Grogginess encrusted all of Blaze's senses, morning had come much too quickly. The feline princess of the Sol dimension was enveloped within her bedsheets, her eyelids her only shield as she dared to fight the light that had broken into her room. She was no stranger to early mornings, even those that followed late nights, but she was certain that foolishness had cost her some extra rest this morning. Usually, she'd be awakened by the ringing of her alarm clock, a device that Marine had cobbled together, but this morning was different. It seemed she'd left her balcony curtains open and, as a result, Summer's early sunrise had managed to flood the room.

She had meetings this morning but none of them till ten, it couldn't be later than seven. In total, she was probably owed another hour or so more of proper rest. She'd been up till one last night, reneging on social contact as she pored over a lengthy and especially drab paper regarding fishing quotas in the waters near the edge of her kingdom. She would be meeting with stakeholders today, representatives from individual fishing firms and other local groups, with the intent to gather opinions and set out potential changes in policy. Either greater monitoring of catch weights in key areas was required or stricter limitations on the legal fishing methods divided among the catchment zones would-

"Blaze, are you awake?" A familiar voice had cleaved through her thoughts and prattled into her sensitive ears. Suddenly, the early light made a lot more sense. Sunlight wasn't falling on her eyelids; it was psychic energy, "Oh no, oh no, what do I do. I don't want to wake her up, but I don't know what to do. It's not like there's anyone else I can turn to, but I don't want to wake her up. What do I do, what do I do-

"Silver, what are you doing in here? What time is it," She groaned, forcing herself to sit up and rubbing her eyes with her palms.

"Blaze! You can hear me? I'm so glad!" He shouted, much too loudly, "I-It's only three o'clock, I'm really sorry. I tried everything but, um, I've got a problem and I don't know how to fix it," The panic in his voice offset any annoyance she felt, "I've tried everything, but I think I'm stuck. I really hope this won't last forever."

Her eyes finally opened but to call the sight before her peculiar would be a grave understatement. Her room was still mostly dark, gently tinted with cyan energy, and the psychic hedgehog was nowhere to be seen. It was no wonder she'd been awakened though, what looked to be an orb of bright psychic light was hovering directly in front of her face. It was almost blinding to look at and it refused to stay still; as Blaze turned to look for the hedgehog it kept trying to drift into her vision. His voice had sounded so close, yet he was nowhere to be seen.

"Silver, where are you?" She called out, forcing back a yawn as concern mounted, "And what's wrong?"

"Oh geez, well," The orb drifted back into view, almost bumping into her head as it lurched through the air, "I'm right here Blaze. I don't really know what I look like, but I'm right in front of you."

Blaze squinted at the glowing orb. In all her life, Blaze hadn't met another psychokinetic nor anyone capable of replicating the hedgehog's abilities. It was unlikely that this was some sort of trick concocted by Eggman or his future counterpart. It was however incredibly hard to believe that her best friend, a nineteen-year-old hedgehog, had metamorphosed into a glowing globe overnight.

"Silver?" It was too early for this, she couldn't begin to calculate what was going on, "What happened to you?"

"I don't want to alarm you, but I think I might have turned into a ghost," He said, in a strangely emotionless tone.

"You've died?!" The feline practically jumped out of bed, suddenly wide awake, only for the mote to follow her.

"M-Maybe? I don't think so? I'm just a ghost, for now," He answered, sounding entirely unphased despite his stutter. Whether he was or not, this new form didn't carry with it the tell-tale signs of his overtly expressive nature, "What if I am dead…"

"How did this happen?" She demanded to know, casting his aloud thought aside.

"I didn't mean to, I promise! I was just practicing with my powers, trying out new things, and I kind of… pushed myself out of my body? I wasn't tired so I decided I'd burn up some psychic energy, but I guess I used too much at once. I fell over one moment and the next I was like this. Oh no, that was stupid, really stupid," He muttered on. Though his traditional gesticulations were lost, they seemed to be mirrored in the orb's own warbling and the light's intensity, "I'm pretty sure I'm still breathing, it looked like I was, but I can't really touch anything right now, look."

With only that brief warning, the orb flew straight through her head. When the princess turned, she found him simply floating behind her. She hadn't felt anything as it phased through her, not the usual touch of his psychic grasp nor even some form of ghostly cold. It was as though he truly had become light, but a light that carried no heat. He was more like the glow of an electric torch than something more traditionally natural or supernatural.

"So, your body still exists? It's just lying on the floor" She confirmed, befuddlement plain in her tone, "Did you look hurt? Ill?"

