Running with Blaze made Sonic felt challenged in a way he hadn't felt in quite a while, and for someone who got into as many fights as Sonic did, he couldn't help but smile. Unlike many of his battles with Eggman, or any numbers of threats, here it was about who could go faster, a contest he seldom ever got chance to test, and certainly not one he could ever enjoy in the same way he did with Blaze, casual and friendly, not racing for the fate of the world.
For Sonic such a challenge was a rare treat. Almost no-one compared to him in terms of speed. Sure, Shadow was close, but he would never race for the fun of it. Heck, Shadow wouldn't do anything for the fun of it. On the other hand, Tails would race him for fun often, but Tails could really only stay in Sonic's league if the race was over difficult terrain and the fox took to flying.
But racing with Blaze; that was something else. Sonic was known worldwide as 'the fastest thing alive' but Blaze could very easily keep up, and she shared Sonic's drive to go faster, not just for speeds sake, but also to beat the other. This was a proper contest, and the desire to win was pushing both of them to faster and faster speeds, in a way that neither of them were often pushed.
However Sonic had other things on his mind. "Do you actually trust Nack then?"
"I guess," Blaze shrugged, "But I really didn't have a lot of choice. We landed in your world, I didn't know where I was, what was I supposed to do, blindly scour the planet in search of you?"
She sighed, "He's not so bad really. He may have a ... different way of doing things, one that may not seem sensible to you or I, but I think his heart's in the right place."
Blaze wasn't sure if she could get Sonic to understand. In all honesty, her deicision making of late had been based on circumstance, not any real sort of rational thought. Had she allowed herself more time to think, maybe she wouldn't have ended up here, or at least she might have the pendant on her now and getting home would be a simple case of retrieving the Sol emerald and fleeing.
"Look, I can't say I know him well," she finally said, "But I think Nack can be trusted."
Sonic shrugged as best as he could while running. The pair were following Blaze's instincts, she had a sense of where the Sol Emeralds were, not unlike an ability Sonic had seen a certain Echidna possess.
They kept moving through canyons. The dry terrain at the base was a near ideal place for running, offering few obstacles, save for the odd large rock or small stream. As they progressed they noticed an overhead rail line, and that in turn connected with several others. The closer they got, the denser these lines became, and in turn the canyon below slowly became increasingly littered with the half rusted ruins of old engines and wagons, derelict remains flung down in battle.
"What's with the note?" Blaze asked, trying to change the subject.
"Huh?"
"There's a note on a desk in the workshop, with my handwriting on it."
"You wrote that? I've been wondering about it."
"I never said I wrote it."
"But you-"
"I said it has my handwriting. Have you ever met any other dimensions versions of me?"
Sonic stumbled over his thoughts. The idea that he may have never met the same version of Blaze in each of the times he'd seen her baffled him. "Yes," he eventually answered, "I think. This is all getting too complicated."
"Howso?"
"You remember the armadillo?"
"Mighty was his name," the cat answered.
"Yeah," Sonic replied, "I don't remember him at all. Until a few hours ago, the lead detective was a six foot tall crocodile." The hedgehog began to be honest with Blaze, explaining everything that had been going on.
"That sounds familiar," Blaze said.
"It does?"
"Nega had a plot recently, something similar, he called it reality compression." The cat explained, "He never really explained it properly, not that I am aware anyway, but the main point of the plot was to..."
Sonic's communicator chirped. Without hesitating, Sonic answered.
"Hedgehog," Nack said, his voice sounding agitated, "Is the princess there?"
Sonic was alarmed by this call. He did not expect the weasel to be calling him, especially from Tails' communicator "Nack, How are you..."
"I said is Blaze there?!" Nack interrupted.
"Nack," Blaze said, "I'm here, what's going on?"
"Princess," Nack said in a softer tone, "I'm sorry. I just can't let this continue. I'm gettin' out of here, with my pendant. Don't try to find me, or I'll have to do somethin' you won't wanna know about."
"Nack!" Blaze yelled as the line went dead."
The pair looked at each other, the air now tense with dread.
"What do we do?" Blaze asked, "We have to get to him, I need that pendant. But I need the emerald too."
"The emerald will wait. I doubt somehow Egghead would want to destroy a Sol Emerald," Sonic said, trying to justify his decision. "But this is exactly what I was worried about.
"You're the one who said I shouldn't shut people out."
"I didn't mean people like Nack," The hedgehog retorted, "Yes, make friends, but not with lunatics who are likely to take hostages."
"Well I didn't have much choice!" The cat yelled. She was now frustrated, she had only been trying to get home, and now things had got all tangled up like many a ball of yarn had in her youth. "Besides," she said more calmly, "it's not like I have a working list of everyone from your dimension that I should and shouldn't trust."
Sonic rolled his eyes, before putting on an extra burst of speed and heading back for base. He didn't want to hear this, not right now, not while his friends were in danger.