had to deal with."

"Right… So, back to the final battle?" Silver prompted.

"Right, that," Blaze said.

…

"So, how exactly did you defeat this evil tree version of yourself?" Blaze asked, bringing them back to the subject of greatest importance.

"The Woman of the Beginning version of Mai traveled back in time to give us special Rider-themed Lock Seeds which we used to power ourselves up enough to fight back," Gaim said. "Also, I teamed up with a wizard who was part-Dragon or something, or had a Dragon inside his soul, or… I dunno, I was never entirely clear on that."

"Ah," Blaze said, understanding now. "So a last-minute deus ex machina transformation power up. There's lots of precedent for that."

Gaim nodded. "Yeah. I don't think I'm going to need one this time – – I'm plenty powerful enough already – – but you… Err, I don't suppose YOU would happen to have some sort of last-minute deus ex machina power-up lying around?"

"Well, I have this kingdom's greatest treasure, seven magic emeralds of unlimited power charged with the positive emotions and hopes and dreams of the entire realm…" Blaze said, taking out the Sol Emeralds.

"That should do it," Gaim said.

"Only… I have absolutely no idea how to use them," Blaze said, somewhat embarrassed.

"Don't worry, these things usually have a way of working themselves out when you need them most," Gaim assured her. "They wouldn't be deus ex machinas otherwise. Alternatively… I could ask my wife to grow something for you, it wouldn't be the first time-"

"I'd rather not," Blaze said firmly. "While I'm glad to have you by my side, I've been fighting the powers of Helheim too long to be comfortable with using them myself. Eating those fruits was one thing, but this… Might be a step too far."

Gaim nodded. "Understood. But in the meantime, we need to find a way to stop that monster."

"The biggest threat it seems to pose is that its sheer existence is sucking even more of the life from the land to sustain itself," Blaze observed. "That, and it's generating a seemingly endless horde of monsters to attack my troops."

"And mine," Gaim added. "Remember, I brought forces of my own along to help out. While most of them are relatively mindless, replaceable Inves drones, there are also several Overlords, including my wife and children."

"The people I care about are at risk as well," Blaze thought anxiously, thinking of her friends, and Honey.

"I can call more Inves for reinforcements," Gaim offered.

"And I can summon more demons," Blaze added. "But it won't be enough if we can't take out the source."

"I sensed before that you somehow managed to destroy the Golden Fruit," Gaim said. "Which is no easy feat, take it from me. I think the only reason I was able to defeat that evil one I mentioned before was because it was artificial… But then again, given that he came back later to cause trouble long after everything was over, it just goes to show you how durable those things are. Do you think you could use the same attack to take down this monster?"

Blaze thought about this for a moment, and then shook her head. "I'm afraid not. It's too big. The amount of energy I'd need to channel to annihilate that thing in a single shot would not only kill me, but probably destroy everything for miles, including our own people."

"I could evacuate everyone through cracks, but you're right, that's not an option," Gaim agreed. "You don't think a smaller version would work?"

"Considering that it's constantly draining energy from everything around it, it wouldn't surprise me if it could just regenerate," Blaze said. "My attack annihilates matter down to the smallest particle, but if enough of it is left to just regrow itself…" She made a face. "Of course, it's nothing but pointless conjecture in the first place. I can't use that attack twice in quick succession, doing it even once takes a lot out of me. It'll take a while before I can do it again… Unless you have another one of those magic energy-replenishing fruits?"

"Not on me, unfortunately. My wife might be able to grow one, but I don't think we have time. We'll have to do this the hard way then," Gaim said. "Maybe if we cut off the energy flow…?"

"Have our forces attack the roots, you mean, while we take on the main body?" Blaze intuited. "Considering how big the tree is, and how deep the roots go, that might be difficult. But… If they take out enough of the tendrils feeding into the tree…"

"It won't stop the energy flow, but weaken it enough so that we can attack the rest of the monster, and hope that we can damage it faster than it can regenerate," Gaim finished. "Sounds like a plan."

"Then let's get started," Blaze said, concentrating. Hundreds of Takers swirled into life all around the great tree and started hurling fireballs at the tendrils snaking down the trunk, setting the plant mass ablaze. Worms burst out of the surface of the trunk and started spewing fireballs or simply taking large bites out of the tendrils, burning more of them away.

They were soon joined by Inves emerging from cracks Gaim opened. They looked different from the ones Blaze had been fighting for the last few months; taller, bulkier, grayer, sacrificing the thin litheness Blaze was accustomed to for sheer muscle mass. They were carried through the air by dragonfly wings which looked rather incongruous on such creatures' backs, but seemed to be surprisingly good at keeping them aloft. They started clawing at the tendrils and ripping them apart with their rather impressive number of oversized fangs, revealed when their heads split open to reveal gargantuan jaws. Blaze's minions hesitated for a moment upon seeing creatures that felt similar to the ones they been fighting for the last few months joining them, but since their Mistress bade them leave them alone, they could do nothing but obey, so kept on attacking the tendrils instead.

The forces on the ground took notice of this, realized what their leaders must be up to, and hastened to follow their example. While most of the ground forces continued to fight the Inves constantly raining down from above, others started attacking the monster's tendrils which kept emerging from of the ground here and there. Those who could fly took to the skies, and Blaze was overjoyed when she saw her Dragon brood soaring alongside the phoenixes and their airships, bathing the surface of the trunk in great curtains of flame, eradicating more of the monstrous vines. The monster shrieked in agony as it felt bits of itself being destroyed, and retaliated by sprouting thorns from the tendrils to try and skewer those that were attacking them, firing spouts of water from other sections of the tendrils to try and knock its assailants away, causing spiked vines to erupt from the sides of the trunk to swat at and smash those clinging to its sides, and sweeping laser beams from its three massive jaws to try and wipe out the pesky fleas gathered at its base. Unfortunately for the creature, these attacks were not quite as effective as it might have liked; for each Inves or demon it destroyed, 10 more materialized to take their place. Additionally, the sheer amounts of fire the Phoenix ships and dragons were hurling at the plant growth snaking down the trunk seemed to be destroying more of it faster than it could grow new appendages to defend itself, and while the laser beams managed to wipe out large numbers of those on the ground, the brunt of their force was deflected by powerful magical barriers conjured up by the combined might of all the spell weavers in Blaze's army, and by the golden tinge interwoven through the shield, Blaze suspected Gaim's wife was helping augment their power.

"Its power is weakening," Blaze noted, seeing the central mass of the beast lose some of its eerie glow, the heads not waving about with quite the same amount of vigor they had before. "Now's our chance!"

"Hang on tight!" Gaim shouted, gunning his motor and steering his bike straight for the monster.

It noticed their approach, snarled, then opened all three mouths and fired lasers in unison, sweeping them through the air to try and knock them out of the sky. Gaim masterfully maneuvered through the beams one-handed, firing his gun constantly with the other while Blaze hurled an endless volley of fireballs over his shoulders, peppering the beast's heads with a constant barrage of projectiles, which, unfortunately, seemed to irritate it more than actually hurt it. "It's going to be difficult to get close enough to do some serious damage at this rate," Gaim grunted in frustration.

"The let's give it something else to keep it occupied," Blaze declared, summoning more demons on the tree's branches. Golems started punching and hurling balls of molten rock at the monster's main body, while Biters climbed up and started gnawing at the beast's flesh, burning bits of it away with every contact from their fiery forms, and Takers swooped around the heads, pelting them with fireballs. Hissing in pain and annoyance, the heads stopped their beam assault and started flailing about, trying to knock their attackers away while attempting to regrow the parts that were getting damaged.

"Now we're talking!" Gaim whooped, steering their ride towards the monster.

"Since there's three heads, we'll have to split up to take them down," Blaze noted.

"Uh, there's only two of us. If we do that, there'll still be one left," Gaim pointed out.

"Which is why you're going to have to sacrifice another vehicle, I'm afraid," Blaze said.

Gaim sighed. "Yeah, I was afraid you were going to say that. We're lucky these things literally grow on trees back where I come from."

"What a strange ecosystem that must be," Blaze commented.

"Trust me, that's not the weirdest thing that grows on trees back home," Gaim assured her as he aimed the bike towards the central head of the three, growing larger by the second as they shot towards it. "All right… Autopilot is locked in, and I've primed the self-destruct. You ready for this?"

"What sort of question is that?" Blaze quipped, eyes fixed on the head she'd already marked for her target.

Gaim chuckled. "A very poor one, obviously. Let's go!"

They jumped off at the same time, each of them leaping in a different direction and calling off their minions to stop the heads' frenzied swaying and make it more likely they would actually hit their target. The central head, free from the annoyances which had been buzzing around it, saw the flying motorcycle streaking towards it and instinctively opened its mouth wide, snatching it up in its jaws and viciously shaking it about.

It had precisely .0000001% of a picosecond to regret this just before the bike exploded spectacularly, completely vaporizing the head and sending a chain reaction of blasts coursing down the monster's gullet, ripping the remaining neck apart and splattering plant matter everywhere. The remaining two heads shrieked in agony, their open mouths providing big targets for the two heroes aiming for them.

As he approached his head, Gaim snapped his Musou Sabre into place on his gun, pulling the trigger as he powered up his attack.

"1, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, 100,000,000, 1000,000,000,000, FRUITS BASKET: KIWAMI CHARGE!"

"HINAWA DAIDAI MUSOU ZAN!" He roared, raising his sword over his head, the blade extending dozens of meters as it ignited with golden energy, bringing it down with a terrific chop that cleaved the head in two and kept going as gravity pulled Gaim downwards, slicing his blade through the monster's flesh as he fell parallel to the beast's neck until he reached the organic mound of plant mass it was growing from, releasing a flash of golden energy which caused about a third of it as well as the two halves of the head and neck he had bisected to vaporize, juice and energy projections of fruit flying everywhere.

At the same time, Blaze curled into a ball and started spinning as fast as she could, flames swirling around her until they engulfed her completely, turning her into a fiery meteor of destruction as she shot towards the last head. The monster foolishly opened its mouth wide to receive her, jaws snapping shut when she was inside…

Only to begin convulsing and shrieking in agony as Blaze tore through its innards, leaving an all-consuming trail of fiery destruction in her wake, incinerating the monster from within. As it writhed about, Blaze burst out of its neck and flew back in again and again, perforating the monster's gullet repeatedly as she worked her way down its length, leaving burning holes behind her which consumed even more of the creatures planty body. Finally, she flew right down the monster's esophagus and into the mound it was growing from, triggering a tremendous conflagration which obliterated what was left of the neck and annihilated another sizable amount of the beast's biomass.

As what remained of the creature's form started to tremble, the last flailing neck began to slow in its movements, the flow of green ooze from its decapitated stump starting to bulge outwards, a new head beginning to grow to replace the one Gaim's bike destroyed. Gaim and Blaze glanced each other, nodded, then powered up, Gaim, pointing his gun at what remained of the monster while Blaze cupped her hands and started charging up an intensely powerful fireball.

"FRUITS BASKET: KIWAMI CHARGE!"

"This is how your world ends!" Blaze roared, hurling her fireball at the same time as Gaim fired his gun. The two projectiles streaked towards the rippling heap of biomass and collided, engulfing it in a tremendous explosion which sent balls of fire and sparkly energy projections of fruit flying everywhere.

The partially-regenerated neck was blasted off the body and flew through the air, tumbling end over end as it arced overhead and started falling down the side of the tree, its half-formed head gurgling in anguish. Bulges started forming on its sides as it struggled to grow wings, but before it could even finish generating them it was covered in demons and Inves which violently started to rip it apart, and then the dragons and Phoenix warships flew in and finished the job with their fiery payloads, reducing the severed neck to a great mass of burning charcoal which hit the ground with a tremendous crash, the ground forces barely managing to get away from the impact site in time. The burning mass twitched a few times, and while it was probably due to death throes rather than some last desperate attempt to recover itself, the army below took no chances and immediately rushed in to hit it with everything they had left, pounding and blasting at the corpse until there was nothing left but smoldering ashes.

Blaze and Gaim watched all this from atop one of the dead branches of the great tree, and after a moment, the armored warrior glanced at the cat. "'This is how your world ends?'"

Blaze flushed. "I've been trying to think up a good pre-mortem one-liner or catchphrase. Something memorable and fitting. I figured, you know, since I'm a destroyer of worlds, but I don't actually destroy worlds anymore, but I'm going to do my best to ruin the lives of my enemies, it seemed…"

"No, no, I see where you're coming from," Gaim said quickly. "It wasn't bad, I've certainly heard worse, and weirder back home. Most of the other heroes like me… Well, like I used to have something like that."

"What's yours?" Blaze asked.

"Well, you've heard it a bunch already. You know…'This is my stage now?'" Gaim reminded her.

"Oh, right," Blaze said. "What does that even mean, anyway?"

"Well, you see, back before I was a space God, heck, back before I was even a superhero, I was a dancer-" Gaim began to explain, when suddenly the tree started to shake beneath their feet.

Blaze stumbled, but regained her footing quickly before she could fall off the side of the branch. Her vision swirled, and she had to squeeze her eyes shut and take a deep breaths as the adrenaline from all the fighting wore off and she abruptly remembered that she was, as a matter of fact, terrified of heights. "Off the top of my head, I can think of two possible explanations for that."

Gaim nodded. "The first is that this place is starting to fall apart now that the Golden Fruit is gone, and Dark Oak – – or rather, that THING he became – – can't sustain it any longer…"

"Or… We aren't through yet," Blaze said warily.

They looked each other unhappily. "I really don't want to turn around," Gaim complained.

"If there's something back there, it won't go away just because we're ignoring it," Blaze said tiredly.

Gaim sighed in resignation and turned to look behind him at the same time as she did. The fire and smoke from the explosion they had caused was already dying down, revealing that while they had burned off all of the biomass occupying the tree's crown, in doing so, they had revealed what looked an awful lot like some kind of a giant seed… Or perhaps, a cocoon? Whatever it was, it was pulsating, and cracks were starting to form on its surface, sickly light pouring out from the fissures. It was significantly smaller than the biomass that had been encasing it… But the power levels they could sense from it were staggering, and growing rapidly by the second.

The two heroes exchanged exasperated looks. "A third form," Gaim complained. "Of COURSE it had to have a third form."

"Well, technically, this is the SECOND form, if you don't count Dark Oak as form one," Blaze corrected him, aware as she did so she was just being pedantic.

"It damn well better be the final one this time," Gaim griped, attaching his sword to his gun and grabbing a few locks. "Think we can finish it before it hatches?"

"Has anyone in the history of ever successfully managed to?" Blaze snarked, forming fire in her hands.

"Not to my knowledge, but there's a first time for everything," Gaim commented, raising his blade.

The seed/cocoon/chrysalis/whatever started throbbing, faster and faster, as more and more cracks spread across its surface. The light shining through the cracks grew brighter and brighter… And then, with a tremendous crash, the object shattered, a tremendous wave of power blasting outwards and buffeting Gaim and Blaze, who staggered back and had to brace themselves to keep from being knocked off the branch, which was swaying and shaking beneath them. A massive Lotus flower rose up from the glowing, writhing mass of Helheim growth convulsing and churning on itself where the seed/cocoon/Crystal/whatever had been, unfolding to reveal a grotesque… Thing that was the same shape as Dark Oak's upper body, except instead of being made of armor it was a shifting, roiling mass of leaves and vines and biomass taking on a vague approximation of the mutated beyond recognition warlord's form, glowing yellow eyes made of fruit gazing out blindly at them from above a round, sucking mouth filled with grinding, rotating thorns for teeth. It made a wet, wheezing noise as it inhaled and exhaled, its entire form changing consistency with each breath, vines lashing out from its back before getting sucked back in. It made a rattling, gurgling, sound before letting out a horrific shriek which shattered Blaze's eardrums and caused her to cry out in pain as she stumbled backwards, clasping her hands over her ears.

"Well, that's one ugly sonofabitch," Gaim muttered.

"Did that evil clone of yours happen to look anything like this?" Blaze grunted, feeling a splitting headache.

"No, but then again, I never saw what he looked like under his armor, so I can't be certain," Gaim admitted.

"Then we had better take him out before he gets even uglier, assuming that's actually possible," Blaze snarled.

They started rushing down the branch, heading towards the abomination… And were startled when the ground began to tremble beneath their feet. "Oh, what now?!" Blaze snapped.

She got her answer when the monstrosity crossed its arms, the petals of its Lotus folding up around itself, and then it slammed into the ground, shaking the tree and causing a wave of green energy to ripple out from it, washing across the surface of the tree, out to the branches and down the trunk. Gaim and Blaze hopped over the wave, but were puzzled when nothing seemed to happen. "What was that?" Blaze wondered.

"I don't…Uh-Oh," Gaim said, stiffening as he sensed something.

Blaze tensed. "Uh-oh? I don't like uh-ohs."

"Neither do I," Gaim groaned as the branch they were standing on began to shake again, and green cracks started zigzagging outwards from the abominable Lotus to cover the entire surface of the tree. The light emanating from the cracks grew brighter and brighter… Until, with a tremendous splintering sound, the bark shattered, flailing roots and vines covered in thorns and buds and flowers and pods with snapping, gnashing jaws at their ends bursting outwards in every direction, transforming the tree from a towering wooden pillar to a gargantuan mass of writhing, shrieking plant life lashing out at everything around it. The ground trembled and quaked as the monstrosity tugged at its roots, until with a tremendous upheaval that sent great masses of dirt and stone flying everywhere, crushing a great deal of the ground troops and forcing those in the air to scatter in panic, the great horror managed to rip its roots at least partially out of the ground, using them to lever the main mass out of the soil and into the air, it's great shadow covering even more of the land as it rose higher and higher still into the air, leaving a crumbling chasm beneath it which swallowed up all who weren't fast enough to get away from the edge in time and exposing a gargantuan mouth on its underside, with teeth made from colossal thorns and dozens of slithering vines for tongues, lashing out to snatch up anything that got too close. The atrocity of nature howled from its hundreds of mouths, its cries of awakening echoing to every corner of the increasingly desiccated land of Solana, more and more energy being drained through the roots to sustain the giant plant, leaving nothing but crumbling soil and death behind.

…

"Holy shit," said a dazed Mighty.

"Yep, that's definitely final boss material," Vector stated.

"I don't think I'm ever going to be able to look at a flower or tree the same way again," Cream whimpered.

"Welp, looks like I'm burning my garden when I get home," Amy said with a too-wide grin.

"And I suddenly have a strange urge to promote cutting down the rainforests," Rouge commented.

"Never mention that to Cosmo if you're ever around her. She wouldn't take it very well," Blaze said sternly.

"Wait, I thought was already called the Final Mova. Doesn't having a second form imply that it isn't actually the 'Final' Mova?" Charmy pondered.

"Not to mention we still don't really know what a 'Mova' is," Espio pointed out.

"Well, in Disgaea 4, they have four chapters at the end of the game, all of which claim to be the 'final' one," Tails pointed out.

"How does that work?" Asked a confused Amy.

"EACH-'FINAL'-CHAPTER-IS-HYPED-UP-TO-BE-THE-END-OF-THE-GAME, ONLY-FOR-A-COMPLETELY-UNEXPECTED-DEVELOPMENT-TO-HAPPEN-AT THE-END-OF-THE-CHAPTER-TO-INDICATE-THAT-NO, IN FACT-, THE-GAME-ISN'T-OVER-JUST-YET. THE-CHARACTERS-THEMSELVES-GET-FED-UP-WITH-IT-AFTER-A-WHILE," Omega explained.

"How could they possibly be aware of that?" Asked the perplexed Cream.

"DISGAEA-IS-AN-INCREDIBLY-SELF-AWARE-AND-COMEDIC-SERIES. AT-SOME-POINT, PRETTY-MUCH-EVERY-CHARACTER-SHOWS-SOME-LEVEL-OF-AWARENESS-THAT-THEY-ARE-IN-A-VIDEO-GAME," Omega elaborated. "HECK, THERE IS-A-RECURRING-CHARACTER-WHO-IS-CONSTANTLY-TRYING-TO-HIJACK-THE-GAME-SO-SHE-CAN-BE-THE-MAIN-CHARACTER-BECAUSE-HER-OWN-GAME-WAS-NEVER-ACTUALLY-PRODUCED."

"How very meta," Mighty commented.

"I wasn't aware you were a fan, Omega," Rouge remarked.

"IT-IS-PART-OF-A-FRANCHISE-WHERE-PRETTY-MUCH-EVERY-MAJOR-CHARACTER-HAS-RIDICULOUSLY-OVERPOWERED-ATTACKS-AND-CAN-POTENTIALLY-DESTROY-ENTIRE-WORLDS-AND-THE-WEAKEST-CREATURE-EXPLODES-SPECTACULARLY-AT-THE-SLIGHTEST-PROVOCATION. PLUS, THE STRATEGY-BASED-GAMEPLAY-EXERCISES-MY-TACTICAL-PROCESSORS. WHY-WOULDN'T-I-LIKE-IT?" Omega said smugly.

"Changing the subject away from something I don't understand in the slightest-" Knuckles began.

"Like that's new," Shadow muttered.

The echidna glared at the black hedgehog, then continued. "How the heck were you supposed to defeat something like that?! I don't think even the biggest thing Sonic's ever defeated was that large!"

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Sonic said defensively.

"I'M-ASSUMING-WITH-FIRE, AND-GREAT-QUANTITIES-OF-IT," Omega speculated.

"Pretty much, yeah," Blaze said. "But to get enough fire to do it, I had to look within."

"Within what?" Charmy asked.

"Within herself," Shadow said. "Isn't that always the way?"

…

Blaze was falling.

She could feel the wind on her fur, the acceleration tugging at her clothes, the force of gravity gleefully pulling her down towards her messy and on the ground below. She could hear the hisses and shrieks of the abomination as it tried to snatch her up in its jaws and tendrils, only to recoil in pain whenever it made contact with the fiery aura wrapped around her form, causing her to look like a falling star as she streaked downwards. It might even have looked beautiful, from a distance… But of course, most people try not to think about how a falling star must feel when it inevitably hits the ground.