"I had a look, but I was face down. My chest was rising and falling but…" A humming groan, the sort that would typically escape his mouth when he was deep in thought, emanated through the room, "Every time I tried to touch myself, I'd just pass straight through. I couldn't flip myself over, psychically or otherwise. I can't summon my psychokinesis at all right now actually…" Realisation seemed to strike him, "Do I even have hands right now…?"

Blaze began to race for the door, not thinking twice about his query or her currently pyjama-clad form, "You were still in the guest room, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was," He answered, catching up and following her into the hall, "I nearly hit my head on the bedframe as I passed out."

"Alright, at least your body is somewhere safe. If it was still breathing, like you said, then that's a good sign," She was trying to think rationally in an attempt to calm both him and herself, "This is probably just some kind of power that you didn't know you had. Assuming that is the case, you should be able to return to your body."

"I tried phasing back into myself, but it didn't work," He quickly reminded her, "If it is some sort of new power then I have no idea how to control it."

"You'll learn with time, but I promise that I'll do everything I can," She swore, picking up the pace.

"Thank you, Blaze," The orb responded in its still static tone, "I feel so bad for putting her through this. I need to make it up to her somehow. She has meetings tomorrow but she's running around and trying to help me before she's even out of her pyjamas," The princess threw him a glance, why was he talking like that? "She looked so comfortable back there; she looks so cute even now. There are more important things to deal with but seeing her in that shirt is just adora-

"S-Silver," She stuttered, staggering to a stop. The princess' pyjamas were simple, consisting of a set of black spats and an oversized purple t-shirt. An oversized purple t-shirt that was his yet had once been his but just so happened to be loosely hanging from her shoulders, "Now's not the time."

"Not the time for what?" He asked, his voice still devoid of tone.

"We're dealing with your potential death, we don't have time to deal with my pyjamas," She huffed, turning and picking up the pace.

"Wait, y-you heard that?" He questioned, "I only thought that. But, then, what's the difference between thinking and speaking when I'm like this. I didn't consider that, it's not like I'm moving my mouth. Oh no, oh no, did you hear anything else? What have I said?"

"Was there anything else to hear?" She was certain that question sounded menacing but, truth be told, Blaze was simply bedraggled, and embarrassment had grasped at her throat. It was almost certainly choking her white muzzle into beet red.

"N-No, no!" He insisted, only to very quickly and unintentionally elaborate, "She just looked so cute lying there, but she always looks beautiful, I can't help thinking that. It was just nice to see her so comfortable, the past few days have been rough and, well, we're in a castle. I couldn't help comparing her to sleeping beauty. Oh, this is so stupid. I was just-

"S-Silver!" The princess whisper-shouted, starting to run again and feeling herself grow hotter and hotter, "I can still hear you!"

The orb-hedgehog let loose a bizarrely emotionless sounding squeak of panic, a sound not dissimilar to an old door hinge, before shooting straight upwards, phasing through the ceiling and into the corridor above. Blaze rounded to reach the staircase, not daring to pause as she rushed. Without him at her side though, she felt much freer to drop her stoicism; her hands came up to cover her cheeks and she felt sweat grow on her brow.

In whatever this state was, the hedgehog couldn't hold a thought inside of his head. He didn't even have a head! This situation was growing more ridiculous with each passing second, her best friend's body was apparently in some sort of catatonic state while his consciousness was running rampant in her castle. Had anyone else seen him? Had anyone else heard him? The palace was mostly empty but there were guards stationed on the grounds and Gardon's room wasn't too far away. The elderly Koala had become a heavy sleeper in his later years, but the moment he sensed something was awry, he'd be up with sword in hand and his uniform pulled over his pyjamas.

The thought of pyjamas pulled her back to her own situation as she made her way up the final flight. Normally, comparing her to a princess, let alone a fairy tale one, was a sure-fire way to earn the feline's scorn, but something about the comparison was lingering with her. She wanted to convince herself that it was just a hint of the hedgehog's naïveté shining through, but there were several aspects to the circumstance that made it feel like much more than that.

First and most obvious was that situation he'd found himself in; the fact that he had been so fast to draw a parallel to her, so casually, despite his own panic? That much on its own would be enough to send her into a hissing tizzy but then there was the nature of her current clothing. This shirt she was wearing was one of his shirts, of all the things, of all the options; it set her heart and face alight as she arrived on the landing. Silver had insisted on taking up various chores while he stayed in the castle; laundry had ended up being one of them. She'd tried to insist that he just rest while he was here (and remind him that he had never operated a modern washing machine) but that hadn't stopped him from taking the job on, along with a handful of other roles.

As the princess reached his door she hesitated, Marine's jeering about Silver being her butler entered the princess' mind but that wasn't what had made her outfit so embarrassing. Just as he'd been new to laundry, the hedgehog was new to clothes and so, more often than not, one or two of his articles would find its way into her pile. She'd returned a couple of shirts to him at first, a few pairs of socks too, but this shirt was different. Tonight, on her way to bed, she'd realised his mistake and opted to capitalise on it. Having scarcely seen him all day, maintaining her wall despite his pleading, it'd been a comfort.