She was also standing on a ring of debris surrounding a pit of lava in the middle of a vast, burning metropolis, staring up at a titanic beast whose body seemed to be made of lava with four arms and a head armored in molten rock, looking down at her in disapproval. She could feel the heat of the flames on her fur, smell the sulfur in the air, hear the howls of the demonic horde scavenging through this broken world.

She saw nothing strange or contradictory about these two irreconcilable realities. Then again, that might have been the concussion talking. At least, she was pretty sure she had a concussion. Her head certainly hurt enough for her to have one, and she seemed to be having trouble focusing on what was before her, slipping back and forth between the world where she was falling to her death and the world where a giant lava demon was glaring at her. She wondered, briefly, which world was real and which one was a hallucination caused by her injury. Maybe both were. Maybe neither were. Who could say, really?

So that's it? The demon asked, snorting in disgust. After all that, you're going to die from falling? I expected better of you, Blaze.

"Well, it's not the way I would've chosen to go," Blaze admitted. "Not that I would've chosen to go at all, honestly. But I don't really see what I can do about it, given that I can't fly."

She did not find anything strange about the fact that she was having a civil conversation with a giant fire demon. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Again, that might just been the concussion, but something about the creature felt… Familiar. Not exactly in a reassuring way, but familiar nonetheless.

Well, you're going to have to do something, and soon, the demon grunted. Because if you die, then everyone you love will die by my hand.

Blaze blinked. "Why's that?" She asked. Oddly, she didn't feel enraged or horrified by the demon's claim. It didn't feel like a threat, just a simple statement of fact.

Because if you die, I will be free. And there will be nothing to stop me from burning this world and all in it to ashes, as I have done on countless worlds before.

"Couldn't you choose to just, I don't know… Not do that?" Blaze asked.

The demon shook its head. Can the wind choose not to blow? Rain not to fall? Fire not to burn? I am, at my core, an elemental force of destruction. I will destroy everything. Not because I wish to, but simply because it is what I am. I can be nothing else… Not without you holding me back, anyway.

"Oh. That is unfortunate," Blaze said. "Isn't there anything I can do to stop that?"

Yes. Don't die, the demon said.

"Right. Any suggestions on how to not to do that?" Blaze asked. The demon shrugged. "That is profoundly unhelpful."

I'm better at ending lives than saving them, the demon said defensively.

"Who are you, anyway?" Blaze asked, wondering why she hadn't inquired sooner. "I feel like I… Like I know you. Like I've always known you."

That's because you have, the demon said. I am you, and you are me.

"You're me? I thought I was me," Blaze said in confusion.

You are you, the demon confirmed. But you are also me, just as I am me, as well as you.

"So I am me, and also you. And you are you, and also me," Blaze said slowly.

Correct, the demon said.

Blaze frowned. "I'm not sure if it's the concussion talking, but that doesn't entirely make sense."

The demon chuckled. That's because you aren't asking the right questions.

Blaze considered this for a moment. "If you're me, then why don't you look like me? And if I'm you, why don't I look like you?"

Suddenly, the demon was no longer a towering monstrosity, but was standing right in front of her, looking like an almost exact duplicate of herself… or at least, an exact duplicate of herself with skin made of molten rock like one of her demonic minions. Does this help?

"Oddly enough, it does. Though again, that might be the concussion." She regarded her molten mirror for a moment, then said, "So if you are me, and I am you… Then who are we?"

The demon grinned. It wasn't a particularly pleasant thing to look at. We are Iblis.

…

Rouge frowned. "Iblis… Iblis… Something about that name seems familiar."

"Another one of the countless supernatural entities your mom told you about?" Knuckles asked.

"Possibly," Rouge murmured, drawing out each syllable. "I feel like it's on the tip of my tongue… Sorry, I can't quite seem to recall…"

"SCANNING-DATABANKS," Omega beeped. "RESULT-FOUND: IN-ISLAMIC-THEOLOGY, IBLIS-IS-A-BEING-CREATED-FROM-FIRE-WHO-WAS-ALLOWED-TO-MINGLE-WITH-ANGELS-IN-THE-HEAVENS-UNTIL-HE-REJECTED-THE-COMMAND-OF-GOD-TO-BOW-BEFORE-ADAM."

"Why did he do that?" Cream asked.

Omega shrugged. "PERHAPS-BECAUSE-HE-DIDN'T-WANT-TO-BOW-TO-A-PATHETIC-INFERIOR-ORGANIC-LIFEFORM? I-CAN-SYMPATHIZE."

"Somehow I don't think this is the same Iblis," Espio commented.

"Yeah, wouldn't it be speaking Arabic if it were?" Amy suggested.

"None of the djinn or other beings I met when I was in the world of the Arabian Nights spoke Arabic," Sonic pointed out.

"Why not?" Mighty asked.

Sonic scratched his head and shrugged. "Maybe because I entered a version that had been translated into English? I dunno. Anyway, Erazor Djinn said that the Ifrit Golem was condemned to the fiery depths of… Someplace by a being called Iblis, but given the context, it was probably the Islamic one, not the entity Blaze is related to."

"Why do they have the same name, then?" Charmy asked.

"Well, we once fought a demonic monster called Ifrit, but I don't believe it bore any resemblance to this golem creature," Shadow pointed out. "Sometimes things just have similar names. After all, it's not like regular people have a monopoly on names, do they? As much as it pains me to admit it… It's not as if I'm the ONLY Shadow in the world…" The others murmured in agreement.

"So if you didn't have some sort of Islamic devil inside of you… What IS Iblis?" Amy asked dubiously.

"I'm getting to that," Blaze said.

…

"Iblis," Blaze repeated, trying the name out. It sounded familiar. Very familiar. Hadn't she been calling herself the Avatar of Iblis for quite some time? Funny how she'd never really thought about what that meant until now. "And who… No, wrong question. WHAT is Iblis?"

The demon nodded, pleased by her query. Iblis is fire. Iblis is destruction. Iblis is death. Iblis is the wrath of a God, the Flames of Disaster, the destroyer of worlds. Iblis is… Iblis.

Blaze thought about this for a moment. The monster's answer had the ring of truth to it, but something seemed… Lacking. Then she asked, "Then why are we two, instead of one? Why am I Blaze, instead of… Well, like you?"

Ah, Iblis said. Now that is a tale worth telling.

And suddenly, they were standing in a church of some kind, before an alcove with a steady white flame burning in it. Once upon a time, there was a kingdom which worshiped a super-dimensional being called Solaris, whom they revered as a God of time and the sun, embodied by the flame you see before you. Thanks to its blessings, they were able to ensure prosperity and peace for their realm.

And then, one idiot ruined everything.

They found themselves in a round metal room, with a group of human scientists frantically working on instruments surrounding a tall cylinder which filled the center of the room with volatile energy crackling wildly inside of it. A man with a regal bearing who was clearly the leader of the scientists was desperately pleading with whatever was inside the cylinder to hear his voice. The demon regarded this man angrily. The ruler of the kingdom attempted to harness Solaris's power, hoping to use it to gain mastery over time itself.

"Why?" Blaze asked.

The demon shrugged. Why do mortals always seek control over time? To change what has come before. To undo past mistakes. Anything to avoid dealing with the consequences of their actions, I suppose.

"It didn't work the way he hoped, I take it," Blaze intuited.

The demon sighed. Does it ever?

A little girl ran into the room. The ruler frantically turned and shielded her with his body as the cylinder exploded, rocking the room and flinging everyone away. After flaring and crackling angrily for a few moments, the energy died down, the light fading to reveal a molten sphere which crumbled apart, its pieces dissolving as it hit the ground, turning into a black pool of darkness which oozed away while a crackling flame, sparked to life by the fracture of the sphere, flew off in another direction entirely. Blaze thought she saw two other figures enter from the other side of the room, but they seemed… Blurry, indistinct, and not just because of all the smoke still pouring from the broken apparatus in the middle of the room.

The experiment went horribly wrong, the demon said, stating the obvious. Solaris was split in two.

"You and me…" Blaze murmured.

No, actually. All that is us – – Iblis – – was in that flame, the demon explained.

"Then what was that shadow?" Blaze asked, confused.

The demon shrugged. I'm not sure, actually. The other half of Solaris, I suppose? I don't know what happened to it. It never tried to recombine with us. I thought I sensed it a few times before the end, but… She (Could it be considered a she? Well, it certainly looked female at the moment …) Shrugged. This is our story, not its, anyway.

…

"Solaris… That name also sounds vaguely familiar," Rouge muttered.

"Oddly enough, I feel like I've heard it somewhere as well," Silver said with a frown.

"Blaze, I don't suppose you happened to catch the name of the kingdom which worshiped this entity, did you?" Rouge asked.

Blaze frowned. "No, I did not. Why?"

Rouge grimaced. "Sorry, I thought for a minute that I… Nevermind. It's not important."

"Wonder whatever happened to that shadow…" Mighty wondered.

"So do I," Shadow said, frowning when he realized he'd said. Something about that shadow felt… Strangely familiar. Silver, strangely, felt the same, but said nothing about it.

…

The scene changed again, and now they were in a small chamber, where the ruler of the land, clearly wounded and only moments from death, had put the little girl from before on a slab beneath the crackling flame and was using a white gemstone to channel the fire's energy into her prone form. There was a figure standing next to the man, but again, Blaze had trouble looking at it, her eyes seeming to slide away whenever she tried to focus on it.

The ruler, in a desperate attempt to correct his grave error and stop us from destroying the world-

"Why were we going to destroy the world?" Blaze interrupted.

We were born from the agony and rage of a God being tortured so horribly that it literally split in half just to try and make the pain stop. Why do you think? The demon snarked.

"Fair point," Blaze conceded.

Like I was saying, the ruler, in a desperate attempt to correct his grave error and stop us from destroying the world, used a magic stone to seal us within his own daughter, telling her before he died that so long as she did not cry, the seal would remain intact, and we would never emerge again, the demon continued.

Blaze stared at her counterpart in disbelief. "… He told his own daughter, just before dying right in front of her, that she could never cry. Ever. No matter what. Or the world would end?"

More or less, the demon said. Astonishingly, she managed to go 10 whole years without shedding a single tear.

Blaze stared at the Princess incredulously as her father hugged her one last time. "… I don't know if that makes her one of the strongest individuals I've ever met, or a complete and utter sociopath."

…

"I hear that," Amy agreed. "There's no way I'd be unable to cry if either of my moms died."

Cream nodded sadly. "If that flame were sealed within me, I'd probably break it within minutes. I'm very sensitive."

"And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, sweetie," Shadow assured her.

"That kind of seems like a stupid seal, anyway," Knuckles complained. "Why would CRYING do the trick?"

Blaze shrugged. "I honestly have no idea."

" I've heard of stupider release conditions on ancient seals," Rouge commented.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Charmy asked.

"Well, there's this one powerful evil spirit trapped behind a door and the key is some guy's penis-"

"Aaaaaaaand we're moving on," Sonic said quickly.

…

The two are not mutually exclusive. Anyway, eventually she DID cry, our seal broke, and our wrath, undiminished despite spending a decade in slumber, burst forth and burned the world to cinders, the demon continued.

"How did it happen?" Blaze asked.

The demon shrugged. I don't know, really. We weren't really paying too much attention at the time. You know, what with breaking free, ending the world, and all that. Plus, we didn't exactly have much of a consciousness back then- we were more a living force of nature than a rational thinking being-so we didn't really pay much attention to anything other than fulfilling the task we were created for: namely, destroying everything. And we did that very well.

"So I can see," Blaze said. She and the demon were now back in the ruined city where they had begun, watching the immense lava-skinned behemoth wading through the rivers of fire, demonic minions scurrying and flying through the shattered buildings and broken streets. "But given that we aren't like that anymore, I'm assuming something changed."

The demon nodded. Something did. It took a long time- decades, more than a hundred years, really- but eventually we developed a mind. Well, something like a mind, anyway. Not like the one either of us have now, sort of a rudimentary consciousness that would be almost unrecognizable to most people, but it was still more than we had before. We became aware that we were not the only thing in the world. Or rather, the only entity. All of a sudden, we realized that all the screaming, helpless, dying little things we had been indiscriminately killing over the last several decades were… Well, alive. Alive in a way that we were not. That they had thoughts and feelings and, well, lives separate from our own, they were not merely… Things that only existed to be destroyed.

"And we stopped killing them?" Blaze asked.

Oh no, we still did, the demon corrected her, causing her to grimace. But we became aware that they… Well, that they were different from us. Our minions, as you're well aware, are basically extensions of our own will. They don't really have thoughts and feelings of their own; they're just expressing what we feel. The mortals, however… They didn't work like that. They had their own thoughts and feelings. They were not like us. And so, even as we killed them indiscriminately, we became… Curious. What were they, exactly? Why were they different from us? And why was it that no matter how many of them we killed, no matter how many times we destroyed them, some of them kept clinging to life, struggling to rebuild, and even attempting to fight back against us? They always failed, of course, but the fact that they still tried, that they did not merely give up and let themselves be erased from the world, confused and intrigued us. We wanted to know more. We wanted to understand them. Why, I can't quite explain… Like I said, our thought processes were a lot different back then… But it was something we desired to do regardless.

And that, Blaze, is where you enter the picture.

Blaze's blood ran cold. "I'm not sure I like where this is going."

…

"Neither do I," Mighty said with a frown.

"Is what I think is about to happen about to happen?" Rouge asked anxiously.

"What? What's about to happen?" Asked a confused Knuckles.

…

The scene shifted again. There were still in the ruined city, but elsewhere. From their vantage atop a broken section of highway, they could see a pair of felines like herself picking their way through the ruins, warily looking all around them for signs of danger. Little did they know that they were being spied upon by Iblis's minions, who were being uncharacteristically stealthy and quiet.

Blaze stared at the couple for a long time. One of them was pregnant.

"No," she whispered.

…

"Oh," said Knuckles, going pale.

Rouge grimaced. "Yep. Exactly what I thought."

"Oh no…" Cream whispered, horrified.

…

After much observation, we determined that mortals had a different way of making more of themselves than we did. Instead of just spawning demons from our will, they had a much… Messier and time-consuming method of reproduction. After much deliberation, we picked a breeding pair that showed strong survival traits, and then, once the life within the female had developed enough…

It was night now. The couple was now huddled within the remains of a collapsed building for shelter. As the male cat sat with his back to his mate, keeping watch through the broken windows, a small ember drifted through a crack and landed on the female's swollen belly, causing her to flinch and moan. The male was at her side within seconds, but by that point, she had already settled down again, and neither of them saw that the spark of flame had sunken into her abdomen.

We put a piece of ourselves into it. And not too long afterwards, you were born.

The couple stared lovingly at the small lavender kitten cuddled in the exhausted but radiant female's arms, swaddled in what little cloth they could spare. Tired but happy, they smiled with joy as the kitten opened her eyes for the first time… And sneezed, which might have been adorable if it weren't for the fact that a jet of fire shut out. The new parents looked each other in alarm, clearly wondering what this meant for their daughter's future.

…

"Should I find this horrific or heartwarming?" Amy wondered aloud.

"Can't it be both?" Espio suggested.

"This is going to get a lot worse, isn't it?" Cream asked, morose.

"Yes," Blaze said with a sigh. "It is." Sonic squeezed her hand. She gave him a grateful smile. Amy fumed.

…

Blaze stared at the small family, feeling somewhat hollow inside, like the foundations she had built her life on were crumbling beneath her. "Suddenly," she said faintly. "A great many discrepancies about my memories and past begin to make sense."

From afar, I watched you grow, Iblis said as a series of scenes passed before them. Young Blaze learning how to walk, hunting and catching her first prey, entertaining her parents by juggling fireballs, sleeping in between the two cats that had brought her into this world, and were the only family she knew or needed. As you became less like me, and more like them. As you learned what it meant to be mortal. And then, when I decided it was time, I called you back to me.

"Except I wouldn't come," Blaze whispered.

Before them, the young Blaze paused while following her parents down a rubble-filled boulevard, staring off into the distance, ears twitching as if she heard something. She slowly started to walk away…

And her father touched her on the shoulder, looking at her in concern. She blinked in confusion, shook her head in bewilderment, then gave him a quick smile to show him she was okay and followed him to rejoin her mother.

No. So I came to you instead.

The scene changed once again. The young Blaze huddled in fear next to a pair of smoldering corpses as a group of slavering monsters made of lava stalked towards her, molten rock dripping from their jaws. There was a horrific, world-rending roar, and the monsters paused as a huge shadow fell over them, and they and the kitten both looked up to see the nightmarish visage of Iblis looming over them.

"You killed my parents," Blaze whispered.

Yes.

…

There was a long silence. "Well," Vector said finally. "That got dark."

Abruptly, Cream burst into tears and hugged Blaze's leg. "It's all right, Cream," the cat said, stroking her ears reassuringly. "It happened a very long time ago. I'm… It's behind me now."

"No, it's not," Shadow muttered to himself. "It never is."

"It's-it's not fair!" Cream bobbed, rubbing her face into Blaze's skirt. "Why did so many horrible things have to happen to you?! You're… You're good, Blaze, no matter what you say about yourself! You didn't deserve any of that!"

"Y-yeah," Amy admitted quietly to herself. "Especially not that…"

"Bad things happen to good people sometimes," Blaze said gently. "And in my case… Well, a lot of bad things."

"Bit of an understatement there," Charmy muttered.

"But what matters is not what happened, but how you let it define you," Blaze said. "You can use your pain to shape yourself into someone stronger, willing to change the world so that none will ever have to suffer as you did… Or you can let it consume you, until you want everyone to feel as miserable as you did."

Everyone automatically looked to Shadow. "Oh, come on!" He snapped angrily.

"Did you kill the bastard for that? For what she did? For everything?" Mighty asked angrily.

"No, but I did do something that made me feel pretty good at the time…" Blaze recalled.

…

Blaze punched the demon. Her molten doppelgänger's head snapped back, but otherwise she did not move. After a moment, she twisted her head back around, regarding the feline impassively. "Why?" Blaze hissed, body trembling, fists clenching and unclenching, trying to decide whether or not she wanted to burn the demon alive or rip her to pieces with her bare hands.

Because they got in the way. Because they wouldn't let me take you. Because I did not understand, Iblis said quietly. Not like I do now.

After a few minutes of staring at the demon, Blaze managed to rein some of her temper back in. "And do you really? Understand, that is?" She asked, her breath still a bit husky.

I think I do, Iblis said. Empathy is not something that comes naturally to me, but… I have learned a thing or two from you, being trapped inside of your body all these eons. Funny. In the end, despite you ruining my initial plan, I still got exactly what I wanted, more or less. After a pause, the demon said, in a much quieter tone, I am sorry.

"That does not excuse it," Blaze said harshly.

I know. Even so, I am truly sorry. Regret is also something I've learned from you. After all, there are a great many things you have done which you feel bad about too, correct? Iblis pointed out.

Blaze wasn't sure how to respond to that. After a moment, she asked, "Why did you not absorb me back into yourself then and there?"

Before them, the great demon lowered one of its molten limbs, extending a hand to the young Blaze. The kitten stared it for a moment, uncomprehending…

And then, with a snarl of fury, she hurled a fireball at Iblis's face. The Biters recoiled in alarm and disbelief. Iblis, some of the stony armor covering its head cracked from the blow, stared at her in confusion, a look of what could almost be called bewilderment on its melted face. After a long moment, it turned and lurched away, off into the distance. The Biters exchanged puzzled looks, and then snarled at Blaze to save face before dashing off after their master. Blaze, the strength draining out of her, collapsed to her knees, shaking, crying, wondering what the heck just happened… And what she was supposed to do with herself now.

You refused to, Iblis said.

Blaze blinked in confusion. "And that's it? You left because… Because I basically said no? Albeit a bit less polite than that?"

Iblis shrugged. You were not like the minions. I could not command you as I could them. You had a mind of your own. And if you did not wish to become one with me once again… Then I could not force you to do it. All I could do was hope that you reconsidered eventually.

Blaze snorted. "Fat chance of that."

We are one now, aren't we? Iblis pointed out.

"… Point. How did that happen, anyway?" Blaze asked.

Iblis shrugged. Well, after you turned me down initially, I figured, I dunno, maybe if I gave you a little space, time to think, you'd change your mind or something like that. So I left you alone for a bit – – though I still kept a watchful eye on you, of course – – then after a while I tried again. Before them, the younger Blaze angrily threw fireballs at Iblis's face. It didn't work, obviously. So, I left you alone for a little longer, then tried again. Before them, a somewhat older Blaze angrily threw fireballs at Iblis's face. Still didn't work. So I left you alone for an even longer time, then tried again. Before them, a Blaze, who didn't look much younger than her current appearance, angrily threw fireballs at Iblis's face. Still didn't work. By that point, I had no idea what I needed to do to convince you to become one with me again.

And then, one day, you sought me out. I was so excited. I thought that maybe you'd finally seen sense, and would join with me again.

Before them, Blaze, now looking almost exactly like she did now, threw fireballs at Iblis's face… Except this time, she wasn't alone, and was fighting alongside a group of determined, scruffy-looking individuals. I was, of course, wrong. Although I didn't know or understand at the time, it turned out that you'd gotten sick of me constantly showing up out of the blue for – – from your perspective – – no reason whatsoever, so banded together with a group of survivors and convinced them that by working together, you could defeat me.

"Did we?" Blaze asked.

No, Iblis said. Before them, Blaze, surrounded by the charred and blackened corpses of her comrades, screamed in rage and sorrow, furiously hurling fireballs at Iblis as it slouched off into the distance, tears running down her face.

Blaze grimaced. "Of course not."

That wasn't your last attempt to defeat me, of course. You tried again and again, getting help from anyone you could find in increasingly frenzied and desperate attempts to kill me, all doomed to failure, and all resulting in you being the lone survivor, until eventually people stopped associating with you altogether, convinced that due to your power over fire and whatever strange connection existed between the two of us, that you were some sort of harbinger of my will, luring the unwary to their doom. Which, ironically, wasn't entirely false.

"… Why didn't you just kill me with the rest?" Blaze asked softly, looking at her past self, growing increasingly frustrated and angry and alone as she was turned away by everyone she asked for help.

Iblis seemed genuinely surprised by the question. I could never have killed you, Blaze. Not now, and certainly not then. We are one, after all. I am you, and you are me. I could not kill you anymore than I could kill any of my minions, for they are a part of me, just as you are. The very idea never occurred to me.

"Then why did I have no problem killing your minions or trying to kill you?" Blaze asked.

Iblis shrugged. The mortal part of you drowned out the part of you that was a demon, I suppose. It's not like that anymore, though. After all, would you ever kill one of your own minions now?

"Of course not," Blaze said immediately.

Why not? Iblis asked. What has changed between now and then?

Blaze hesitated. "… I'm… Not sure…"

What has changed is that we are now one, Iblis said. More or less.

Blaze frowned. "And you still haven't gotten around to explaining how that happened."

Like I said, you kept trying again and again to kill me. While you got stronger with each try, it still wasn't good enough, and eventually people stopped refusing to help you, not believing there was any point. And then, one day, you met someone who did.

"Who?" Blaze asked.

I don't remember, Iblis confessed.

"What?!" Blaze asked incredulously. "Why not?!"

Well, can you remember? Iblis asked pointedly.

"No!" Blaze paused. "Why is that, anyway?"

We're getting there. Anyway, you met someone different. Someone who still had hope that the world could be saved, and whom others believed might actually have a chance at doing it. He was more powerful than those you had allied with in the past, possessing strange and unique abilities unlike any the world had seen in quite some time. Iblis scratched her head. What those were, I can't quite remember, but I think he was very good at throwing things. I vaguely recall him flinging very large objects in my face more than once.

…

Silver sneezed. "Bless you," Cream said kindly.

"Thanks," the time traveler sniffed.

…

The two of you battled me many times. Surprisingly, you actually were able to defeat me on more than one occasion… Not that it actually meant anything in the end, since I was immortal, but you were able to at least force me to lose my physical form for a time, which I can assure you is no easy feat, Iblis said proudly. I have to admit, I was very much impressed… Even if I was still confused and frustrated that you continued to refuse to join with me for reasons I could not fathom them.

"I can imagine," Blaze said dryly.

In any event, despite your occasional victories, none of it really meant anything in the end… Until one day, something changed.

They were now standing on the edge of the crater of an active volcano. Rising from the molten lake filling the crater was Iblis, bigger and more humanoid than before, with a tail and horns growing from its head and back. The younger Blaze was standing on a ledge jutting out from the inner wall of the crater, along with… Someone Blaze couldn't quite make out, her eyes seeming to slide off its indistinct form, much like that figure she had seen during the vision of Iblis being sealed away. Blaze frowned, wondering if there might be a connection. The titanic Iblis hissed and clasped its hands together, a humongous fireball forming over its head before launching itself at the ledge. The Blaze of the past tensed, but just before the meteoric projectile could strike, the figure beside her made some sort of gesture, and the fireball was engulfed in a cyan glow. It paused, and then flew back through the air towards Iblis, smashing into the demon with a tremendous explosion. Iblis roared in pain and fury, the crater shaking from its wrath, before falling backwards, hitting the surface of the lava with a great splash of liquid rock and sinking into the molten depths.

After a moment, a pillar of fire erupted from the surface of the lava lake, swirling and roiling with barely-contained destructive power, embers raining down all over the place as it towered into the sky before collapsing on itself, forming a huge ball of fire. Blaze's companion stepped forwards, and did… Something, trying to absorb the great ball of fire, but didn't seem to be able to do so. The Blaze of the past said a few words to her companion, then stepped forward in his place, doing whatever he had been trying to do just a second ago. This time, however, it worked, streams of energy breaking off from the fireball and flowing into her, the blistering orb shrinking with every moment until all of it had been absorbed by Blaze, who was now glowing and crackling with power, streamers of fire constantly bursting out from her only to circle right back into her body.

"Did I just… Become one with you?" Blaze murmured.

That was what I thought at the time. When you absorbed me into yourself, I was so happy. I thought that you had finally come to your senses and wanted to be whole with me once again. I was, unfortunately, wrong. Remember that technique that accursed human who caused our 'birth' used to seal us within his daughter?

"Yes," Blaze said. Her eyes widened as the implication struck her. "We found out about it?"

Yes. I don't know how, but you learned how to imprison me within a mortal vessel, the only way to remove me from the world due to my immortality. Your companion tried to use his own body as that vessel, but couldn't, because he was unfit for that task. However, since you were part of me…

"I was ideal for the role," Blaze realized. "And without realizing it, I gave you EXACTLY what you wanted… To become one with me…"

Yes, though not in the way I had envisioned, Iblis explained. Since you used the sealing technique on me, instead of the two of us truly fusing, I was just… Trapped inside of you. A passenger, unable to do anything as I was stuck inside your body. Having gone through that experience once before, I… Did not take this perceived betrayal very well.

"That's putting it lightly," Blaze said coldly.

Iblis glanced away. I'm sorry. I… Did not mean to hurt you. I just… I was so close to getting what I'd wanted for so long. It was just inches away… And even though I was so close to getting it, it was snatched away from me, eternally within spitting distance of me, and yet forever beyond my reach. You… You understand what that's like, don't you?

Blaze thought back to her eons of imprisonment. Of how many times she thought she'd finally gotten free, only for it to turn out to be yet another desperate fantasy to distract her from the hell she was trapped in. Of how sometimes, she still worried that this new life of hers was yet another illusion. "Yes," she said quietly. "I suppose I do." She frowned. "But… How did we get to that place, anyway? That void?"

After you sealed me within yourself, you asked your companion to use his power to banish you to another dimension, so that your world would never be troubled by me ever again, Iblis explained. But he didn't have the spine to do it, so you took it upon yourself to do the job for him.

"Yes, that sounds like something I would do," Blaze said with a faint smile, watching as her younger self, after another exchange with her indistinct companion, was abruptly surrounded in a sphere of purple energy, and when it dissipated she began to fade away, floating into the air as her body became more and more transparent, particles of light flowing off of her form until there was nothing left. The dark clouds swirling above the crater parted, and sunlight shone down upon the desolate world for the first time in ages.

Thanks to your sacrifice, Iblis went on. The world was free from me, from us, at last. All our power vanished. All our minions faded away. It seemed as if the people of the world would finally have a chance to rebuild and start anew…

There was a thunderclap off in the distance, and suddenly a wall of pure white stretching into infinity in every direction washed over the scene, and there was absolutely nothing left. It wasn't darkness, and it wasn't whiteness, it was just… Nothing. Nothing at all. It was incredibly unsettling. Blaze started. "What the-"

Or rather, it would've been, Iblis said sourly. If someone hadn't done something in the past that erased our entire timeline from existence, wiping out the world and everyone in it, meaning all your hard work and suffering was for nothing. Makes the whole thing seem kind of pointless in retrospect, doesn't it?

"Our… Our timeline was destroyed?!" Blaze stammered, stunned. Vaguely, she recalled how she had told the leader of the order who'd imprisoned her that the world she came from didn't exist anymore. Now she knew why. "But… Why? What happened?"

I'm not really sure, Iblis admitted. The energy behind it felt like that of Solaris, the being whom we once were. Whatever happened, though, it destroyed our entire timeline. The only reason we weren't erased from existence as well was because we were between worlds at the time. Even then, the temporal shockwave sent us flying across the multiverse, wiping out a good chunk of our memories in the process… Which is understandable, because how could we remember something that never happened to begin with? The only reason I was able to remember was because I was inside of you at the time, and because I possess more of our divine nature than you. Even then, my memory isn't perfect, as you noticed. The demon glanced at her. Loathe though I am to admit it, by sealing me away, you may have saved us from being eliminated from time and space entirely. I suppose I should thank you for that.

"An entire timeline, erased, just like that…" Blaze murmured. "Such destruction is beyond anything a self-proclaimed destroyer of worlds like myself could ever be capable of…"

It is beyond my powers as well. However, back when we were Solaris, such feats would've been simplicity itself. We would've been able to eat entire timelines, and chased it down with a universe or two if we were in the mood.

…

"Like the Time Eater?" Rouge asked, intrigued.

"Yes, but vastly more powerful," Blaze explained.

"That thing was pretty powerful. And you're saying you used to be part of something even BETTER at eating time than that was?!" Asked an incredulous Espio.

"There's always a bigger fish out there," Shadow said sagely.

Big looked up. "Fish? Where?"

"Not a real fish, Big. You can go back to ignoring us," Amy said.

The obese cat blinked. "Okay," he said before ponderously returning his focus to the punch bowl.

Vector snapped his fingers. "Hey… So that must be why we saw that destroyed city and some of your minions during the Time Eater incident! Some fragments of your destroyed timeline must've still been floating around somewhere out in the multiverse, and the Time Eater must've gobbled 'em up or something, so they showed up in the White Space with everything else it chewed up!"

"Like us," Cream said with a shudder. Cheese squeaked and rubbed one of her ears, trying to cheer her up.

Blaze nodded. "Iblis believes that's the most likely explanation, yes."

There was a pause. "Wait… You… Still talk to that thing?!" Knuckles asked, alarmed.

"We've… Come to an understanding," Blaze said vaguely. "Which brings me back to what happened next, actually…"

…

"I guess I should be thankful neither of us can do that anymore," Blaze said with a grimace.

Such power could be useful to create the world you envision, Iblis pointed out.

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I'm pretty damn strong already, and while I endeavor to be strong enough to make my dream a reality, there's limits to how far I want to go to make it come to pass," Blaze said firmly.

Iblis shrugged. It is a moot point anyway, if you cannot save yourself before you hit the ground. If you die, I will be unleashed once more, in all my terrible glory, and I shall destroy everything. What Dark Oak has become, your friends, the world… Everything. There'll be nothing left but ashes.

Blaze frowned. "But why?" She asked. "From what you said, you… You aren't the way used to be. That you've learned things from me."

I have, Iblis agreed. Unfortunately, all those things I have obtained from you… Compassion, self-awareness, and understanding of what it means to be mortal, or least like one… I will only possess those things so long as the two of us are together, as long as one of us is a part of the other. You are my restraining bolt, my morality chain. If you were to die, if the part of me that is you ceases to be, then so too will I forget everything that you were, that I have become. I will once more be a mindless engine of destruction, burning everything away until nothing is left… Or unless enough survivors remained that I eventually regain enough sentience to become curious about their desperate attempts to survive and try the experiment that led to your birth once again, though I rather doubt the result will be the same this time around.

Blaze regarded the demon for moment. "Do you want that?"

Want what? Iblis asked, confused.

"For me to be gone," Blaze said.

Of course not! Iblis snapped. The idea of losing any part of myself, ourselves, is abhorrent!

"That's not what I mean," Blaze said. "I mean… Do you want to be free again? No longer held back by chains of magic and morality? To be like you once were, eternal and unstoppable?"

Iblis hesitated. I would be lying if I said there was a part of me that did not, deep down, crave for it. To be big once more, unbridled, no longer trapped inside your tiny meaty shell, able to do whatever I want, destroy whatever I chose. To preside over an endless broken world like the wrathful God I truly am. But…

"But?" Blaze prompted.

We have been together for a long time, you and I, Iblis said. Our fates and souls intertwined. While we are not truly one, not in the way I initially intended, we are still incredibly close, closer than I suspect you ever realized. And I've learned much from you, just as I had hoped for when I made you… Again, not in the way I envisioned, but perhaps in a better way than I'd ever dreamed.

When we were imprisoned, I cried as you cried, hoped as you hoped, wishing for nothing more than to be free. Even the cage that was your body would have been infinitely preferable to that horrible place to which we were condemned. And once we were free… I saw through your eyes, felt as you felt, experienced as you experienced your many adventures. I raged as you raged against the many injustices and cruelties you encountered. I blazed as you blazed, rallying against those injustices and triumphing over them, burning a path to a better tomorrow, lending you the power and strength you needed to become victorious in your many battles, OUR battles, for I wanted our enemies defeated just as much as you did, not simply because they threatened my host, but because I honestly wanted them to fall for what they had done. I dreamed as you dreamed, seeing the new world, the shining future you seek to create, wishing to be a part of it just as much as you did, a world where everyone, no matter who or what they are, can find happiness and peace. Except for whales, of course.

...

"Amen to that," Sonic said. Everyone but Blaze rolled their eyes.

...

And… I've loved as you have loved. Cosmo. Honey. The dragons. All the friends and allies you've made over this long quest. I care for them, just as much as you do, even though I know they shall never know it. I do not want them to die. I do not want them to be destroyed. I do not… I do not want to become like I once was, if it means losing them. Especially if it is by my own hand that they are to be destroyed.

I… I do not want to be a monster again.

Blaze regarded the demon for a long, long time. Finally, she said, "Iblis, I do believe you have developed a heart."

Is that what it is? Iblis said, wondering. What a wondrous and terrible thing, it is. And yet I would not wish to part with it for anything in any world.

Blaze nodded in agreement. After a moment, she said, "Iblis. Even if you don't want to be a monster anymore, that does not change the fact that you were one once, a long time ago. You did terrible, horrible things, not just to our world, but to me, specifically. The atrocities you inflicted are truly unforgivable…" Iblis looked away, shame flickering across her molten features. "And yet I forgive you anyway."

Iblis looked up, startled. You do?!

…

"You did?!" Everyone echoed Iblis, shocked.

…

I don't understand. Why? Asked the dumbfounded Iblis.

"For number of reasons. For one thing, a sizable percentage of the horrors you inflicted on the world were my doing as well, considering that once, the two of us truly were the same being," Blaze pointed out. "The fact that the two of us split at one point does not deny me culpability in those crimes. If I were to hate you for all that, then I would have to hate myself as well… And hating oneself is never a healthy place to be."

But- Iblis started to protest.

Blaze pressed on. "In addition, hating you would be hypocritical, given that even discounting all the things that we did when we were one, my paws are far from clean of blood, either."

That's different. The things you've done have been to help people, to save lives- Iblis protested.

"And that excuses it?" Blaze said sharply. "That it's all right to commit genocide or annihilate civilizations because you think it's the right thing to do?"

Of course not. But there is nothing else you could've done in those situations, Iblis pointed out.

"I know. And I freely admit that, on some level, I enjoyed committing those acts. The warrior spirit in me, I suppose. But that does not mean that I'm absolved from any guilt I might feel in doing them, nor that, if there were any other way at all, I would not have taken it," Blaze said firmly. "I am not like Dark Oak, nor do I ever want to be. While I'm well aware that the world I wish to create will require a high cost in blood to bring into being, I don't want to build it on a mountain of corpses or dead nations—or my family-just because it's more expedient! I will change this world with my own hands, not by relying on some forbidden power which will reshape the world and everyone in it into whatever twisted reality I believe will be a utopia!"

The blood of countless nations is on my claws, though. How can you overlook that? Iblis demanded.

"Because…" Blaze hesitated. "Because you didn't know any better. Because destroying things was all you were made to do, and all you understood. There was no malice in your actions. You destroyed because… Well, like you said before, because that's what an earthquake or tornado or any other natural disaster does. You could not help it, no more than a typhoon can help wiping out a coastal city, or a forest fire burning down an old wood."

Natural disasters don't have minds, Iblis corrected her.

"Neither did you, not at first. Not like the one you have now," Blaze countered.

But even once I developed a mind, I still destroyed and ended lives,Iblis reminded her. And…I hurt you. I hurt you very badly.

"You did," Blaze admitted. "But like you said before…you didn't understand what you were doing. You did not comprehend why mortals acted the way they did, why they continued to cling to each other and struggled to rebuild no matter how many times you tore them down. Did not fathom why a little girl might not want to leave her parents, nor why they wouldn't let her go. But you wanted to…didn't you?"

Yes… I did, Iblis admitted.

"As I've said several times already, destruction need not be merely an end in itself, but also a catalyst for change," Blaze repeated. "Whether you realized it or not, you were already changing, and wanted to change further. The fact that we are even talking about this is proof of just how much you've changed. In fact, I am living proof of that desire for change, because if it were not for your curiosity, your need to understand… I would not be here now, would I?"

… No. I suppose not, Iblis admitted. If I had not put you inside of your mother's womb, you might never have been born. Or if you had, you probably would have died a pointless, messy death, just like so many others in the age of ruin I brought into being.

"Which is another reason I can forgive you," Blaze said. "Because if it were not for your actions, I would not exist."

You also would not have suffered alone for untold eons in that hell, Iblis pointed out.

"True," Blaze admitted. "But I also would not have eventually made it to this world, or met all the people I now call friends. I would never have met Honey, or hatched and fostered the dragons. I would never have helped so many people. I would never have had the chance to create a new world. None of that could have happened, were it not, in some fashion or another, because of you. Everything I am, everything I've done… Is all thanks to you, Iblis. Thank you."

Iblis stared at her for a long moment in disbelief. Nobody has ever thanked me for anything before, the demon said finally. Cursed my name, swore to end me for destroying their lives or their worlds… But nobody has ever, EVER thanked me for anything.

"Then I'm very glad to be the first," Blaze said. "And aside from that… You've said you truly regret your actions in the past, and wish to never be the cause of anything like that ever again. Would I be correct, then, in saying that, given the chance, you would undo, or at least try to make amends for everything you've done?"

With every fiber of my being, Iblis said firmly.

Blaze shrugged. "Then as far as I am concerned, that is all one needs to deserve forgiveness. From me, anyway. You're not the monster you once were, Iblis. Much as part of you became me, you have become something more. Something better. You can help people, and save worlds, just like I intend to."

I cannot do any of that if you die, and I become the monster I once was, Iblis said grimly.

"Then help me stop that from happening," blaze said.

What? Iblis asked, startled.

"You have been with me every step of this journey. I felt you within me, lending me strength when I needed it most. I ask of you to do it one more time," Blaze said, extending a hand. "I cannot do this. Not on my own. But with your help, I believe that I, no, WE, can triumph, just as we have so many times in the past. That we can stop this horror, end this war, save this nation, and create a future for my, no, OUR daughter. Will you help me, Iblis? One more time?"

Without hesitation, Iblis grasped her hand. It didn't feel at all like you might expect touching a creature made of molten rock would feel like. It was warm, but not unpleasantly so. This time, Iblis solemnly vowed. And every time.

Blaze smiled. Energy started crackling around the two of them, fiery auras blazing up as the mindscape began to disintegrate around them. "Then let us end this. Together."

Together, Iblis agreed.

Their auras exploded, the mindscape reduced to ashes…

And Blaze's eyes snapped open, awakening…in multiple senses of the term. She stared out across the land, which she had vowed would one day soon become her Kingdom (the view somewhat spoiled by her being upside down, plummeting to her death, and there not really being a lot to see due to most of the surrounding area being a barren wasteland riddled with fissures and writhing tentacles), feeling more awake, more energized, more alive than ever before. Her senses, which had always been pretty sharp, were even more heightened than before, so she could make out the individual faces of every one of her friends and allies desperately fighting for their lives on the ground below, smell their sweat and blood splattering in the air, and hear their screams of rage and despair, their prayers for salvation, their rallying cries to keep on fighting just a little longer. But more than that, she could feel them, on some indescribable, fundamental level; it wasn't like she could read their minds or hear their thoughts, but she still was aware of them, able to feel their life force burning within them, sparks of light which were little more than embers compared to the raging fire burning within her, but no less potent or beautiful for their fragility and impermanence, each radiating so distinctly and magnificently it brought tears to her eyes. It took only a matter of moments for her to locate Honey, who was being dragged away from the battlefield by an honor guard composed of Cosmo and Damil and a number of their other most trusted allies, bolstered by demons and oddly-shaped Inves which Blaze intuited must've been some of Gaim's followers, towards a series of Helheim cracks-no doubt opened by Gaim's army as a way to get as many people off the battlefield as possible-along with a great many other soldiers who were too weakened or wounded to fight anymore, while those were still capable did everything they could to guard their retreat. The half-sphinx was desperately struggling against her saviors and defenders, crying that they couldn't leave, not yet, that her mother would be there any minute, and she'd make everything right.

Blaze smiled, her heart buoying from her daughter's faith in her, especially because Honey was not alone in this sentiment, a not inconsiderate number of the troops using her name as their battle cry, bolstering each other's confidence by claiming that this was just a minor setback, that any moment now she would show up and do something ridiculously over-the-top to show them all up and destroy that hulking abomination of a tree, and they'd love her for it. "Well," Blaze said with a savage grin. "We shouldn't disappoint our audience, then, should we, Iblis?"

Let's give them a show worthy of a legend!Iblis agreed.

The fire within her, the heart of Iblis, ignited, sending her veins alight with liquid fire. Power coursed through her, raging, seething, brighter and hotter than ever before… But unlike when they were in limbo, she accepted the fire, and so was unburnt, taking it into herself and growing stronger and stronger than ever before, her eyes glowing with unchecked flames as her corona blazed out around her, bigger and brighter than ever before.

But Iblis' fire wasn't the only power she could feel growing within her. As her fire grew brighter and the ground drew closer, she could sense the hearts and feelings of her followers as they finally spotted her… And while initially they were startled to see her fall, that fear was quickly replaced by hope, for not a one of her friends and allies doubted that she had returned, and everything would be all right now, one heart believing that more fervently than any other. Their hearts resonated with her own, and as their positive emotions grew stronger, filling her with hope and love and belief, the seven Sol Emeralds, which had been all but dormant ever since she removed them from the fortresses that had been drawing strength from them, at last rekindled, flying out from her and orbiting her body, spinning faster and faster as they regained their true colors and radiance, each burning with a brilliance equaling that of her own and the sun above them. Their energies melded with her own, and in a flash of light, she was transformed; her lavender fur turning pink, the tip of her tail red, her jacket becoming red while the bottom hem changed to a golden shade of yellow, the cuffs on her gloves and shoes engulfed in magenta flames, while a red aura resembling fire burned around her.