Now it was a catalyst for her embarrassment, keeping her from opening the door that she could hear his floating form presently inside. Most important of all was the comparison he'd apparently made. Despite her being so dressed down, despite her hair surely sticking up on end and the freshly awakened aggravation on her face, he'd compared her to sleeping beauty. If he'd done it under any other circumstance she'd have been able to shrug it off but during his present situation, while she was like this and he was like that? How could he be so naïve?

Swallowing, taking a deep breath, she turned the doorknob and pushed into the room.

"Oh, she's here!" The orb was still somewhat blinding, it took a moment before she could even make out the hedgehog's form, "Hey, so, as you can see, I'm…"

What caught her attention first was what the hedgehog was wearing. Despite the hour, and this being his bedchamber, the hedgehog was well dressed. A white dress shirt, specifically slit to allow his spines to perforate out the back, and suit trousers garbed his form. It took a moment for her to realise why he was dressed like that; with today being laundry day, it'd probably been all he was left with.

She hurried to his side and set her hand on his neck, immediately feeling his pulse. His breathing was light but there was warmth beneath his fur and on his muzzle. Perhaps even a little too much warmth, did he have a fever? Blaze glanced up, taking in the room properly. Everything was in place, from the bed to the bedside cabinet, nothing was amiss.

Taking control of the situation, she informed her partner, "I'm going to move your body to the bed, just so you're in a better position."

"Alright," The orb hummed, "I feel so bad… I shouldn't have-

"Don't, Silver," She cut off his emanating thoughts, "I'm glad you came to me rather than waiting till tomorrow all on your own. Who knows what might have happened."

As gently as she could, the pyrokinetic rolled her partner over. His face was restful, his expression similar to that she'd seen watching over him for dozens of nights. Despite the tenderness she felt, and the calmness that flowed over her person, her eyes couldn't help but wander south.

"Why is your shirt unbuttoned?" She asked, tearing her gaze from the curls of white fluffy that

"I-It's hot in here," He stammered, his voice still entirely devoid of emotion, "Well, it was hot in here. I can't really feel anything right now, only really where you're touching me."

"Wait, you can feel…" Blaze moved her hand from his face to press into chest fur, holding the contact, "Can you feel this?"

"Not nearly as much," He replied, "Even when you were touching my face though, I could only slightly feel it."

Keeping that in mind, she slipped her right arm behind his neck and caught beneath his knees with her left. It was fortunate that the hedgehog was so light, otherwise she'd risk dropping him in a state where he couldn't fall safely. Usually, the time traveller had been the one to pick her up going all out during a fight. More recently though, her going all out meant overworking in the library; he'd tucked her into bed at least a dozen times. Something about it, feeling the warmth of his frame and holding him tightly against her, was eating away at her lingering sleepiness.

The orb that seemingly held the hedgehog's consciousness followed her movements, arriving to float above his body as she placed him atop the duvet. In a clear attempt to avoid vocalising further thoughts, the mote was currently humming to itself, though every so often a word or two would sneak out. Blaze wouldn't admit it aloud but, the fact he was trying so hard to avoid speech just reminded her of what he'd said before. It made her consider what else he might be covering up. If he could hear her thoughts as she could his right now, then Silver would know that-

"S-So, um, I have no idea how to fix this," He admitted again, his light flaring just a little brighter.

"Well, you can feel through your body, so that seems like a place to start," She placed both hands on his face, first gently smoothing back his quills before lowering her hold to his muzzle, "Do you trust me to try some things?" She asked, totally unsure what she'd even be trying.

"Of course, I do," The orb-hedgehog responded without hesitation.

With that assurance, Blaze set to work. First, though it was admittedly just an endeavour to keep herself distracted and buy time to think, the feline began a more thorough examination of the hedgehog. She opened his eyes only to find they lacked light, opened his mouth and felt the heat of his breath before finally, with nothing else to really fixate on, holding his nose shut.

She'd heard that was a way to wake people up, but the hedgehog seemed to simply switch to breathing through his mouth. Still, she thought it important to ask, "Does that feel any different?"

"It's weird, I'm not feeling as much in my face anymore," He seemed to realise, "O-Oh no, is it getting worse? Am I-

"Stay calm Silver," She released his nose, letting the air flow normally, "You don't feel any colder, you're still breathing…"

"Y-You're right, and I don't feel any different. It's not like this is hurting or anything," He rationalised, "Well, I'm not feeling that contact as much, but outside of that I feel exactly the same. What could have changed…"

"How much can you feel, can you feel the bed beneath you?" Blaze questioned.