With an act of will, she arrested her descent, her new power allowing her to fly as easily as she took breath. With a furious cry, she unleashed a tremendous blast of power, a sphere of red fire exploding out from her in every direction, smashing into the tree behind her and causing it to shriek in agony and actually recoil backwards, a large section of its wriggling trunk scorched black and lifeless. She turned to face the tree as her aura receded back to swirl around her, burning hungrily around her form as she pointed dramatically at the monstrosity, the seven Emeralds continuing to rotate around her, causing her to look like nothing more than a wrathful goddess descended from on high to smite the wicked and unworthy… Which was not that far off, her own semi-divine origins notwithstanding. After all, depending on who you asked, the line between God and demon wasn't much thicker than that between freedom fighter and terrorist. "Dark Oak, or whatever you have become, hear me!" She proclaimed, the power burning within her causing her voice to echo across the barren plains to be heard by all. "This is the end of my quest, and the beginning of a new day for this kingdom you have so callously ruined! I am the Queen of Demons, Chiefest of Calamities, Archfiend of the Abyssal Planes, Flames of Disaster, Avatar of Iblis, and Destroyer of Worlds, and countless other titles besides… But the only one that matters now is that I am Burning Blaze, the future Queen of Solana! With my own hands, I will bring about a new world… And you have no place in it!"

…

"Bad. Ass," Vector said approvingly.

"A well said speech," Rouge agreed.

"NOT-TO-MENTION-IT-DOESN'T-GET-AS-REPETITIVE-AS-SHADOW'S-'THIS-IS-WHO-I-AM'-SPEECHES," Omega commented.

"Oh come on, I didn't say it that much," Shadow complained.

"Yes, you did," just about everyone deadpanned. The black hedgehog scowled.

"Wait, I'm confused," Charmy spoke up. "Did you transform because you came to an accord with Iblis, or because you were using the Sol Emeralds?"

Blaze waggled her hand. "A little of column A, a little of column B. One of the reasons I couldn't tap into the power of the Emeralds before was because of the lingering subconscious discord between myself and Iblis. Once that was resolved, I was able to transform. That's also similar to why, for a long time, I was unable to transform… Because I closed my heart off to the people close to me, and only once I was willing to open that heart up again was I able to become Burning Blaze once again."

"Much like Chaos, the power of the Sol Emeralds is derived from the heart," Tails quipped.

Blaze nodded. "And with the hearts of everyone behind me, I felt as if there was NOTHING I could not do…"

"And you were able to do all this by reconciling with the demon inside of you… That's so sweet!" Cream squeaked, eyes sparkling.

"That's… One word for it, I suppose," Shadow said uncertainly.

"Weren't you able to achieve a new and more powerful form by reconciling yourself with your alien heritage?" Espio pointed out.

Shadow considered this. "… Fair enough."

"Actually, is it the same? I mean, it's not like Shadow has an actual second evil personality inside his head," Charmy said. He paused in thought. "… Is it?"

They all looked at Shadow for a moment. "Well, it would certainly explain how schizophrenic he was acting during the Black Arms invasion…" Vector murmured.

"Helping us or GUN one second, then joining forces with the aliens or Eggman the next… Sometimes multiple times in the same area…" Tails murmured in agreement.

"Shadow, is there something you want to tell us?" Sonic asked with faux gentleness.

"Fuck off, all of you," Shadow growled. He paused for a moment, and then amended, "Except for you, Cream."

"Okay!" she said cheerfully.

"Why does she get a pass?" Knuckles complained.

"Because she's adorable, and she is my great-Niece," Shadow said bluntly.

"Fair enough," the echidna relented.

"Wait a second… So Blaze, are you saying that this Iblis… Um, should I call it a guy or girl or what?" Mighty asked awkwardly.

"Iblis doesn't exactly have a gender, but I'm female, so you might as well call Iblis female as well," Blaze prompted.

"Right. So… you're saying Iblis, ah, she's still inside of you right now? And conscious?" The armadillo asked.

Blaze nodded. "Correct. She is aware of everything I am, and sometimes a bit more than that."

"Why didn't you ever mention this before?" Cream asked, looking a little hurt.

"Because I didn't think it necessary… And because I didn't want you to think I was crazy," Blaze said, looking embarrassed.

"Too late for that," Charmy muttered.

"So, um, does that mean that when you and Sonic do it, she's also there?" Mighty asked, blushing.

There was a very awkward silence. Both Blaze and Sonic turned very red. "When she and Mr. Sonic do what?" Cream asked innocently.

Without warning, Amy was holding her hammer, clutching it so tightly her fingers were forming grooves into its haft. "Yes, Mighty, when she and Mr. Sonic are doing what?"

"I suggest you consider the answer to that question very carefully, because if I don't like what I hear, I'm going to be very cross," Shadow said calmly. After moment, he admitted, "though possibly not as cross is Amy." The sound of the pink hedgehog's teeth grinding was very audible.

Mighty swallowed and, very carefully, said, "I immediately retract the question."

"Good answer," Shadow said, though Amy looked only marginally less tense.

"More seriously, though… Sonic, are you really okay sharing your girlfriend with this other entity inside of her? When you kiss her, or do… Other things, are you alright knowing that you are also doing it with someone else?" Rouge asked, curious. The sound of Amy's teeth grinding grew audibly louder.

Sonic rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and glanced away. Blaze, also blushing, reflexively grabbed his hand, also glancing away. The Biter made a sound which could almost be interpreted as a laugh. "We, um, we had a nice, long talk about it after the two of us decided to go steady," Sonic said awkwardly. "The short answer is… Yes, I'm okay with it, though I will admit it took a little getting used to."

"That is an understatement," Blaze muttered, her blush getting even more pronounced.

"But, you know, the two of us are both extraordinary people living extraordinary lives, so it only makes sense that our relationships would also be… Well, extraordinary," Sonic said awkwardly. "I won't deny that we haven't had our rough patches, especially where Blaze's… Third party is concerned, but… I think we've more or less found an equilibrium and a way of making it work, and, ah, that's really about as much as I feel comfortable discussing."

"Yes. Likewise," Blaze agreed, her face a brilliant crimson.

"Fair enough, I've simply curious," Rouge conceded. "If it's any consolation, a relationship such as yours is not the first I've encountered. Let's just say that back home, having a significant other who is actually more of a significant others is not unheard of."

"Oh, really? And, uh, how do those work out?" Sonic asked quickly, trying not to look that interested.

Rouge shrugged. "Some manage to work. Others don't. It depends, really, just like all relationships."

"… Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Sonic admitted, glancing briefly at Blaze, who gave him a somewhat embarrassed smile but said nothing. "And, um, do you think that you… no, never mind. That's probably not a question I need to know the answer to."

"Not from you, anyway," Blaze said, only to backpedal quickly. "I mean, not to say that we don't respect your judgment, but-"

Rouge burst into laughter. "No, no, it's fine. It's your relationship, not mine. I'm in no place to judge." She smirked. "But if it's any consolation, I think the two of you are doing just fine." The couple smiled gratefully.

Amy's teeth grinding grew even louder. "YOU-KNOW, IF-YOU-KEEP-DOING-THAT-THE-DENTIST-WILL-BE VERY-CROSS-WITH-YOU," Omega commented.

"I. Don't. Care," Amy growled through her clenched teeth.

"Perhaps we should change the subject," Tails suggested.

"Yes! Excellent idea!" Sonic said eagerly, quickly latching onto the idea.

"Um… Blaze? Is… Is Iblis listening to us right now?" Cream asked.

"Iblis is always listening, Cream. Why?" The cat asked.

"Can… Can I talk to her?" Cream asked nervously.

A look of surprise flickered across Blaze's face. "Well, certainly. She hears everything I hear, so if there's something you wish to tell her-"

"No, I mean REALLY talk to her. Not… Not use you as a go-between," Cream elaborated, looking embarrassed.

Blaze's eyes widened in surprise for a moment. "Well… That COULD be doable, but… Well… Probably not right now…" She said apologetically.

"Why not?" Cream asked, looking disappointed.

"Well…" Blaze beckoned Cream over, then leaned down and whispered into one of her long, floppy ears, "Believe it or not, Iblis is actually… Kind of shy."

Cream's eyes widened in amazement. "Really?"

Blaze nodded. "Yes, really. Remember, before becoming a part of me, most of Iblis' interaction with others involved destroying them in in great numbers and being a solitary entity. While she has certainly learned a lot about how to handle social interactivity by watching through my eyes, when it comes to actually doing it herself, she gets… Well, a bit flustered."

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that," Cream said, looking astounded.

"I certainly would never have expected an almighty demon god to have some sort of crippling social anxiety issues," Shadow commented.

"I wonder if that's more common than we think," Espio wondered.

"You have no idea," Rouge grumbled.

"If you still want to talk to her later, we can arrange something one-on-one," Blaze offered.

Cream nodded. "Okay, that sounds good. But until then…" Without warning, she hugged Blaze.

"Oh? What brings this on?" Blaze asked, bemused.

"Oh, it isn't for you…er, not to say that I don't like hugging you, but this is actually for Iblis," Cream explained, blushing.

Blaze's eyebrows rose. "For Iblis?"

Cream nodded energetically. "Uh-huh! From what you said about her backstory, it doesn't sound like she's ever really gotten much in the way of hugs before she became a part of you, and I bet she didn't get many of those afterwards, either! I just want to let her know that whatever awful things she did in the past, I'm glad she's not like that anymore, and that the two of you were able to reconcile, and that she gets to live happily ever after inside of your head and understand what it means to be a real person and have feelings and stuff instead of being a monster or erased from existence, and I'd be happy to be her friend, if she'll let me!"

Blaze had to blink back tears, and she wasn't the only one. "… That is very much appreciated, Cream. Thank you, from both of us." She crouched down and hugged Cream back.

"Is that from Iblis, or from you?" The little rabbit asked.

"Can't it be both?" Blaze sniffed, smiling through her tears.

Shadow started sniffling and tearing up. "I have such a wonderful great-niece," he said, lip trembling.

"I-THOUGHT-YOU-FOUND-HER-BOUNDLESS-OPTIMISM-AND-CHEER-INCREDIBLY-ANNOYING," Omega commented.

"That was before I knew she was family!" The black hedgehog snapped.

Silver coughed. "Sorry to interrupt, but weren't we in the middle of something?"

"Oh yeah, Blaze was about to beat…uh…the heck should we call this thing, anyway?" Knuckles asked.

"I thought it was called the Final Mova," Cream recalled.

"Yeah, but that was the first form. Since it changed, shouldn't it have a different name now?" Knuckles pointed out.

"While that isn't always the case, he does have a point," Tails admitted.

"Well, maybe we should call it the True Final Mova?" Mighty suggested, not noticing Sonic, Blaze, and Tails wince.

"That's as good a name as any," Rouge agreed.

"Right… Anyway…" Blaze said, quickly changing the subject.

…

From the cheers of the Army below, and the power surge from the Emeralds, she guessed that was the right thing to say. The giant tree monster, however, didn't seem to find her speech nearly as inspiring, and immediately tried to kill her. Branches ripped out of the central mass and tried to knock her out of the sky. Thorny tendrils erupted all over the place, flailing wildly. Vines ending in toothed mouths surged forwards, trying to snatch her up in their fanged jaws. Deceptively beautiful flowers blossomed open and started firing seeds, thorns, and swirling razor-sharp petals at her. Swarms of winged Inves materialized from cracks in the trunk, their bloodthirsty shrieks drowned out by the buzz of their wings as they surged forward to overwhelm her.

Blaze paid little heed to any of it. Her reflexes had always been well above average- an understandable consequence of having super speed – – but with the power boost her new form gave her, the rest of the world might as well been moving in slow motion. Even the fastest of the tree's projectiles had little chance of striking her… And even if they did, they would be incinerated instantly by the shield of fire wrapped around her body. A savage grin on her face, she shot forwards, leaving a fiery trail like a comet behind her as she streaked through the air. The flailing branches she either flew over or under or around, or if they were too big to do that, she simply dashed forwards in a burst of speed with a Burning Fire Boost, slamming into the branches and shattering them in a great conflagration. Any tendril that tried to grab her was immediately set ablaze by her flaming aura, the fire consuming them in seconds and spreading out into the trunk from which they were growing. Her claws flashed through the air every time a fanged bud tried to swallow her up, slicing them to pieces, and whenever one actually closed its jaws around her, a burst of flames annihilated them instantly. The flowers she threw fireballs into the second they unfolded their petals, igniting their unspent ordinance and causing them to explode. She moved so quickly through the swarms of Inves that it was nearly impossible to keep track of her between the period when she entered a cloud of monsters and when she came out the other end, the fiends exploding spectacularly moments after she turned her back on them.

"All right, enough warming up!" She declared after a few minutes of this. "Let's see what I can really do!"

Her aura blazing up around her, Blaze shot forwards in a Burning Fire Boost, slamming into the tree so hard she pierced it. It howled in anguish as she tunneled through its innards, fires spreading throughout the interior as she carved a path through its grotesque mass, ripping out the other side in a spectacular blast before looping around and shooting right back in from another angle, repeating the process at least half a dozen times in under a minute, the tree shaking and screaming with greater intensity with each new burning hole she left in her wake.

The side of the tree convulsed, and suddenly a large Lotus pod on a winding, thorny stem erupted from it, the petals unfolding to reveal the monstrous Dark Oak-like abomination that had appeared atop the tree after the destruction of the three headed monster. It shrieked in rage, its mouth opening wide and firing a laser which sliced through the air.

Ah, I was wondering when that thing would show up. Figures that it would only appear after we'd caused enough damage to force it to come out of hiding, Iblis commented.

Looks like just one big target to me. Time to take it out! Blaze thought back, aura blazing up as she shot towards the Lotus.

The abomination trembled, shrieked, and then fired its laser at her. The beam was massive, easily at least twice the size of the body producing it, but Blaze dashed sideways through the air every time a beam shot towards her, sometimes missing it only by mere micrometers, but dodging it all the same. The beam came closer to striking her the nearer she got to the monster, but unfortunately for the creature, it failed to hit her before she could hit it, ramming into it with a Burning Fire Boost that caused it to explode in a spectacular conflagration, its stem blowing up segment by segment before finally ripping out a sizable chunk of the tree's trunk.

The tree shook and moaned, several of its appendages drooping, its foliage withering and wilting, hardening and petrifying into a dead mass… But most of the tree was still horribly, grotesquely alive. It's still standing, Blaze noted.

Well, of course, said, Iblis. You know as well as I do a single hit is never enough to take down something like this.

Which means we need to look for another one… Ah, there it is, Blaze thought, spotting another Lotus as it ripped messily from the side of the tree and opened up to reveal another Dark Oak-shaped monster. With a burst of flames, she shot towards the new horror.

When the monster spotted her, it started firing powerful laser beams much like its predecessor had. Unlike its predecessor, however, instead of stupidly staying in one place and making it easier for her to hit it, it was taking advantage of its long, flexible stem and wildly moving all over the place to make it difficult for her to get a bead on it, forcing her to constantly change her trajectory using small bursts of flame to make sure she was staying on target. It was rather tricky to do that while also avoiding getting hit by the laser beams, but in the end all its bobbing and weaving couldn't protect it from getting a Burning Fire Boost to the face, incinerating it and causing another vast portion of the tree to harden and die.

But of course, just as one hit was never enough to completely destroy something like this, neither was two. A third Lotus soon emerged from another spot on the tree, and not only was it firing lasers and moving wildly around, but its petals were constantly spinning, periodically firing rings of giant razor-sharp petals which twirled through the air before closing in on Blaze. This might have been more of a threat if they weren't made of plant matter, and thus highly combustible, and so Blaze paid them very little mind, incinerating them with bursts of her aura whenever they were about to encircle her. On the other hand, she had to expend a small amount of her concentration whenever she needed to destroy them, giving the fast-moving monster more time to try and move out of the way. Ultimately, however, the petals were no more than a minor distraction, and not enough to stop her from smashing into it with another Burning Fire Boost, destroying it and killing another big chunk of the tree.

All right, judging from standard final boss practices and how bad the tree is looking right now- Iblis began.

And it was fairly ugly-looking already! Blaze quipped.

Heh, quite. Anyway, I'd say maybe…one or more good hit should finish it,Iblis said. Unless, of course, it has ANOTHER form after this.

I really, really hope it doesn't, Blaze groaned. This has gone on long enough already!

When the fourth and (hopefully) final Lotus emerged, it was clear the tree wasn't taking any chances this time. On top of the ubiquitous laser beams, its movement pattern was even more erratic and chaotic than before, and instead of rings of petals, it was now causing Helheim cracks to randomly zip open and closed in the air between her and it, and even her lightning-quick reflexes found themselves taxed trying to not only dodge the lasers without accidentally flying into one of the cracks, but also making sure she was still on target to hit the monster. It didn't help when occasionally the beast fired a laser into a crack, causing it to be refracted and fired at Blaze in all directions from several smaller cracks which opened all around her. Fortunately, remembering her duel with Red Pine way back at the beginning of this adventure, she started throwing fireballs into cracks whenever they opened near her, in hopes that one of them might pop out near the monster and hit it. Most of them didn't, but enough managed to make it through to stun it before it could fire more lasers, earning her a few brief seconds of reprieve that she could use to close the distance. Ultimately, despite putting up a harder fight than any of its predecessors, it was unable to stop her from reaching it, and with a grin of triumphant exultation, she surged forward to destroy it…

And was surprised when it disintegrated before she could even hit it. "What the-" she stammered, too startled to arrest her momentum before she could crash into the tree trunk. Not that she had to worry about that, because before she could because smash into it, the entire upper half of the tree abruptly split in two just before she could slam into it. She didn't have time to slow down or stop herself as she passed between the two halves, which immediately snapped closed on her, and she might've been crushed if she hadn't shot her arms out to either side to catch the two halves before they could slam shut. Flames washed out from her and into the surrounding biomass, but there was just so much of it pressing down on her, and even with her newfound strength and power she found herself struggling to survive. She ground her teeth, digging deep within herself for even more power…

And nearly lost her grip and was crushed when an unexpected voice said, "Hey Blaze. Would you believe that, funnily enough, almost the same exact thing happened the last time I fought a giant tree?"

"Gaim?!" Blaze cried, startled.

"Oh, sorry," the Rider, who was partially embedded in one of the walls nearby, roots and tendrils digging into his armor, said apologetically. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

"You didn't frighten me," Blaze lied. "What are you doing down here?" Mentally, she kicked herself for not wondering where he'd been sooner. Even though they hadn't known each other for long, he'd proven himself repeatedly to be a trustworthy ally. He deserved better than that from her.

"After the big transformation, both of us got knocked off and started falling," Gaim explained. "You probably would've been fine, but I think you got hit by one of those tendrils and got knocked for a loop. I tried to summon a bike to save you, but one of those appendages grabbed me and dragged me in here. I think it's trying to drain the Golden Fruit power inside of me to try and stave off its decay. I don't know if you've noticed, but this thing isn't exactly the most stable of life forms."

"You don't say," Blaze said dryly. "What you mean, 'its decay?'"

"Something this big and this monstrous requires a TON of energy to sustain itself," Gaim explained. "Unfortunately for it, there just isn't enough of that energy going around, especially since it soaked up so much life from the surrounding landscape in its earlier forms. Think of it like sipping water through a straw, but there's only a tiny bit of water left at the bottom of the glass. Soon there won't be even that left, and then you'll get really thirsty. And of course, you can DIE of thirst…"

"So you're saying that this thing doesn't have much time left to live," Blaze concluded.

Gaim nodded. "Yeah. In theory we could wait it out, but there's no telling how much damage it could cause or how many more people it'll kill before it eventually gives up the ghost and goes to the big lumber mill in the sky."

"Not to mention I really don't want to have to stay like this longer than I have to," Blaze said through gritted teeth, sweat rolling down her face as she struggled to keep the walls from closing in. "You can't get out?"

Gaim grunted and tried to pull himself out of the wall. The tendrils and other appendages clutching him tightened their grip on him, pulling him back. "This thing's got a pretty tight hold on me, and every time I try to power up or summon a weapon it drains more of my energy. I think I could get out if I had a little more time, but I don't think time is something either of us can afford right now."

"Agreed. You said that something like this happened the last time you fought a giant tree. How did you get out of it?" Blaze asked.

"My wizard friend and I encountered the spirits of the other 14 'Bujin' Riders my evil doppelgänger had defeated inside of the tree, and they empowered us, allowing us to break free. Then my friend summoned his Dragon familiar thing and combined with it to turn into the boot of a giant flaming clone of himself, which then kicked me – – I was in my watermelon armor form at the time – – into the tree like a soccer ball, wrecking it," Gaim recalled.

There was a pause. "I… Don't think we're going to be able to replicate that trick," Blaze said slowly.

"How do you know that? Maybe the spirits of everyone Dark Oak has slain are in the tree with us and if we call out to them, they'll give us the power to break free," Gaim suggested.

Blaze gave him a skeptical look. "You really think so?"

Gaim shrugged as much as he was capable. "It's worth a try, isn't it?"

Blaze sighed. "Well, I suppose… Ahem. Spirits of all who have fallen to Dark Oak the tyrant, hear me! If this land of Solana and its people mean anything to you, please, grant us the strength we need to save ourselves and your kin, and rid the world of this blight which has befouled your beloved country once and for all!"

They waited a moment. Nothing happened. I don't think anyone's listening, Iblis said finally.

"Oh well. Guess it didn't work," Gaim said, not seeming too upset. "Well, I'm sure we'll think of something else. Hopefully soon…"

"Actually, I think I just might have," Blaze said, struck by sudden idea. "I believe you have the right idea, Gaim. We need to reach out to others for help. And I think I know just how to do it…"

"Oh?" Gaim asked, intrigued. "Do tell."

Blaze closed her eyes, concentrating. "The seven gems you see orbiting around me are the Sol Emeralds, the most powerful artifacts in the realm. They were able to connect me with the hearts of my friends and followers, channeling their positive emotions into me to give me the strength I need to maintain this form. I can feel them as we speak… They saw the tree close shut on me, more or less, and thanks to its size and the angle, they can't know for certain that I'm still alive. While many are still hopeful, quite a few are starting to give into despair, and if too many of them lose faith, the Emeralds will weaken, and I'll have to exert even more of my inner power to maintain this form… And might not be able to prevent myself from getting crushed for much longer. However… I don't believe that connection is necessarily one way. If I can find a way to reach out to them, let them know I'm alive and need their help, then the resulting flood of positive emotions should-"

She stiffened, gasping. "Blaze?!" Gaim asked, alarmed.

"Oh… Oh my. That's… Wow. That's way more than I expected. They must really like me," Blaze said with a shudder. "Or at the very least, a few of them love me more than I could ever imagine… And the feeling is mutual. Gaim, is that armor of yours fireproof?"

"… Why do you ask?" The Rider asked cautiously.

"Because if it's not, I think this might hurt. A lot," Blaze said, gritting her teeth as her aura started blazing up around her once more, brighter than ever… And then another layer of fire formed around it, and another, and another, until she was encased in seven shells of roiling, multicolored flames, each brighter and hotter than the last, the seven Sol Emeralds spinning around her so fast they blurred together to form a shimmering rainbow ring. The tree moaned in agony as her flames licked at its innards, and even as the biomass close to her shriveled and died, more pressed in, desperately trying to crush her before it was too late.

"Oh boy. This is gonna sting," Gaim groaned, bracing himself as he realized what was coming.

With a cry that seem to transcend time and space itself, Blaze's aura exploded upwards in a shimmering pillar of rainbow fire which soared and soared into the heavens above, forming a beacon of light and hope which could be seen for miles around. That beacon only lasted for a moment, however, before abruptly collapsing back into itself and being absorbed into Blaze, the seven shells of fire condensing around her before erupting to either side of her, blasting the two halves of the tree with enough pure destructive power that it was a marvel they didn't disintegrate. Instead, they were split apart so hard that they were flung to either side, the only thing keeping them from being ripped from the rest of the trunk completely a tenuous lattice of vines and tentacles keeping them connected to the central mass. However, they were charred so completely by Blaze's fire that they were pitch-black, and bits of them were crumbling off by the second. The tree wailed piteously, trembled convulsively…and then collapsed to the ground with an earth-shaking tremor, its myriad appendages twitching a few times before lying still. What was left of the ground forces threw up a ragged cheer, elated that the terror was seemingly finally, truly at an end.

With a grunt, Blaze picked herself up, gazing around at the bottom of the crater of black glass she had transformed the upper part of the abominable tree into. "Well, that was a rush," she said, head spinning.

Not bad. A shame you didn't burn the whole thing down, but I suppose it is much as I might expect from a half-demon, Iblis joked.

"Oh, hush, you," Blaze chuckled, rolling her eyes. "You were impressed and you know it."

Hmmph. Perhaps.

She tried to step forward, and then stumbled, barely catching herself before she could hit the ground. Dots swirled before her eyes, and the corona around her flickered, the seven Emeralds stuttering in their orbit. "Phew. That really took a lot out of me. Er, us. I think it's going to be a while before we are capable of something like that again."

Hopefully, it will be quite some time before we need to, Iblis said.

Blaze snorted. "Like we're ever that lucky." She frowned, glancing around her. "Though I suppose you're right, it might've been easier if we just burn the whole thing into nothingness. What the heck are we going to do with what's left of this thing? It's too big to dispose of."

Well, the petrified wood from this thing might make for good building material. You could try converting it into a new capital city for this kingdom. And this crater could serve as the foundation for your new Palace. You'll need one, if you're going to be the Queen and all, Iblis suggested.

"Hmm. That idea has merit. Center of the kingdom, elevated position, technically where the old capital used to be. Yes, I think that could work-" Blaze paused.

Blaze?

"Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something – – GAIM!" Blaze shouted in horror, seeing a blackened heap of armor partially fused into the slope of the crater.

Huh. Guess his armor isn't that fireproof after all.

"Please be alright please be alright please be alright-" Blaze muttered under her breath frantically as she channeled strength into her tired limbs, rushing over to the fallen form of her friend. "Gaim, are you alright-" she started, reaching out to touch his shoulder…

Only for his body to crumble into ash at her touch. She stared in horror at the pile of dust, the glittering golden Kiwami Lock Seed the only thing left of her ally.

Really not fireproof. You might want close your mouth, by the way. Don't want to swallow any of that, Iblis commented.

…

Cream gasped. "Oh no! Mr. Gaim!"

"Well, that seems like a pretty painful way to go," Espio commented, face pale.

"AND-GLORIOUS," Omega said rapturously. "SUCH-BEAUTIFUL-DESTRUCTION."

"Not to mention pretty crass of Iblis!" Amy complained, disgusted. "To make an awful crack like that? Disgusting! You really are a demon!"

"I-LIKE-HER-SENSE-OF-HUMOR," Omega said.

"You would," Shadow grunted.

"Wait, so he died? Like, really died?" Charmy asked in disbelief.

"How could he do that? I thought he was a space God or something," asked the confused Knuckles.

"Well, being a God doesn't necessarily preclude you from dying," Rouge pointed out.

"Given the number of godlike beings Sonic has defeated by now, you'd think you'd know that by now," Mighty commented. Knuckles grunted.

"But still… To have survived all that, only to be taken out by your own ally… That stinks," Vector complained.

"Yes, it does," Amy sneered. "What a horrible thing to do! Sonic, how could you possibly love someone who murdered their own teammate like that?"

"Amy, didn't you once try to smash Cream's head in because you thought Sonic might be showing an interest in her instead of you?" Tails asked.

Cream blinked. "Wait, what?"

Shadow stiffened. "She. Did. WHAT?!"

"Wait, seriously? She really thought I'd be into… Amy, Cream's just a kid!" Sonic protested, revolted.

"Didn't seem to stop Tails from catching the eye of that Cosmo chick," Vector pointed out. Tails blushed and started stammering nervously.

"Ahahahahaha I have no idea what you're talking about Blaze why don't you continue your story now please?" Amy asked desperately in a single breath, eyeing the trembling Shadow anxiously.

"Very well. Anyway, I was indeed distraught at the thought that I had killed my own ally," Blaze continued. "Which is why I was very thankful that, ultimately, that turned out not to be the case…"

…

Blaze fell to her knees, staring at the glittering Seed in shock. "No," she whispered. "Nononononononono!" She pounded the ground angrily, setting up a shockwave which blew away some of the pile of ashes and jostled the Lock Seed slightly. "He was… He wasn't supposed to die… I didn't… I didn't mean to… No… What have I done?!"

What you had to, Iblis said, not unkindly. There was no other way. You gave him fair warning. It's not your fault that he wasn't powerful enough to protect himself.

"But if I had-" Blaze started, only for Iblis to immediately cut her off.

There was NOTHING else you could've done, Iblis repeated firmly. If you had delayed for too much longer, you would have died, I would've been unleashed, and this world would be a burning cinder. As horrible as it sounds, the loss of one life is a small price to pay for victory.

"It's not a price that should've been paid," Blaze said bitterly.

Hundreds if not thousands of those who rallied to your banner have died securing you this victory. What makes this one so different? Iblis asked.

"Because… Because all those down below, who sacrificed themselves for me, did it because I asked them to. Because this is their home. Because they were fighting for me, for their lives, for their families. For the future I promised them I could create, but only if we worked together," Blaze said slowly. Smoldering tears started to drip from her eyes, splashing down on the pile of ashes with a hiss of steam. "But this is not Gaim's world, and these are not his people. He did not help because I asked him to, but because another intervened on my behalf. And now, because of that, his world, his friends, his family… They will never see him again. I've deprived them of a great hero. A husband. A father. A friend."

Coming here was his choice to make, Iblis said gently. He knew the risks, yet he took them anyway. They will just have to understand that. And if they don't, and decide to go to war with us for revenge...Well, we'll have to deal with that when the time comes.

"I suppose we will," Blaze said resignedly. Wiping her eyes, she stood up. "I shall build him a great Memorial. To honor him, and all the others who fell this day. But first… I suppose I should return this to his family, so that they have something to remember him by." She bent down to pick up the Lock Seed…

"Hey, don't count me out just yet!"

Blaze yelped and stumbled backwards, dropping the Lock Seed. "Gaim?! You are… Alive?!"

"Well, yeah. You didn't really think I'd go out that easily, did you? I AM sort of a space God, after all," the Lock Seed, speaking in Gaim's voice, said jovially, the jewels on its surface flickering in tune with his words, the incredible golden energy Blaze could perceive permeating its form pulsing like a heartbeat.

"But… How is this possible?" Blaze asked, astonished.

Really? After everything else you've been through, you ask something like that? Iblis asked in disbelief.

"Good point," Blaze admitted.

"Who are you talking to?" Gaim asked.

"Oh, there's a demonic god inside of me which is technically my progenitor, but the same time, used to be me," Blaze said. "Or rather, I used to be a part of it. We talked things out while I was falling to my death and we're friends now."

"Oh, okay," Gaim said. "Anyway, I'm all right because I backed myself up on my Kiwami Lock Seed just before you released that attack once I realized there was no way I could survive it normally. I've done it before when I've gone up against truly powerful opponents, like this one alien robot who was going around mechanizing and assimilating planets to join to some vast intergalactic collective. I'll be able to reconstitute myself eventually, though if you bring me to my wife, she'll be able to speed up the process exponentially."

"Well, that's a relief," Blaze said gratefully, picking up the Lock Seed. "And here I was, worried that I'd have to explain to her that you died!"

"Yeah, that would've been most unpleasant," Gaim agreed.

With a burst of her fiery aura, Blaze took to the air, flying away from the top of the great dead tree stump towards the rejoicing army on the broken plains below. "And once you have your body back, we can hold a great celebration, because finally, this nightmare is over-"

From behind her, there was a great groan.

Blaze stiffened, stopping in midair. "Did you hear that?" Gaim asked after a moment.

"No," Blaze quickly.

No, Iblis said.

"Really? Because I could've sworn I heard-" Gaim started.

"The dead wood settling, because there is absolutely no way whatsoever that that thing could be recovering for yet ANOTHER phase in this overlong battle," Blaze snapped.

There was another, even louder groan. "That doesn't sound like wood settling," Gaim said after a moment.

Blaze grit her teeth. "Iblis, please tell me that that rising energy signature I'm detecting behind me is all the stolen power that monster absorbed preparing to burst out and return to the land, and not the beast gathering strength for one more go."

…Fuck, Iblis swore. Blaze cursed as well.

…

Everyone groaned. "It's still not dead?!" Amy asked in disbelief.

"Oh, come on! This is getting old! This series of never ending boss battles, while admittedly action-packed, is just getting ridiculous!" Vector complained.

"Yeah, can't this thing just die already? I'm getting bored! I want the story to end already!" Charmy complained. "It's gone on long enough as is!"

"Don't worry, we're almost done," Blaze promised.

"We'd better be, or I will get very cranky," Charmy warned her.

"None of us care," Shadow said bluntly.

"When I get cranky, I start singing," Charmy added.

Shadow's eyes widened in horror. "Oh God no! Your voice is irritating enough as is! Finish the story, Blaze! FINISH THE STORY!"

Cream frowned. "Grunkle Shadow, I don't mind Charmy's voice that much…"

"You're the only one, sweetheart," he said kindly.

"All right, all right! I'll finish the story!" Blaze promised.

Charmy smirked. "Looks like my horrible voice is good for something. After all!" He said smugly.

"YES, OTHER-THAN-CAUSING-YOUR-PARENTS-TO-ABANDON-YOU-AT-AN-AMUSEMENT-PARK," Omega commented. Charmy burst into tears.

…

With a great groan and crack, the two splintered halves of the tree's upper trunk began to move, twisting and reshaping themselves into a pair of massive gnarled wings. They began to move, up and down, up and down, faster and faster, the air it displaced strong enough to send Blaze flying, and she had to struggle to regain her balance as well as keep from dropping Gaim's Lock Seed. By the time she managed to regain control of her flight, she was just in time to see the tree slowly begin to rise into the air, carried by the movement of its massive, impossible wings, tearing up more of the ground the higher it rose as it dragged its roots with it, disrupting the broken plane even more than it already was.

Blaze stared at the ascending horror in disbelief. "That tree is flying," she said flatly.

Yes. I see it too, Iblis said, sounding equally stunned.

"Gaim, did that tree you keep talking about do this as well?" Blaze asked the Lock Seed.

"Ah…no. No, this is new for me too," Gaim said, sounding dazed. "And here I thought I'd seen everything after that Dr. Pac-Man thing…"

"Dr. who?" Blaze asked.

"Wrong doctor. And trust me, you wouldn't understand, even if I told you," Gaim said.

…

"DOCTOR Pac-Man?" Said a confused Amy. "I knew that there was a Ms. Pac-Man, but I've never heard of a Dr. Pac-Man."

"Shouldn't that be Pac-Woman?" Knuckles suggested. Amy shrugged.

"Perhaps it's a variant, like Dr. Mario?" Mighty suggested.

Sonic shuddered. "I'll kindly ask you not to mention that name again. Pills that big should NOT fit there. Trust me on this."

"Fit where?" Cream asked.

"You don't want to know," Sonic said, tight lipped.

"Well, I didn't ask. I kind of had enough on my plate at the time already," Blaze said.

…

As the flying tree hovered above them, it's great wooden wings beating incessantly, the gaping mouth on the monstrous plant's underside wriggled and opened wider as a grotesque amalgamation of vines and flowers and other planty growths vaguely resembling the upper half of Dark Oak's body forced its way through, claws digging into the tree's underside as it glared down at the insignificant lifeforms beneath it with a baleful gaze. It opened its jaws and shrieked, its cry echoing to the furthest corners of Solana and striking fear in the hearts of all who heard it.

…

"So… What should we call this form, then?" Vector wondered. "Since we already used True Final Mova?"

"Very Definitely For Real This Time Absolutely Totally 100% Really Really Really Final Mova, Honest?" Charmy suggested.

"That's a bit of a mouthful," Shadow commented.

"I've heard longer," Rouge said with a shrug.

"I think it's very nice," Cream said, causing Charmy to blush.

"Very Definitely For Real This Time Absolutely Totally 100% Really Really Really Final Mova, Honest it is, then," Blaze said with a chuckle. "I'll be sure to have that name formally amended once I get home."

…

The monstrosity opened its jaws, lines of energy running up the underside of the tree and converging on the horror as a massive sphere of destructive power began to form in its mouth, swiftly growing by the second.

There's enough energy in that ball to destroy the entire kingdom once it reaches full strength, Iblis noted.

Blaze sighed in exasperation. "Of course there is." She growled. "I am getting so tired of this… This had better damn well be the last stage!"

"Given how absurdly resilient this thing has been, I think the only way to finish it for real is to destroy every piece of it completely, so there's nothing left to regenerate from," Gaim suggested. "Do you think you can do something like that? Whatever you did to destroy the Golden Fruit they were growing might work…"

Blaze considered this for a moment but then shook her head. "I don't think that would be a good idea. While I've regained enough energy to use that attack again, the amount of pure Destructive power necessary to destroy something that big runs the risk of going wild and destroying what's left of the kingdom. It's going to take something else to-" She paused, an idea striking her. "Gaim, how is it you said that you and your wizard friend destroyed the last giant evil tree you fought?"

"Uh, he combined with his Dragon familiar to form the foot of a giant flaming projection of himself and kicked me in my watermelon armor form into it?" Gaim recalled.

A smile slowly formed on the feline's face. "I think we might be able to do something like that. Iblis, do you think we could pull off what I'm thinking of?"

I… Think we could, actually, Iblis said after a moment's thought, sounding surprised. In retrospect, I'm astonished we didn't think of it sooner. Given your ability to summon my minions, there's no reason in theory we can't apply the same principle to do this too… Normally we wouldn't have enough power to pull it off without destroying your mortal form, but with all the power you're getting from the Sol Emeralds… Yes, I think this might work, but neither of us will be good for much for a while afterwards.

"With any luck, we won't NEED to be doing much for a while after this," Blaze said with a fierce grin.

"Blaze, what are you planning?" Gaim asked warily.

"In a moment, you're going to get a front row view," the cat said enigmatically. She frowned, a thought occurring to her. "That Lock Seed of yours doesn't happen to have a melting point, does it?"

"While my body can be destroyed, this thing is completely indestructible," Gaim assured her. "… I think."

That does not reassure me, Iblis commented.

"Well, it'll have to do," Blaze replied. Grinning, she started channeling more energy from the Sol Emeralds and digging deep into her internal well of power, the eternal flame which was Iblis. Once again, fire coursed through her veins… And she couldn't help wincing in pain, noting that her body, overtaxed already from handling so much power for so long, was only able to continue doing so under great protest. Once this is all over, I'm going to need to take a very long nap, she thought to herself. Just a little longer… Just a little longer, and then I can rest.

Are you sure you're going to even have the chance to do that? Iblis questioned. After all, you ARE going to become Queen once this is over. You have an entire country to rebuild. That sort of thing isn't very conducive to sleep.

Then I'll take lots of little naps whenever I have the chance, she snapped. Or possibly learn how to sleep with my eyes open. That sounds like it would be a very useful skill.

…

"Nice callback," Rouge quipped.

"Isn't it more of a call forward?" Tails wondered.

The bat shrugged. "Semantics."

…

With a cry, her aura ignited once more, and she shot upwards towards the abomination, which had now accumulated enough power to create an energy ball half again as big as its body. As she streaked upwards, everyone left on the ground, seeing her racing towards the horror rising above them, once again felt hope, and that hope, turned into power by the Sol Emeralds, gave her even more strength, even as it caused her already tired muscles to feel like they were on fire, and not the kind of fire she was fine with, either. Just a little longer, she thought to her tired body in apology. Just a bit more, and then we can rest…

Out loud, she shouted, "Come forth… IBLIS!"

Within her, Iblis erupted…

And so did the great chasm gaping beneath the monstrous tree, as, with a tumultuous quake, great gouts of fire and lava burst forth and shot skywards, scorching the underside of the grotesque plant and causing it to tremble and recoil in instinctive pain in terror, shrieking as the flames scorched its underbelly. But the flames were just the harbinger of what was to come, as, with a world-splitting roar, what looked like an absolutely gargantuan one of Blaze's minions clawed its way out of the pit… But this was no mere minion, for it was none other than Iblis itself!

…

"Wait, WHAT?!" Quite a few people shouted.

"HOLY-SHIT-QUOTIENTS-ARE-OFF-THE-SCALE," Omega beeped.

"Why don't you get a bigger scale?" Knuckles asked.

"… THAT-IS-ALMOST-A-GOOD-QUESTION," Omega admitted.

"Well, that's certainly unexpected," Rouge commented, impressed.

"So cool!" Charmy gushed.

"Wait, but I thought you couldn't let Iblis out without it running wild and destroying everything. Or something," said the confused Mighty.

"That's because I DIDN'T let Iblis out," Blaze explained. "Using the same basic principles I used to summon my minions, I was able to create an empty body which Iblis was able to control remotely from inside of me."

"Oh," the armadillo said.

"Really REALLY cool!" Charmy squealed.

"Wait, how come you haven't done anything like that before?" Amy asked accusingly.

"Because it takes a LOT out of me, and because we haven't really run into anything I've considered dire enough to require me to use that technique," Blaze explained. "Much like my quantum destruction ball, I consider it a weapon of last resort."

"Reasonable," Espio commented.

…

"Okay, that's pretty cool," Gaim admitted, somehow able to look down and see the monstrous world-ending fire demon rising up beneath them, despite the fact that he didn't actually have eyes at the moment. "You, uh, sure you've got good handle on that thing?"

"I will so long as I don't get distracted," Blaze said through gritted teeth, struggling with every fiber of her being to continue generating the power necessary to sustain the massive construct underneath her.

"Right. Shutting up," Gaim said quickly.

Iblis rose out of the pit, growing larger and larger as she fed more power into it, until it was at least twice again as big as it had been when it had faced her and her forgotten companion for the last time. It reached up with one massive claw and closed its fist around her, flames licking between its digits as it squeezed tightly, infusing her with even more energy.

As everyone looked on it in disbelief and wonder, the horror above let out a screech of fury, with more than a little hint of terror and desperation behind it, and fired the massive ball of energy it had been forming down at Iblis, intending to wipe out the fire demon and everything else for miles around it. As the huge sphere of raw destructive power drew near, the light from the orb bathing everything in a sickly green glow, Iblis glanced up at the approaching projectile…

And grinned.

Fool, a voice which sounded like Blaze's mixed with something else, something deeper and darker and ancient beyond reckoning boomed in the minds of all present on the battlefield. Do you think you can destroy the destroyer? Iblis drew back its fist. Allow me to show you what true destruction REALLY is.

Just before it could get hit by the energy ball, now so massive it was at least twice as big as it was, Iblis threw a punch at the sphere using the same hand it was clutching Blaze in.… And, incredibly, stopped the ball in its tracks. Waves of power washed off the sphere from the point of impact, blasting and buffeting Iblis and tearing apart the ground around it, causing even more of the broken terrain to fall into the chasm… But Iblis held strong, actually laughing.

Is that all? Iblis taunted, slowly pushing its fist forward… And, amazingly, actually pushing the sphere back. You know nothing of what it means to destroy, Iblis lectured, its voice, and that of Blaze's, echoing across the land. It is not simply laying waste to a kingdom, or burning down a forest, or ripping the world to pieces. It is more than ending lives or shattering hopes. Destruction is a force of nature, a tool for change, a way to clear away the old so that the world has a chance to become something new, something better, something brighter. It took me a long time to learn this lesson, longer then you can imagine… But it is one I've taken to heart, and one that you, clearly, have yet to learn.

Iblis's grin grew even fiercer. Allow me to show you. Bear witness as I end this ruined world… And burn a path for the new one! With a roar, its molten body blazing up like a volcanic eruption, Iblis surged forwards…

And with a tremendous explosion, the energy ball burst, the great demon rocketing upwards through the space it had vacated, aiming its fist right for the grotesque creature dangling from the underside of the tree above it. The abomination shrieked in alarm and tried to retract itself back into the (perceived) safety of the tree, but it was too late. The destroyer was upon it. At the last second, Iblis opened its fist, and Blaze shot forwards with a punch of her own, striking and piercing the monstrosity's eye just before Iblis's fist impacted with its grotesque face, hitting it so hard it actually imploded, compacting in on itself as Iblis buried its arm up to the elbow in the tree's guts.

…

"… That is so fucking hardcore," said an awestruck Vector.

"I-JUST-HAD-AN-ORGASM," Omega said happily.

"… Too much information, Omega," said a disgusted Shadow.

"I didn't even know you could have those, since you're a robot," said a confused Knuckles.

"NEITHER-DID-I. I-JUST-HAD-ONE-ALL-THE-SAME," Omega said giddily.

Cream sighed. "Should I even bother asking what an orgasm is?" There was an uncomfortable silence. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"I'm kind of surprised that YOU know what an orgasm is, Knux," Sonic commented.

"Why?" The echidna asked.

"Well, what with your sheltered upbringing and all… I mean, unless Tikal gave you the birds and the bees talk?" The blue hedgehog asked uncertainly.

"Well of course she did," Knuckles said, looking confused. "She taught me lots of things."

"Oh. Right," Sonic said, looking embarrassed.

There was a pause. "… Knuckles, you think Sonic is talking about ACTUAL birds and bees, aren't you?" Tails asked finally.

"Well, yeah, sure. What else could he possibly be talking about?" Asked Knuckles, now looking even more confused.

"He's talking about sex," Espio said flatly.

Knuckles blinked. "Oh. OH! Yeah, Tikal taught me about that stuff, but what does that have to do with birds and bees-"

"It isn't important," Shadow cut him off quickly.

"Um, Knuckles, when you say that Tikal taught you about sex, did she happen to give you any… Practical demonstration?" Amy asked awkwardly, immediately regretting the question.

"… Are we really talking about this?" Asked a revolted Charmy.

"Apparently," Mighty grunted.

"I still have no idea what's going on," Cream complained.

"Yeah, she and Chaos showed me how it worked a few times," Knuckles replied.

There was another, longer pause. "… I have no idea whatsoever how I'm supposed to feel about that," Vector said finally.

"Knuckles, do you mean to say that you had sex with both Tikal AND Chaos?" Sonic asked, looking revolted.

"What? Of course not! They had sex with EACH OTHER!" Knuckles cried, indignant.

Everyone sighed in relief. "Oh, good. For a minute I thought… Nevermind," the blue hedgehog said, wiping sweat from his brow.

"I mean, why would they have sex with me? They're in a relationship with each other!" Knuckles continued, looking even more baffled.

Rouge opened her mouth for a moment, hesitated, then grimaced and shuddered. "On second thought, I'm not sure I want to touch this."

"YOU-ALL-DISGUST-ME," Omega sneered.

"Wait, does that mean they had sex in front of-" Mighty began.

"Could we please get back on topic?" Silver pleaded quickly.

"Certainly," Blaze said amiably.

…

The tree shrieked and convulsed wildly, root-tendrils flailing about as explosions wracked its form. The plateau at its top bulged outwards, and then burst like a popped zit as Blaze shot out of it atop a pillar of flame, rings of multicolored fire blasting out in her wake as she broke the sound barrier multiple time. As she arced through the air, her fiery contrail forming a sort of rainbow of flame behind her, the tree, without warning, disintegrated in a blizzard of cherry blossoms, the beautiful pink petals washing outwards across the wasteland. All the bystanders and fighters on the ground braced themselves as the blossoms washed over them, but much to their relief, found themselves completely unharmed as they swept past… And were instead astonished to see that the ground, which had been dry and cracked and barren moments before, was now lush and green, flowers and trees completely devoid of the taint of Helheim sprouting all over the place and releasing motes of light which danced through the air and increased the feeling of enchantment and wonder which settled into all that found themselves surrounded by this newfound splendor.

As the storm of cherry blossoms continued spreading outwards, healing the landscape and restoring life to the dying country, the soldiers threw down their weapons and started cheering and dancing in celebration, realizing that at long last, the long nightmare was over. The great fiery Iblis looked down at their rejoicing in awe before fading away, a look of what could only be described as contentment on its monstrous visage. Who would have imagined, it thought before disappearing completely, that destruction could be so beautiful, or so welcome…

On the ground, Cosmo, now sporting an eyepatch over the hole where her eye had once been, eagerly whipped off her boots and literally planted her feet in the ground, shivering in ecstasy as little roots dug into the ground and began to sample its nutrients. Most of the other Seedrian soldiers were doing the same. "The land… It feels so rich, so whole, so alive! I don't think it ever felt this good, not even before my father's descent into madness!"

"It seems that your friend – – with a little help from my husband, of course – – has managed to achieve a miracle, and brought this land back from the brink of destruction," a beautiful golden-furred tigress in a white dress standing beside her, Gaim's wife Mai, commented. "But then again, it's only to be expected from heroes of her caliber. She would make a fine Kamen Rider."

"Well, of course she would," Honey said with a snort, a look of pride and joy on her face. "She's my mom!"

…

"Wow… It's so pretty!" Cream gushed.

"And something about it feels oddly familiar… Why am I thinking of a white wolf with red markings all of a sudden?" Shadow murmured.

Rouge grimaced. "My kind are not fond of that one, I'll tell you that much…"

"So that's it? That thing was really dead, the land was saved, the story is over?" Vector asked hopefully.

"It had better be, my painfully-short attention span can't take much more of this!" Charmy complained.

"Dark Oak was defeated forever," Blaze confirmed. "But the story isn't over just yet. There was one last bit to take care of…"

…

Blaze awoke to find herself in an oddly familiar place: lying at the bottom of the crater, staring up at the sky, utterly exhausted. Unlike the last time this had happened, however, it was clearly daylight, the seven Sol Emeralds were lying in a circle around her, and she was still clutching Gaim's Lock Seed in one hand. She lay there for a moment, allowing the sun to soak into her weary bones, her ears twitching at the sound of the wind rustling through leaves and the cheerful chirping of birds, and noise she hadn't heard much of – – if at all – – since she had started this quest.

"Did we win?" She asked wearily.

I think we did, Iblis replied, sounding equally tired, with more than hint of triumph in her voice.

"That was amazing, Blaze!" Gaim spoke up from his vessel. "I think that blew what Haruto and I did out of the water! Excellent job!"

"Thank you," Blaze said. "Who is Haruto?"

"My wizard friend? The guy I fought that other giant tree with?" Gaim prompted.

"Oh, right. I don't think you mentioned his name before," Blaze recalled.

"Didn't I? My apologies," Gaim said, sounding embarrassed.

"That's fine," Blaze said, not feeling very concerned about it. She found it hard to feel concerned about much of anything right now, actually. She was just too tired. That battle had really taken a lot out of her. "We really didn't do it, didn't we?" She said, almost as an afterthought. "We defeated Dark Oak, and Eggman Nega. We saved the kingdom."

And secured your place as the Queen of Solana going forward, and maybe even ruler of the whole world, one day, Iblis commented. Pity the big tree stump is gone, though. Would have made for a good place to build your Palace. It'll be a bit tricky to put one right where the old one used to be, since I'm pretty sure there's still a giant hole in the ground.

"We'll find a place to build a new one. Eventually," Blaze said dismissively.

"Nega is still out there, you know," Gaim reminded her.

"I know. We'll deal with him, too, eventually. One thing after another," the cat said with a yawn.

"You're really tuckered out, aren't you?" The warrior chuckled, amused.

"Can you blame me, after everything I just did?" Blaze replied, faint smile gracing her lips.

"No, I suppose not," Gaim admitted. "Everyone's going to be wondering where you are, though."

"I know," Blaze admitted. "But the instant I get back, I'm not going to have even a moment to myself. It'll be hours upon hours of celebrations and people congratulating me, and after that, I'll start having to do the real work of putting this country back together and plotting my campaign to take over the world. I don't think it's too selfish to want a minute or two to myself to relax, since I probably won't have many chances to do so in the future, is it?"

"I suppose not," Gaim admitted.

"That, and I'm so exhausted I don't think I could lift a finger even if I wanted to," Blaze confessed wearily. One of her fingers twitched as she tried to enforce her will upon it, but after moment, it just fell flat. "See? Can't even move a muscle."

Let's hope you're better by the time they start getting worried and come looking for you, Iblis commented.

Blaze couldn't help laughing at that. "Wouldn't be very dignified if they had to drag their new Queen back to the festivities because she's so exhausted she can't even stand, now would it?"

"Perhaps I might be of some assistance?" Offered Sagara, who was suddenly looming over her.

…

"GAH! Where did that guy come from?!" Vector demanded.

"Oh no, not this guy again…" Charmy groaned.

"I'd almost forgotten about him, actually," Knuckles commented.

"I hope we're finally going to get an explanation as to who this guy is, and what his deal is," Amy grumbled.

"Oh, we are, trust me on that," Tails assured her.

"Good, because I want to see if my suspicions are correct…" Rouge murmured.

…

Oh no, not him! Iblis groaned.

"Sagara," Blaze said calmly, too tired to acknowledge the primal terror Iblis was experiencing at that moment. "I was wondering when you'd show up again."

"Hey Sagara," Gaim spoke up. "So this is the look you chose for yourself in this world? I have to say, it suits you."

"Thank you," the snake preened. "And I rather liked the forms you and your wife took as well… Oh, but what would she say if she could see you now?" He tutted, shaking his head reproachfully at the Lock Seed. "You went and got your body destroyed again! You know she hates it when that happens. Here, allow me."

He bent down and touched the seed in Blaze's hand. There was a flash of golden light, and suddenly, Gaim's body was restored, back in the armored Tiger form he had taken when she first met him. He sighed in relief and stretched out, working out some kinks in his body. "Thanks, I always feel a bit of a headache whenever I have to do it myself," Gaim said gratefully.

"Always happy to help," the serpent said cheerfully. "And now for you, Blaze." He reached into his robes and took out a familiar-looking golden fruit, which he held out to her.

"Not to be rude, but I find myself a bit disinclined to trust any free handouts you're offering, especially ones that happen to look like a certain piece of golden fruit," Blaze said wearily.

"Blaze! You wound me!" Sagara cried melodramatically, feigning hurt. "You really mean to say that you don't trust me, after everything I've done for you? After I orchestrated your release from that hellish prison plane you were trapped on, and sent Kazuraba and his family here to assist your forces when I became concerned that they wouldn't be able to hold out on their own?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Blaze said, ignoring Iblis whimpering in the back of her mind.

"Good, you're absolutely right not to trust me. I wouldn't either, in your shoes," Sagara said seriously. "However, I promise this is nothing for you to worry about. Kazuraba can vouch for me, right?"

"He's right, Blaze, it's the same sort of fruit that you had on the top of the tree," Gaim assured her. "It'll restore your energy, but that's it."

Blaze sighed. "Oh, very well. You'll have to put in my mouth, though, I don't have the strength to take it myself."

Sagara obligingly bent down and held the fruit closer to her mouth. Blaze managed to force her jaws over the side and take a bite out of its surface. The second it's sweet, life-giving juices touched her tongue, energy shot through her body, restoring vitality to her exhausted form. Able to move her limbs again, she snatched what remained of the fruit from Sagara's hand and finished it off in two bites, not caring that she consumed the stem and seeds too. "Thank you for that," she said gratefully, pulling herself up.

"Don't mention it," Sagara said breezily. "It was the least I could do. You deserve much more after everything you've gone through… And I get the feeling you'll be getting it soon enough."

"For better or for worse," Blaze agreed. "But of course, before that happens, I believe there are a few things you and I need to settle."

Sagara nodded. "Quite right. You have a few questions, I assume?"

"Indeed," Blaze said. "And for starters… Just who or what are you, anyway?"

Sagara grinned. There were a lot of teeth in his mouth, far more than most snakes had. "You mean to tell me you haven't already figured it out?"

"I have my suspicions," Blaze admitted, narrowing her eyes.

"I don't suppose your little friend gave you any hints?" Sagara joked.

"No, she's too busy gibbering in terror," Blaze said grimly. "But I don't need her to tell me what I have suspected for quite some time. Your connection to Gaim all but confirms it. You are an avatar of Helheim forest, aren't you?"

…

"Wait, what?!" cried a stunned Amy.

"Aha! I suspected as much!" Rouge crowed triumphantly.

Shadow nodded. "Yeah, kind of obvious in retrospect, isn't it?"

"It wasn't to me…" Vector muttered.

"Wait, I don't understand," said the confused Knuckles. "He's Helheim forest? But how? He's a snake, not a…forest. If he were a forest, shouldn't he look more like one of Cosmo's people?"

"…That's almost a good point," Espio admitted, surprised.

"Here's a better way of looking at it. Sagara isn't the forest per se, more like an entity created by the forest, an embodiment of its will, something that can speak for Helheim since it can't speak for itself," Tails elaborated.

"Oh, like the Lorax?" Cream inquired.

Tails paused. "… Surprisingly, that isn't a bad analogy."

"Well, except that the Lorax is short, orange, fuzzy, and relatively harmless. Sagara… Isn't," Sonic said.

"I'm fairly certain that if the Once-ler tried to chop down this forest, he'd have a much harder time of it," Shadow agreed.

"I didn't know you'd read that story, Shadow," Amy commented, surprised.

Shadow blushed, aware that he may have misspoken. "… When I was younger, the Professor read some of Seuss's stories to Maria and me. They were… Very enjoyable."

"There's no shame in admitting you liked those stories, Shadow," Sonic assured the black hedgehog. "I'm pretty sure most of us loved those books back in the day." Most of the others nodded in agreement, and Shadow relaxed somewhat.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Knuckles complained.

"Neither do I," said the confused Blaze.

"The Lorax is a fable by celebrated children's author Dr. Seuss concerning the danger corporate greed poses to nature, using the literary element of personification to give life to industry as the Once-ler and the environment as The Lorax. The Lorax is widely considered to be one of the author's best books because it's a story addressing economic and environmental issues without it being dull," Tails explained.

"I don't follow," said the confused echidna.

"It's a book about why it's bad to destroy the environment without being nearly as preachy and eye-rolling as most cartoons tackling the issue tend to be," Espio explained.

"Oh," Knuckles said.

"Oh, I see," Blaze said, seeming to understand. "We have a similar fable back in my world."

"Really?" Cream asked calmly eager to hear more. "What's it about?"

"A very greedy and foolish man attempts to harness the power of Helheim, gets turned into a horrible monster, and is subsequently destroyed by me," Blaze said. She considered this for a moment. "Actually, come to think of it, that tends to be how quite a lot of fables back home end. Most of them are also more or less based on true stories. I've been around a while."

…

Sagara burst into laughter and took a low bow. "Very good! You're every bit as clever as I thought you would be! Didn't I tell you she was a smart one, Kazuraba?"

Gaim rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Yes, you did. No need to keep bringing that up."

"In any event, yes, Miss Blaze, you are absolutely correct. I am indeed an avatar of Helheim forest," Sagara told the feline.

Blaze frowned. "I had figured as much. However, that doesn't explain why you helped me and set all this into motion. Dark Oak and Eggman Nega were trying to spread your forest across this planet. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Sagara chuckled. "Blaze, how would you like it if someone were to steal a part of your power and use it to destroy a country?"

"To say I would be rather cross would be an understatement," Blaze said dryly. "However, I've more or less sworn off destroying worlds. You do it all the time."

"Yes, but that's the thing," Sagara said, suddenly serious. "I destroy worlds. It is my purpose. It's what I was made to do. If a world is to be destroyed by my power, it is only because I will it. Therefore, if someone were to try and use my power to destroy a world without my permission… Well, I would not be very happy, to put it lightly."

"So it's fine when you do it, but not anyone else?" Blaze snarled.

"You're planning to conquer the world, and have no intention of letting anyone else beat you to it," Sagara countered. "Yes, I know there are lots of justifications you can make as to why the world would be better off under your rule. They may even be true. That still doesn't change the fact that that is, ultimately, what it boils down to." He shrugged. "But then again, given the sorts of things I do on a regular basis, I'm not really one to judge. In any event, it wasn't simply that they were attempting to use my power to overrun and change the world. As annoyed as that made me, I might have been willing to overlook it, had they also not tried to create their own Golden Fruit. That is a major taboo, for I am the only one who can make one of those properly. All attempts to create an artificial one in the past have led to ruin, isn't that right, Kazuraba?"

Gaim nodded, and glanced at Blaze. "The species that was invaded by Helheim before my world, the Femushinmu, tried to create their own Golden Fruit many years after they were assimilated and transformed into Overlord Inves. It gained consciousness and hastened their extinction by driving them to kill each other to try and claim its power and had to be sealed away. It got loose during the invasion of my world, and...well, that led into the whole soccer adventure I alluded to earlier."

"Well, that aside, that still doesn't explain why you brought me in," Blaze continued. "If you were so angry about what they were doing, why didn't you take care of it yourself?"

"Not my style," Sagara said dismissively. "Sure, I could've come down on them like a sack of bricks and nipped this in the bud, but where would the fun be in that?"

"You call the death and suffering of countless innocents fun?!" Blaze snapped.

"As I recall, the last time we talked, I pointed out that countless innocents suffer and die all the time," Sagara said flatly. "And you're really going to pull that card on me, given what you're planning?"

Blaze scowled. "What you mean by that?"

"You want to conquer the world. Fine. But even if you do your best to only go after the bad guys, a lot of people who have no stake in it are still going to get hurt in the process, and their only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You talk a lot about being a wildfire which will clear out the world's deadwood, about necessary destruction… And while all that might be true, you seem to have forgotten that in a forest fire, helpless animals get burned just as easily as trees!" Sagara pointed out harshly. Blaze flinched at that.

"Sagara…" Gaim muttered warningly.

The snake took a deep breath and relaxed somewhat. "My apologies. I did not mean to criticize your ambition. But the fact of the matter is, if you want to avoid turning into a tyrant as bad as the one you just overthrew, you have to try not to gloss over that kind of thing, you know? Otherwise you'll just bring everything right back to where it started. There's a reason they're called 'revolutions,' after all. They have a bad habit of coming full circle."

"I… I will endeavor to remember that," Blaze murmured, shaken.

"In any event, you are wondering why I chose to do nothing directly," Sagara continued. "Aside from the fact that, like I said, it's not my style… I actually saw this as a way to kill two birds with one stone."

Blaze frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, as I'm sure you know, I visited this world a very, very long time ago. I made plans to come back, but not for another few thousand years, so when I saw that Dark Oak and Nega were making plans to use my power for their own ends, while I was understandably angry, I saw this as a way to check off something on my to-do list a few millennia early," Sagara explained.

"You were going to come BACK? Why?" Asked the confused cat.

"Do you know why I do what I do?" Sagara asked. "The answer ties into why, ultimately, I chose you to be my proxy in this war. Much like you, I just want to see things change. Whenever I believe a world is growing too stagnant and set in its ways, or could use a good shaking up, I pay them a visit. I introduce conflict. I provide a looming existential threat. I offer a prize for those who are worthy and strong enough to claim it. I press them and break them to make them stronger, by showing them who they really are when their back is against the wall, so that they have a chance to become something better, to evolve both as an individual and as a species. Not all of them succeed. Quite a few, such as the aforementioned Femushinmu, fall short. But others, such as Kazuraba here, pass the test, and become something truly miraculous."

"You flatter me too much, Sagara," Gaim said, abashed.

"Or not enough, methinks. Is what I do messy? Cruel? Genocidal? Perhaps," Sagara admitted with a shrug. "But much like you, Blaze, I believe destruction to be a tool for change. And as I'm sure you can also admit, change is often incredibly messy and violent and cruel. Not everyone wants the world to change, even when it is, ultimately, for their own good. And yes, ultimately, quite a lot of people who did nothing wrong will probably get caught in the crossfire – – or in your case, wildfire. But the alternative is to let things continue going on their current course, the way they always have… And while that might be okay in the short-term, it could cause even worse problems further down the line. Sometimes the world HAS to change. Sometimes, the forest HAS to be burned down. Otherwise, it will eventually rot away, and all those who would have died in the fire will die anyway in a slower, more agonizing fate. Changing the world, even if it really is for all the right reasons, always has its price. Isn't that right, Kazuraba?"

Gaim nodded solemnly. "Sagara once challenged me to destroy the rule of reality which demanded that you have to sacrifice something to get something. But, try as I might… Ultimately, I couldn't do it. I was able to save my own world, but only after the deaths of many I might, in another life, have called friends, and in the end, wound up having to give up my friends, my family, my home… Even my very HUMANITY to succeed. I got a new world, new friends, new family, incredible powers, and a wife out of the deal… But to do so, I had to say goodbye to everything I knew. It was a choice that, even to this day, still haunts me."

"If I had simply crushed Dark Oak and Nega before they got really started, or even afterwards, the war King Lucas feared would eventually have come to pass," Sagara continued. "And Solana would have lost. The greedy neighboring countries would have ripped it to shreds to claim its resources and riches, and destroyed it even further by fighting amongst themselves for whatever scraps remained. The people of this land would have suffered horribly. Yes, they suffered anyway… But I can guarantee you that if things had come to pass in this manner, there would have been no savior to unite them and offer them hope."

"So you allowed one disaster to take place, because you believed the alternative would be far worse…" Blaze murmured. "… In that other world, Honey would not have survived, would he?"

"Nor would Cosmo, or Damil, or any of the other friends you've made over your long journey," Sagara said firmly. "They would be dead. Or worse. MUCH worse."

"… I see. I'm not entirely sure I completely agree with you, but your reasoning makes sense. And… If it truly is the reason why Cosmo and Honey, and everyone else are alive to see this day, I suppose I can't argue with the results," Blaze admitted grudgingly. "But that leaves one more question: why me?"

"Much like Dark Oak, once he set the game in motion, I watched for heroes to arise, champions who could challenge the dark Lord for the Golden Fruit and bring about the change this land needed so badly," Sagara explained. "However, much to both our consternation's, no such hero emerged. So, I decided to cheat a little bit, reasoning that, since I wasn't running the show for a change, I had no need to follow my own rules. Solana is an old country, with many legends and stories of great heroes. You are not the only champion lost to time, slumbering or sealed away somewhere. However, you were the only one I felt certain could accomplish what needed to be done, to save this country and bring about the great change… Because, like me, you have the potential to reshape worlds, and the conviction that destruction can be a force for positive change."

"And so you appeared in your current guise to Cosmo, fed her some story about me, and set her in the right direction to finding and releasing me," Blaze intuited, not sure whether she should feel flattered or unnerved by Sagara's faith in her. "But how did you get the key and the spell needed to release me?"

Sagara chuckled. "Blaze, I am a very, very, very old entity. I've been around a long, long time. I knew the spell necessary to transport things to that prison plane eons before the order which banished you figured it out. All the key fragments were scattered into worlds I had long since assimilated into myself. Not to mention my perception of time and reality is a bit… Different from yours. I wouldn't exactly say it was EASY, but it was certainly wasn't very difficult."

Blaze wasn't sure how to feel about that. Just how vast was Helheim's reach, anyway? "But then why did you pass the key on to Cosmo, instead of freeing me yourself?"

Sagara scoffed. "Please, Blaze, you know how these stories go! How would it look if the wandering Princess, desperate to find a great hero to save her kingdom, failed to do so and some random Schmuck did it instead? That goes against all literary convention! It simply isn't done!"

"I dunno, stories which subvert most of the typical clichés and tropes can become very popular," Gaim pointed out.

Sagara waved him off. "Maybe so, but you can't beat the classics. Besides, it made for a better story."

"And where does Gaim fit into this 'better story?'" Gaim asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. "People hate stories with deus ex machinas and characters dropping in out of the blue to save the day without any foreshadowing whatsoever."

"Fair point," Sagara admitted. "As things drew to a climax, I decided to bend a few more of my rules and allow Kazuraba to lend you a hand. Normally I wouldn't do something like this, buuuuuut… I thought it would make things more interesting. Not that I didn't think you could do this on your own, of course, but let's be fair, even you would've had a bit of trouble taking on both Dark Oak and Nega at once, wouldn't you?"

"I suppose so…" Blaze admitted reluctantly.

"And if it's any consolation, I think that your army suffered a lot fewer casualties thanks to my own lending a hand," Gaim offered.

"Thank you for that, Gaim," Blaze said gratefully.

"What, no thanks for me?" Sagara asked, feigning injury.

Blaze frowned at him. "Honestly, I'm not sure what to think about you. From what you said, you've basically been manipulating me from the very beginning, setting me up to do your dirty work and clean up a mess you could easily have resolved yourself."

"And I also freed you from an eternity of torturous solitude, gave you friends, a family, and a kingdom of your own to rule, and a chance to change the world and dye it in your image," Sagara pointed out. "You're welcome."

Blaze closed her eyes and sighed. "You have a point," she admitted. "While I'm not entirely pleased with you, or everything you've done… It would probably be rude of me to hold it against you, given how well it's turned out for me, and those I care about. However… Sagara?"

"Yes?" The snake asked with an innocent smile.

"You ever try anything like that around here again, and I will burn you and all your worlds to the ground," she said coldly.

Sagara laughed. "I'd actually be curious to see if you could really do it. If you could manage that, I will truly be impressed," he said honestly. "But don't worry, you won't be seeing me again for a very long time. Now that the battle here has been won, I have no need to stick around. I have other worlds to visit, and won't need to check in on you again for another epoch or two. I am genuinely curious to see what you will have made of the place in my absence."

When he comes back, I'll be sure to have an unpleasant surprise waiting, Blaze thought herself. While she was grudgingly grateful to Sagara for everything he'd done for her, that didn't mean she would be welcoming him with open arms the next time he stopped by. Out loud, she said, "So what happens now?"

Sagara raised an eyebrow. "Now? I go on my way. Gaim returns home with his family and followers, unless you would like them to stick around a little longer to help you rebuild."

"I'd be okay with that," Gaim spoke up.

"I suppose that would be alright," Blaze agreed.

"And you… You have a choice to make," Sagara said seriously.

Blaze frowned. "A choice?"

Sagara nodded gravely. "A very important one. Come. Follow me." He slithered up the slope of the crater. Gaim glanced back at Blaze, and then followed the snake. Puzzled, Blaze eventually shrugged her shoulders and followed suit, pausing only to pick up the seven Sol Emeralds. Wouldn't do to leave them unattended. Someone might take them while her back was turned. Nega was still out there, after all.

The sight waiting for her once they got out of the crater took Blaze's breath away. An endless carpet of green grass dotted with beautiful flowers shimmering in all the colors of the rainbow spread outwards unceasingly to the edge of the horizon. Strong, sturdy trees bearing fruit and flowers dotted the landscape, leaves swaying in a gentle breeze. Motes of light danced in the air, along with cherry blossom petals left over from the disintegration of the Doom Tree. The sun shone brilliantly down on it all, its warmth painting everything in a magnificent incandescent radiance. "It's… Beautiful…" She gasped.

And a damn sight better than the last world looked after we were through with it, Iblis agreed, too awestruck to remember for a moment that she was struck speechless with terror by the presence of Sagara.

Gaim whistled. "Nice work, Blaze."

"Indeed, though I prefer things a little more… Forested," Sagara said, a somewhat sinister smirk flickering briefly crossed his face. "In any event… This is yours now, Blaze. The new Solana. You have fought for it, bled for it, reshaped it with your own claws and force of will. Everything it is now, it owes to you.

"The question is, what will you do with it?"

Blaze considered the question carefully. She doubted the answer was as simple as it looked on the face of it. "Rule it, I suppose," she said finally. "It has been entrusted into my care. Cosmo and everyone else have accepted me as the new Queen of Solana."

Sagara nodded. "And is this a position you truly desire?"

"It… Wasn't my first choice, to be honest," Blaze admitted. "But… Cosmo made a fairly good argument as to why I should be Queen, and I couldn't really find any flaw in her logic. Everyone else seems to believe that I will make a good Queen. They have faith in me. So…" She shrugged.

"Do you want to be Queen, then?" Sagara pressed.

"Like I said, it wasn't what I saw myself doing when I set out on this journey," Blaze said. "I figured that after this was all over, Cosmo would be Queen, and I would… I dunno. Be her champion or something. A close friend and protector. Someone she sent out to safeguard her people, fight the good fight, keep the kingdom we fought so hard to save together… That sort of thing. I'd live in the palace with her and Damil and Honey, and maybe have a nice little cottage out in the countryside, where my family and I could just go when the hustle and bustle of the capital got too much for us… Maybe find someone who'd be willing to overlook the fact that I'm a demonic destroyer of worlds and the adopted mother of a half-Sphinx and a bunch of dragons… You know. The usual sort of thing." She smiled crookedly. "But I guess it's not in the cards, is it?"

Gaim nodded understandingly. "Becoming a space God isn't exactly what I saw myself doing when my own adventure began. I didn't really have much of an outlook towards my future. I just wanted to hang out with my friends and dance and have fun. Then I found my Driver, transformed for the first time, and killed my first Inves. Nothing was the same after that, especially after I learned that that Inves was actually what was left of my team leader and good friend. I was forced to grow up faster than I'd ever anticipated. I don't think if my younger self saw me now, he'd even recognize me."

"I doubt my younger self would either," Blaze said sadly. She glanced back at Sagara. "In any event, what I want doesn't really matter. Everyone is counting on me. They need me to be their leader, just like they needed me to be their hero. I cannot let them down. I could run, but that that would be the coward's way, and I'm no coward. And… I suppose, on some level, I believe that I would make a good Queen. I can't possibly be worse than the last King, can I?"

Sagara shrugged. "Maybe not at first… But remember, Dark Oak wasn't always Dark Oak. He was once a young and idealistic ruler, much like yourself."

"I wouldn't call myself all that idealistic," Blaze muttered.

"You want to conquer the world because you think that'll make it a better place. Seems pretty idealistic to me," Sagara pointed out.

"Fair point," Blaze admitted. "Are you saying I'm wrong to do so, then?"

Sagara shrugged. "That's not up to me to decide. The path you choose will, ultimately, be yours to decide. As are the consequences of that choice."

Blaze gave him an irritated look, and then sighed. "Look, I know what you're insinuating. I'm well aware that my intentions, no matter how noble they might start out as, can go horribly wrong, and I might turn out to be a despot just as bad as Dark Oak, or worse. I might tell myself that I'm doing it for a good cause, and my people might believe I'm doing it for a good cause, but that doesn't mean everyone else that I'm conquering will necessarily see it the same way. In spite of that, however, I'm still convinced that this is what I have to do. And not just to create some idealistic vision of the future, either."

Sagara raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why, then?"

"Because I made a promise," Blaze said firmly. "I swore a vow to Cosmo that I would do everything in my power to protect this land and its people, of whom I have grown so fond. That vow hasn't come to an end just because I've defeated Dark Oak. Before King Lucas went bad, this country was still being threatened by the greedy, avaricious nations outside its borders. That hasn't changed. In fact, we may be in even greater danger now than before, because after everything that's happened, Solana may be especially vulnerable to invasion from a foreign power, given how much energy and lives we spent just to reclaim the nation from its last King. They will come for us, and they will keep coming for us until something is done about them. And even once they are dealt with, what about the rest of the world? Will they simply turn a blind eye to what is happening here? The actions I've taken on this day have surely not gone unnoticed by the other great powers in this world. They will view me as a threat to be taken out, or perhaps a power to be secured and used as a weapon against all others. After all, there are countless prophecies and legends foretelling that I will end this world, so I'm sure quite a lot of people, motivated by fear if nothing else, will try to take me out before I can bring about whatever apocalypse they think is coming."

Sagara smirked. "The irony, of course, is that the end you're bringing isn't the one they're thinking of. You intend to change the world, and make it into something unrecognizable from the way it was before, just like the prophecy foretold. Nowhere does it say that you're going to make the world a worse place in doing so." The snake chuckled. "Prophecies are funny like that, aren't they?"

"Considering that those prophecies are what led to be spending eons in a literal hell, I'm not laughing," Blaze said flatly.

"Maybe so, but if it weren't for those same prophecies, you wouldn't be here now, in a position to change the world, now would you?" Sagara pointed out.

"I suppose so," the cat admitted grudgingly.

"So, that is your reason, then? Not simply to create some ideal, perfect utopia, but to make sure the people you care about will be safe?" Sagara pressed.

"I suppose so," Blaze confessed. "I don't think I'll ever be able to rest easy, so long as the world poses a threat to my family." She grimaced. "I'm already well aware of the lengths I can go to for the sake of love. Just ask the high elves. Or, well, don't. Because most of them are dead."

"I've certainly heard of more selfish reasons to take over the world," Gaim spoke up. "Of course, doing horrible acts in the name of love doesn't make it any less horrible."

"I know that!" Blaze snapped. "It's not like I intend to go around burning cities to the ground or building giant armies and sending them out to lay waste to the countryside or anything like that! If they're willing to play ball, they've nothing to fear from me. If, however, they pose a threat to those I care for…" She clenched her fist, which burst into flame.

Sagara nodded. "Sounds reasonable. The question, of course, is will you stay that way?"

"I will certainly try to," Blaze said. "And besides, I can rest easy knowing that I have one thing Dark Oak did not. Something that tyrants like him rarely have."

Sagara raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is that?"

"Friends who aren't afraid to tell me to my face when they think what I'm doing is wrong," Blaze said confidently.

Sagara regarded her for a moment, and then started chuckling. "I suppose you do at that. Of course, the question now is… Will you always listen to them? Ah, but enough of this," he said, waving Blaze off before she starts interjected. "I believe we have debated this point nearly to death. You have made your choice, and seem to be aware of the pitfalls and stumbling blocks that might lie in your way to achieving your goals without losing your soul. I don't think there is anything more that needs to be said.

"I have kept you from your friends too long. They're surely worrying about you by now. But before you return to them, allow me to give you a gift or two. Think of it as a reward for everything you've done. Normally, I'd give you a Golden Fruit, but the only one I have right now is reserved for someone else, and the only one around these parts you destroyed. Not that you were wrong to do so, but since you can't have that, this pale substitute will have to do."

"What's the catch?" Blaze asked suspiciously.

"What makes you think there is one?" Sagara asked innocently.

"When is there not?" She snapped.

Sagara chuckled. "Fair enough." He snapped his fingers, and suddenly an absolutely gargantuan dimensional crack split the sky into. Blaze looked up at it in alarm, seeing nothing but endless trees laden with Helheim fruit as far as the eye could see. A wind picked up, and suddenly specks and clumps and threads started rising in the distance, falling upwards into the giant crack. "First, I will remove every last trace of Helheim from Solana, save for Gaim and his kin. You're going to have enough on your plate soon enough, you don't need Inves roaming around making things any more complicated."

Once all the Inves and Helheim plants had been removed, the crack zipped itself shut. Blaze found herself releasing a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "I'd actually forgotten there were any left. I suppose I assumed they'd all drop dead or something after I destroyed the Doom Tree."

"No such luck, I'm afraid. Don't worry, they'll be much better off in Helheim, where they belong. They won't trouble anyone there," Sagara assured her. "Well, unless anyone happens to stumble through a crack, anyway."

"I wasn't worried about them," she said flatly.

"How cruel of you, Blaze! What did those poor creatures ever do to harm you?" Sagara cried, feigning hurt. Blaze stared him blankly. He chuckled. "Okay, yeah, that's in bad taste. Fair enough."

"So, what's the catch?" Blaze asked again.

"For this? Nothing. My other gift, though…" The snake started rubbing his hands together, sparks of Golden energy crackling off of them as he started generating power. "Those other countries you're worried about are going to attack in the near future. That's a given. You have a little more time than you might think, because the Doom Tree's roots did a number on them as well, but that's only going to delay them for so long before they try and make their move. And as you are now, you aren't ready to fight them. Your armies aren't big enough, and your warriors are too tired from just completing the last campaign. You do not yet have the infrastructure in place to prepare the entire country for an invasion. Sure, given your power, you might be able to fend them off by yourself… But the cost will be incredibly high, especially since you're nowhere near full strength after that last fight, and it will be quite some time before you're anywhere near that strong again. In a word, if you got attacked now, you're basically screwed."

"I would help if I could," Gaim said apologetically. "But once I'm finished helping you rebuild, I have to leave. I was only allowed to intervene in this instance by Sagara's leave. Since your new enemies aren't using the power of Helheim, I'm forbidden to intercede on your behalf. I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do to help."

"I understand, and do not fault you for it," Blaze assured her friend. "So what are you offering, exactly?" She asked Sagara suspiciously.

"A little something to give your people a boost. Put a spark back in their spirits," Sagara said, spreading his hands and snapping fingers on both of them. The trees around them rustled, and suddenly several familiar-looking golden fruits began to sprout from their branches.

"More of those fruits…" Blaze murmured, eyeing the new growth warily.

Sagara nodded. "These fruits are just what you need to get your new nation back on its feet. Their life-giving juices will revitalize their spirits, renew their vigor, and fill them with new strength and vitality. They'll also make them healthier and stronger than ever before, significantly increase their life spans, and oh, did I mention they increase performance in bed?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows.

…

"They help people sleep better?" Cream asked naively.

There was an awkward pause. "Well…yes, they do, but that's not what he…ah…" Blaze said awkwardly.

Cream sighed. "Another thing I'm too young for?"

"Pretty much, sweetie," Shadow said apologetically.

"Say, uh, I don't suppose I could get my hands on some-" Vector said awkwardly.

"No," Blaze said bluntly.

"Figures," the crocodile grumbled.

"Wouldn't you need to actually get some in the first place to necessitate the use of them?" Espio asked dryly.

Vector flushed, and everyone who understood what the chameleon was referring to laughed. "Oh, snap!" Sonic chortled, slapping his knee.

"Good one, Espio," Mighty said grudgingly.

"WOULD-YOU-LIKE-SOME-ICE-FOR-THAT-BURN?" Omega asked.

"… Yes. Yes, I would," Vector grumbled.

"I don't get it," Cream complained.

"Neither do I," Knuckles added.

"I'll explain later, honey," Rouge promised. "You, not Cream, that is," she added quickly.

"Figures," the rabbit grumbled.

"I promise I'll tell you when you're older, sweetie," Shadow promised.

"How much older?" She pressed.

"… I'll have to take that up with your mother," the black hedgehog said apologetically.

"Hey, Sonic, when you and Blaze do it, do you ever need to have some fruit before-" Charmy began.

"None of your business," Sonic snapped. Amy trembled with rage.

…

"… Won't these just give my enemies an even bigger reason to invade?" Blaze asked slowly.

"That, I imagine, is the catch," Gaim said flatly, glaring at Sagara.

Sagara spread his hands, not looking even remotely apologetic. "Look, they were going to try and invade you anyway, weren't they? This doesn't really change anything on that front. If anything, it might help you out even more in the long run, since you can form alliances with other nations by trading this fruit to them to give you a way to conquer them without, you know, conquering them. And as a safety measure, they can't simply steal some seeds, try to grow them back home, and use them to bolster their own armies to use against anyone else. They'll only be able to grow here, and nowhere else in the world. Granted, that won't stop them from trying to steal them anyway, but at least it will significantly lessen the damage they might be able to cause."

"I… Suppose so," Blaze said grudgingly. "And I suppose this might at least partially mitigate the threat they might pose to us if they try to invade, since if they destroy the land too badly, they may risk cutting off the supply of fruit forever."

"There you go! You see, they're helping already!" Sagara said cheerfully.

Blaze rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't go that far…"

"On a related note, Eggman Nega managed to make off with a sizable number of this fruit when it was growing on top of the Doom Tree," Sagara said, changing the subject. "Even if he can't grow new ones, if he finds a way to preserve what he's already got – – and given how much he's learned about how Helheim works, I wouldn't put it past him – – on top of any new fruit he manages to steal from you in the future, you may find yourself continuing to deal with him for a very, very long time."

Blaze sighed. "I was afraid of that… How long are we speaking here, exactly?"

Sagara shrugged. "Hard to say, really. In theory, so long as a person keeps eating it, they can live indefinitely."

Blaze groaned. "Great. So you're saying I could find myself battling an insane megalomaniacal scientist for the rest of eternity."

"Only until you kill him," Sagara offered helpfully. "Or, well, he kills you. Whichever comes first."

…

"So THAT'S why Nega has continued to harass you over the centuries?" Knuckles asked. "Because he stole that magic fruit?"

"That is the most likely reason, yes," Blaze said with a nod. "Especially since several times in the past he has attempted to – – and regretfully, succeeded – – at stealing some fruit for himself."

"I guess that means he ISN'T the Nega from Silver's era?" Amy asked uncertainly. "I mean, if he had immortality-inducing fruit, why would he need a time machine?"

"The two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive," Tails pointed out. "After all, having a Time Machine means he could skip ahead a few years whenever he wanted to, instead of having to take the slow path like everyone else. From what Blaze has said, there have been long stretches of time, lasting decades if not centuries, where she doesn't hear a peep from him, and then suddenly he bursts onto the scene with some massive scheme that nearly destroys the whole world, before going quiet again."

"Which could mean that either he spends all that time where he's absent plotting his next big scheme and setting things into motion, or jumping ahead in time to surprise me with some new plot, or possibly both: he could start preparations in one time period, then jump ahead to the next, so he doesn't have to wait forever for things to be ready, since he'll be all set to go by the time he arrived," Blaze explained.

"But if he has a Time Machine, why bother doing it like that at all? Couldn't he just travel back to the past to screw things up, then, like the one Silver deals with is trying to do now?" Shadow wondered.

Blaze shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. Even after fighting him for millennia, there's still much I don't know about Nega. He might be the same one Silver fights. He might not be. He might be a time traveler. He might just be immortal the same way most of my people are. All I know is that he is a constant thorn in my side, and one I have sworn to put an end to, if ever I get the chance."

…

Blaze frowned. "Wait… Won't this cause another problem for me, in the long run? If the fruit basically puts a stop to death from old age or sickness, and there's so much of it, even if it does something to inhibit fertility…"

"You might eventually have a population crisis in the future?" Sagara laughed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I suppose that's another catch. But hey, look at the bright side! At least you won't have any problem feeding them!"

Blaze glared him for a long moment, eye twitching. "… Are you completely incapable of offering any assistance that doesn't potentially backfire on the people you give it to somewhere down the line?!"

"Given how pretty much every Lock Seed he gave me back in the day made me strong enough to save my world, but also caused me to lose my humanity faster and eventually be forced to leave entirely, I'd say no," Gaim said flatly.

"In my defense, I'm more of a problem creator than a solver," Sagara muttered, glancing away. "I usually leave it to others to find a solution to the crises I create. I don't make much of a habit of trying to resolve other people's problems on my own. One of the many reasons I keep Kazuraba around, I suppose."

"I thought you kept me around because of my dance moves," Gaim joked.

Sagara chuckled. "That too."

Blaze sighed. "I suppose it's too late to ask you to take this gift back."

"Yes, not to mention it would be rather rude," Sagara pointed out.

"Fair enough," Blaze said grudgingly. She massaged her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Just another problem I'm going to have to deal with down the road, I suppose."

"That sort of thing comes part and parcel with the sort of power and responsibility you've been given," Gaim said apologetically. "You knew that going into this, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Blaze grumbled. "Well, I suppose I always knew that being the ruler was going to be a lot harder than just leading an army into battle. Well, I'll find a way to make this work. It's not like I'm going to be in this alone, after all. A lot of my friends are more experienced in this sort of statecraft than I am, and will be able to help me solve problems like this without mucking things up too much, I should hope."

"That's the spirit!" Sagara said cheerfully. "And on that note, I suppose I should leave before I make things any more complicated for you."

"I would appreciate that, yes," Blaze said gratefully. "Not to say that I'm not thankful for everything you've done, but…"

"No, no, I understand," Sagara said with a wry grin. "I've overstayed my welcome. There aren't really many places out there where someone like me can stay for too long without causing a problem, you know. Another reason I'm so fond of Kazuraba, I suppose. He always has a place for me as his table whenever I feel a need to visit."

"The kids always love hearing your stories," Gaim said encouragingly.

Sagara nodded, and then smiled wistfully. "You don't make many friends in the line of work, I suppose… That's something I actually envy you for, Blaze. People like us rarely get a chance to form a family, or any real meaningful relationships. Treasure the ones you have, and never let them go. If you lose them, there's no telling when or if you'll ever get a chance to make more."

Blaze stared at the snake, startled. She hadn't expected the wily snake to say something like that. The only reason I exist is because, once upon a time, Iblis saw mortals, people different from itself, and became consumed with the need to understand them… Perhaps because, in its own way, it was lonelier than it could ever realize.

Could Sagara have come into being at least partly for a similar reason? It's kind of difficult for a multi-dimensional world eating forest to socialize, after all…

"Sagara," she said suddenly, before she could have second thoughts.

The snake glanced back at her. "Hmm?"

Already sure she was going to regret this, Blaze plunged on before she could stop herself. "I am nothing if not loyal and grateful to those who freed me from my prison and gave me a chance at a new life. That doesn't just include Cosmo, but you as well. If… If you ever feel a need to just… Take a break from the world-changing business, or want a place to crash for a while and Gaim isn't free… You… You can come visit. So long as you promise not to cause too much trouble, and let us know well in advance, so we can be ready for you!"

Sagara stared at her for a long while, stunned. So did Gaim, eyes wide. "I don't… I don't think that anyone other than myself has ever made that offer to him before," the Tiger said finally, stunned.

"No, it has happened in the past," Sagara corrected him, voice full of wonder. "But… Not very often… Blaze…I...That is…" He shook his head after a moment, laughing. "I find myself at a loss for words, something that does not happen very often. Your offer is… Graciously accepted. Thank you. If ever I darken in your doorstep again, I promise to be on my best behavior, and will try not to bring gifts which could potentially destroy your world."

"Or her house?" Gaim pressed.

Sagara laughed. "Now, Gaim, you and I both know that might be asking a little too much!" He looked back at Blaze, face serious. "But really, Blaze. Thank you. This means more to me than you can ever imagine."

Blaze smiled slightly. "I might understand bit more than you think, actually."

"Ha! You just might at that," Sagara agreed. He clasped his hands together and bowed his head. "You have surprised me this day, Blaze. That doesn't happen very often. Well done." He straightened up. "But truly, it is time for me to leave. Gaim, I will stop by your world later to debrief you."

"Looking forward to it," Gaim said with an expression that said he was most definitely not.

Sagara chuckled and looked back at Blaze. "And Blaze?"

"Yes?" The cat asked.

The snake smiled. "Whatever world you're going to create is going to be magnificent. I think I'm going to look forward to seeing it."

And with that, he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Gaim glanced at Blaze. "That was both a very kind and incredibly risky thing you did just there. You know that, right?"

Blaze nodded. "I do, yes."

"Are you sure it was the right thing to do?" He asked.

"You made the same offer to him, didn't you?" Blaze pointed out.

Gaim smiled at that. "That's true, I did."

"And do you ever regret it?" She asked.

Gaim shook his head. "No. Although he'll never admit it, I think he's actually pretty lonely. The problem with being the only one of your kind is that there's nothing else like you. You find yourself surrounded by other, 'lesser' life forms… But as 'inferior' as they might be, at least they have each other, and at the end of the day, what do you have? Do you know what that's like?"

Yes, Iblis said softly.

"Oddly enough, I do," Blaze said. "That's why he takes physical form, doesn't he? Not just to communicate with us, but so that he feels less alone?"

"My wife thinks so. Sometimes I do as well," Gaim said with a shrug. "Not a lot of opportunities to socialize in his line of work."

"I don't suppose he's ever considered retiring?" Blaze asked.

"I doubt it's that simple. Out there in the multiverse are countless beings that devour entire planets, specifically focusing on civilized ones, annihilating billions of life forms in the blink of an eye… Not out of any particular malice, mind you, but because it's the only way they can sustain themselves. They might feel guilty about it from time to time, but ultimately, if the opportunity is starving to death… Well, a guy's gotta eat, after all." He spread his hands helplessly. "Spreading from world to world and twisting everything in its path is just the way Helheim operates. Its natural cycle. Can't be changed or stopped. Kind of ironic, really, that for all of Sagara's talk about inducing change in other worlds… Ultimately, he can't really change himself."

You changed, Blaze thought to the companion in her head.

Yes, but not easily, Iblis pointed out. And Helheim is a lot larger, and far more ancient, than we were. Such things have a lot more trouble changing. After all, fire has always been more mutable than trees.

I suppose so, Blaze thought sadly.

…

"Wow," Vector said after a moment. "That's… Pretty heavy."

"I never thought I'd actually feel sorry for a world-ending cosmic horror," Espio commented.

"Take it from me, being the only one of your kind can suck big time sometimes," Knuckles said flatly. "I can understand why even something like Helheim might get lonely sometimes."

"But you aren't the only one of your kind," Mighty pointed out.

"I am in this dimension, discounting Tikal, who isn't really all here, anyway," Knuckles pointed out. He sighed. "It also doesn't help that pretty much all of the other echidnas I know of are either trapped somewhere else, dead, or colossal assholes. Is it any wonder that I keep hanging out with you guys, even if you can be jerks to me sometimes? You're pretty much all I've got."

The others fidgeted uncomfortably at that. "… I'm sorry, Knuckles," Sonic said finally. "I know we aren't always as good to you as we could be, but… Honestly, you really are one of my closest friends. Even if you did kick the Chaotix and one of my oldest friends off your island in an act of utter hypocrisy that caused the next several years of their lives to become the miserable shitshow it is now, and are constantly being deceived by Eggman or other villains into attacking me for no real reason."

"Thanks?" Knuckles said uncertainly.

"Honestly, Blaze, that was… Really nice of you," Amy admitted reluctantly. "Reaching out to Sagara like that."

Rouge nodded. "Yes, it's certainly not a method for dealing with a cosmic horror that even my mother has come up with. I'm impressed."

"It seems like the sort of thing Cream would do, honestly," Shadow agreed.

"That's right, I would've done the exact same thing in her place!" Cream said proudly. "I'm very pleased that you did that, Blaze!"

Blaze smiled. "Thank you, Cream. That means a lot, coming from you. It felt like the right thing to do. After all, Cosmo once reached out to me, even knowing that I was a world-ending demon, and gave me the friendship and camaraderie I had always lacked. It only felt right to offer the same to another."

"DID-YOU-EVER-SEE-HIM-AGAIN?" Omega asked.

"Not yet," Blaze said. "But I have a suite ready for him in my Palace, just in case. Never know when something like him will be stopping by, after all, even if he DID promise to give me advance warning."

"What's keeping him? It's been like, thousands of years, hasn't it?" Charmy asked.

"Immortals often see time differently from everyone else," Rouge explained. "Especially beings as far beyond lesser creatures like Helheim is."

"Relatedly, I never saw Gaim or his wife or family after they helped me finish rebuilding my country and departed for their own world as well," Blaze said sadly. "I wouldn't mind seeing them again… They also have an open invitation to come visit whenever they want, but so far, they haven't taken me up on it. I suppose it's not that surprising, really. After what we went through, my nation is a bit leery of anything that uses the power of Helheim, with the notable exception of our golden fruit."

"Isn't that a little hypocritical?" Amy asked. "Especially since Gaim and his people helped you guys out so much during the final battle?"

Blaze shrugged. "Perhaps a little. Even so, I can't really fault them for feeling that way, not after everything Dark Oak put them through. And aside from that, I've done my best to make sure that Gaim and his people will always be remembered as heroes and trustworthy allies, immortalized in story and song."

"He's featured on a few statues and stained glass windows in the capital," Sonic said helpfully. "They're pretty classy."

"Of course, Gaim had not departed just yet," Blaze went on. "Our work together wasn't finished just yet, after all…"

…

"Well, if I'm going to create a world he will look forward to seeing, I should probably get started on that as soon as possible. Shall we head back to rejoin the others?"

Gaim nodded. "Certainly. Shall I open a crack to get us there?"

Blaze thought about that for a moment, then shook her head. "No. Actually, could you summon another one of those flying motorcycles of yours?"

"Sure. How come?" Gaim asked.

"Because… I would like a little time to see more of Solana. This land is mine now, both by Royal gift and right of conquest. I want to see what I've fought so hard for, this nation which I have reshaped and reforged with my own two hands. I want to see what I will spend the rest of my life living and fighting and conquering for. I want to see… This place that is now my home," Blaze said softly, staring off into the distance.

Gaim regarded her for a moment, before nodding in acquiescence. "A sentiment I can understand. After Mai and I finished making our new world, we spent a while just exploring it, and seeing what we had made before really settling down to the work of living in it, and ruling it. And I have to confess, I too am curious to see more of this new land you have brought into being."

He tossed out another Lock Seed, and it unfolded into another flying bike. "Just how many of those things have we gone through by now?" Blaze wondered.

"I've lost count, honestly," Gaim confessed. "But since they literally grow on trees back home, it's not that big a deal."

As they mounted the bike, Blaze asked, "Do you suppose we could… Take it a little slow? I want more time to see Solana. And… Well… I suppose that, since things are certainly going to get very hectic the instant we get back, I want as much time to myself as I can get, because I can guarantee I won't have any for the foreseeable future."

"I can do that," Gaim assured her. "But you know, they're probably going to get worried if we take too long."

"Then we won't take too long," Blaze said with a shrug. "Come. Let us see what I have wrought."

Gaim nodded in acquiescence, revved his engines, and took off, writing into the sunset.

…

"And that," Blaze concluded. "Is how my legend truly began."

"… Wait, it's over? It's finally over?" Vector asked after a moment, when Blaze said nothing else.

"Well, technically a lot more happened after that, but I think those stories can wait for another time. Silver asked for the story of how I became Queen, and that is exactly what I've told you," Blaze said, stroking the head of the Biter sitting next to her.

"Then… We're free! WE'RE FREE! AHAHAHAHAHA! Free at last! Free at last!" Charmy laughed madly.

Blaze glared at the bee. "Come on, it wasn't that long a story."

"It kinda was," Mighty interjected.

"Yeah, especially compared to the rest of ours," Knuckles agreed.

"It felt like we were listening to that for years!" Amy complained.

"Now, Amy, that's a gross exaggeration," Rouge scolded the hedgehog. Blaze smiled gratefully at the bat. "ONE year, maybe, but definitely not multiple." Blaze scowled at the bat.

"I-DON'T-KNOW-WHAT-YOU-ARE-ALL-TALKING-ABOUT. MY-CHRONOMETER-INDICATES-THAT-WAS-ONLY-A-FEW-HOURS, AT-MOST," Omega said.

"That was hyperbole, Omega," Shadow said.

"I-DON'T-CARE," Omega said bluntly.

"Beloved, was I really that long winded?" Blaze asked Sonic in concern.

The blue hedgehog fidgeted. "Well… Maybe a little bit…"

Blaze sighed. "Oh dear. My apologies, everyone. I suppose I could have been a little more concise…"

"Well, on the plus side, at least your story was action-packed," Tails said encouragingly.

"Yeah! I was on the edge of my seat for most of it," Vector agreed.

"You aren't sitting down," said a confused Cream.

"Figure of speech, kid," the crocodile grunted.

"Oh," Cream said. "Well, I liked it as well! Now I finally know more about your REAL past! Plus, your story had a happy ending, like all good stories should!"

"I suppose it was a happy ending, at the time," Blaze agreed. "… Well, up until a few months after my coronation, when our neighboring nations finished getting their acts together and launched a huge invasion which we were only barely able to rebuke, at the cost of thousands of lives on both sides."

"Oh," Cream said, taken aback. "Well, um, at least you won-"

"And of course, not too long after that, suddenly everyone remembered that they'd hated each other for centuries and started turning on each other, goaded by a number of conservatives who didn't like how radically I was changing everything, very nearly triggering a civil war which would have torn my fledgling new nation apart and ruined everything we fought so hard to achieve, and I was only able to keep everything from crumbling by beating the shit out of everyone who stood against me, reminding them that I am the Alpha cat, and not to be trifled with," Blaze continued.

Cream's ears pressed against her skull. "That. Um. Was that really necessary?"

"It was when Rouge put down the Civil War in her kingdom," Shadow pointed out.

"THERE-WAS-SO-MUCH-DEATH-AND-BLOODSHED. I-MISS-IT-SO-MUCH. I-WANT-ANOTHER-WAR," Omega complained.

"I don't," Rouge said flatly. "I don't exactly want to have to go through all that again after all the work we put into keeping my future kingdom from collapsing the last time."

"IT-DOESN'T-HAVE-TO-BE-A-CIVIL-WAR," Omega pleaded. "WE-COULD-DECLARE-WAR-ON-SOMEBODY-ELSE. AREN'T-THERE-LOTS-OF-OTHER-REALMS-YOU-AREN'T-ON-GOOD-TERMS-WITH? REALMS-YOU-OR-YOUR-MOTHER-MIGHT-HAVE-HAD-AN-EYE-ON-FOR-QUITE-SOME-TIME?"

Rouge considered this for a moment. "Well… I'll talk to my mother about that," she said finally. "Things HAVE been getting pretty dicey in the Makai realm ever since my cousin Morrigan's old foe, Jedah, revived again to claim the throne… There have been talks about us getting involved should war break out…"

Shadow sighed. "Wonderful."

"And of course, after THAT, our neighboring kingdoms had finished licking their wounds and launched ANOTHER invasion, but by that point we had finally managed to get our shit together and not only repelled them, but broke them completely, conquering and subjugating their nations and incorporating them into our own," Blaze continued. "Of course, that spooked our NEW neighbors, and THEY declared war on us, and… Well, let's just say that I was busy for quite a while after that, and didn't really get a chance to catch my breath until I'd conquered the entire continent—which took a couple of decades-and leave it at that."

"Oh dear," Cream whimpered.

"Not exactly the happily ever after I was expecting here," Amy complained.

"There's no such thing as happily ever after's in real life," Rouge lectured the pink hedgehog. "After all, we aren't characters in a story. Our lives don't just stop once the final page has been turned and the book is closed. Life goes on. For real people, 'happy endings' are just a period of time until something else happens."

"Hence why many sequels screw over the protagonists who got a good ending at the end of the previous story," Tails lamented. "Otherwise, they'd have no reason to be in whatever new adventure the author forces upon them."

"I hate when that happens," Espio complained. "There are all sorts of stories that can be told that don't require spoiling whatever hard-earned happiness the hero won at the end of their last story."

"Not all authors are good enough to write those kinds of stories," Rouge pointed out.

"And not all audiences care about seeing the protagonist happy because they think it somehow detracts from the badass action hero they grew fond of in the previous installments," Shadow said cynically. "After all, murdering his family is always a great excuse to kick off another action-packed revenge story."

"I hate those kinds of stories," Cream confessed, surprising nobody.

"I-LOVE-THEM," Omega said.

"You would," Espio grunted.

"So, is that the end of the story?" Silver inquired.

"It's the end of THIS story," Blaze said. "Unless you wish to hear the details of how I was formally crowned Queen, or established my government, or took the steps into creating the unified, harmonious, prosperous and safe society Solana is in the present day."

"No, I think that's enough for now," Silver said.

Blaze nodded. "Very well. But know that I have many other stories, should any ever wish to hear them. I've lived a long life, and had many adventures over the years, of which this was but the first. I have waged wars, conquered nations, battled gods and demons, liberated entire civilizations, broken tyrants, found love, made and lost friends, and formed a family. I have done much in my many years of existence, and I'm certain I have many more things left to do before I can finally rest, assuming I ever WILL rest." She smirked. "I still haven't finished conquering my world, after all."

"Have you given any thought to what you're going to do once you've finally done that?" Tails asked.

"Honestly, I assume I'll be too busy actually running the world and making sure it doesn't fall apart to do much else," Blaze said wearily. "Ruling an empire is a full-time job, after all, and the benefits aren't as cushy as you might expect. Even though I frequently get to take vacations, or go off on adventures like this one, and I know that I have capable and reliable people running things in my absence, I can never stop worrying about what sort of mess I'll find waiting for me when I get home." She rubbed her brow, and then smirked. "Although I did briefly entertain the idea of conquering your world – – it'd be a lot easier, since it's smaller and less well-defended – – but Beloved made me promise not to."

There was an awkward pause. Charmy laughed nervously. "You, uh, you're just kidding, right?"

"Actually, no," Sonic admitted. "When we started dating seriously, I made it clear that if we were going to have a future together, my planet was off-limits for her ambitions of conquest."

"Still think it wouldn't have been that bad…" Blaze muttered.

"Blaze! How could you?!" Cream demanded, shocked.

"I was going to give you your own continent!" Blaze said defensively.

There was a pause. "… Which one?" The rabbit asked finally.

Amy gasped. "Cream!"

"What? It's a reasonable question!" The rabbit protested, embarrassed.

"Think there's a bit more Eggman in her than she cares to admit…" Espio muttered. Charmy looked uneasy at that.

"Personally, Cream, I wouldn't accept Downunda or Subarctica," Shadow advised his great-Niece. "Both of them are far too hostile, one because of the wildlife, the other because of the climate. Personally, I would hold out for Europa. Great history, great climate, great food, and great culture. Plus, it isn't as big as some of the other continents, so in theory it should be easier to govern, though you DO have to watch out for the dozens of small nations with long histories of feuding against each other to deal with."

"I'll take that into consideration," Cream said seriously.

"… Are we seriously talking about this?!" Asked an incredulous Mighty.

"Apparently," Knuckles grunted.

"And you all think I'm crazy for hating her," Amy growled.

Rouge huffed. "Well, I should hope you keep your deal with Sonic! You can't have this world, I have prior claim to it!"

"Which I did not know before today," Blaze said apologetically. "I promise, I have no intention of taking over this world now that I know it's yours by birthright."

"Well, good," the bat said, mollified. "Because if you tried, I assure you, you would have a great and terrible war on your hands."

"Which I fully appreciate and understand. Would you be amenable to trade agreement? There's not much we can do right now, due to the dimensional divide between my world and yours, but I have hopes that someday we can rectify that to make travel between our realms that much easier. It would certainly make it easier for Beloved and I to visit each other without needing to gather all seven of our respective Emeralds every time," Blaze said in frustration. Sonic took her hand, giving her a sympathetic look.

"Since I'm not on the throne yet, you'd have to take that up with my mother, but I'll bring it up the next time I speak to her," Rouge promised the cat. "And we might be able to help on the dimensional divide, as well. We know a thing or two about traveling between realms…"

"If you could do anything to make that process easier, I would be eternally grateful," Blaze said in relief.

"And she's not the only one," Sonic said seriously.

Rouge smiled toothily. "I'll hold you to that."

"All right, if Blaze is finished with her story-" Silver interjected.

"I am," Blaze said. "Although I would be happy to tell more tales of my adventures at a later date, if any wish to hear them."

"I'd like to," Cream spoke up quickly. "It was great learning more about you, I'd love to hear more some other time!"

Blaze smiled fondly at the rabbit. "Then we shall have to set aside some time for that."

"Much like you have to set aside some time so she and Iblis can have a talk?" Shadow inquired.

Blaze hesitated. "… Yes, I suppose so."

"Then I believe it is time for us to end this," Silver continued. "There is only one more piece of information I require. One last origin I need to hear before I can go forth and stop Nega."

"Whose?" Amy asked.

Silver turned and dramatically pointed at his final target. "Big the cat!"

Big, who'd been very quietly fishing from the punch bowl this entire time and now had a pile of fish bones taller than himself sitting beside him, glanced up when he heard his name. "Hmm?"

Everyone stared. "You know, I actually forgot that he was there the whole time," Mighty admitted sheepishly.

"He's very quiet when he wants to be," Espio agreed.

"Which makes him a better ninja than you," Charmy sneered. The chameleon glared at him.

"You know, whatever we're about to learn, there's no way it's going to be as incredibly epic as the story we just heard," Vector complained.

"I don't know about that. I mean, we all figured Cream's origin story was going to be just a piece of fluff filler, but it turned out to have some shockingly major revelations about her family and connections to the rest of us," Sonic pointed out.

"Like how I'm related to her," Shadow said, fondly, putting a hand on his great-niece's shoulder and smiling at her.

"And that her mom is a mob boss!" Knuckles added.

Cream winced. "Can you please not remind me of that?"

"Oh, sorry," the echidna apologized, embarrassed. Shadow glared him.

"Sonic is right, there's a chance that this might not turn out to be a giant anticlimax after all," Tails agreed.

"I-WOULDN'T-PUT-MONEY-ON-THAT," Omega said pessimistically.

"Big, how did you meet Froggy?" Silver asked Big, leading into what could very well prove to be the final chapter of this anthology.

…

Holy crap. I can't believe I'm finally done!

Or that I took so long to write this chapter. I'm really, really sorry about that. There's probably like a million excuses I can make, but none of them can really make up for the fact that I've left you all hanging for over a year. (And fans of my other work hanging for even longer…)

I could also say that I didn't intend for this chapter to be so long, but as fans of my other work might know, I have a strange tendency to go wildly out of control and write ridiculously novel-length chapters which take forever to read and even longer to write. Still, I am reasonably confident that the remaining chapters of this story won't take nearly as long to create. (But don't hold me to that…)

And speaking of which, it's time to decide whose origin should go after Big's: Fang the Sniper, the Babylon Rogues, or Sticks the Badger? Remember to enclose a vote for which story you want to hear next in your review!

And on another note, would you believe the original draft of this chapter was even LONGER, with Blaze going into greater detail about her quest to collect the seven Sol Emeralds and exploring Solana? If anyone wants to see that bit as sort of 'deleted scene' extra or something, let me know! I put a lot of work into it, it would be nice if it weren't simply thrown to the wayside and forgotten.