"No, it's as if it's not even there," He answered, "But whenever you touch me, I do feel it; even if it's just for a moment before that contact vanishes."

"The contact vanishes?" She continued to analyse, ruling out some possible conclusions.

"Yeah, it… how do I explain this," He seemed to cut himself off before babbling, "I feel the initial contact, and if you're moving along my body then I feel it, but if you keep the touch still it just sort of… vanishes."

"Is the initial feeling stronger than what comes later?" She tried to confirm.

"Yeah, when you first touched my face I felt it a lot but then when you moved to my chest it was much softer, it faded more quickly," He posited.

"Your face is more tender, less protected," Hypothesis sprung into Blaze's mind, urged by Silver's own mention of hurting. Testing her theory involved tricking him, but it was for the greater good, "Perhaps it's just because it's more sensitive?"

"I don't think so. When you picked me up too, I felt that way more than-

Without warning, she pinched his cheek. A twitch lurched through his frame, she saw his eyelids twitch and his brow harden.

Yet sound still came from the orb, still floating by her head, "Ow, what was…" His voice remained emotionless, even in shock and pain. Curiously though the light of the orb seemed to dim for just a moment before brightening, "Oh," He quickly realised, "Oh wow, I really felt that!"

"I've got two theories," Blaze openly mused, "Either harder contact is the key, meaning I might have to hurt you to wake you up, or…" Rather than that, she focused on theory two, "I don't know if it's possible in your current state, but could you look away?"

"Um, I think I can?" The orb did seem to rotate, Blaze could tell that much by the shifting pattern on the wall, but the front was essentially indistinguishable from the back, "How's this?"

"You'd know better than I would," She called back to him, "Keep looking away."

Surprise: that was the hypothesis she most wanted to test. From her first touch of his face to the sudden contact of being lifted, it seemed unexpected contact prompted more tangible responses from him. Second to that was injury and, while she could certainly injure him quickly and surprisingly, the feline couldn't bring herself to attack his sleeping form without testing other options first.

Rather than go for his cheeks or his nose again, Blaze opted to use her extensive knowledge of the hedgehog. She had dealt with his mess of quills enough times to know just how sensitive his ears were; a tug at them was more than enough to get his attention, even when he was entirely distracted. In position but not yet touching him, she turned her gaze to the orb. With her forefinger's claw, she deftly itched along the underside of his ear and watched as, immediately, the orb's brightness slightly dim. She threw her gaze to Silver and saw him twitch but the effect had been less than her prior endeavour. Either way, pain wasn't a requirement; surprise seemed to work.

"I felt it, I really felt it, but…" Perhaps this time the response had been lesser because he was expecting something to happen? "It wasn't enough again."

"We're not done yet, just give me a moment to think," Blaze shifted to sit on the bed next to him, thinking for a moment, considering what else she could do to surprise him.

The hedgehog's humming, now less interrupted by words, filled in for the otherwise quiet of the room. Her eyes cast back down to his actual body, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest and becoming ensnared by the softness of his expression. Gently, she took his hand in hers, noting that his usually glowing symbols were presently grey.

It was only as she released his hand, setting it atop his chest, that a thought dawned upon her. Something very obvious, yet something Silver would not expect. Something she hadn't expected to do to him, not until much longer had passed at least.

It was embarrassing, it was so embarrassing; the feline shot back up to her feet for fear of radiant flames being stoked and spreading to him. Regardless of her embarrassment however, Blaze snapped her head around to look at the orb, "Can I do anything if it means waking you up?"

"Whatever you think will work, you can do it," He responded, without hesitation.

She felt hesitation building in her mind, her fist clenched, "You still trust me, don't you Silver?"

"With all my heart," Whether that was a thought or his intended speech, she didn't wait to find out.

"Then trust in this," She couldn't hesitate, not after saying that, not if she wanted the surprise to take full effect!

The princess leant down and, without so much as blinking, put her lips to his. The response was immediate; Silver's shock likely aided by the fact it'd all happened in full view of the hedgehog's own out-of-body perspective on the exchange. Part of it might have also been how close she'd come to crashing her teeth into his. His lips were soft for just a moment, that tenderness rapidly replaced as life seemed to surge into his form. Blaze's only response was to shut her eyes and maintain contact, both out of fear he'd drift back out and of whatever look claimed his once resting face.

This effort proved to be foolish however as, after but a moment, Blaze felt a thorough and consistent shift from the hedgehog. His head had left the pillow and he was returning the contact. It wasn't quite a fairy tale scene when she opened her eyes, a combination of the surprise and regaining control seemed to have stoked the intensity within him. That much was more than obvious from the look in his eyes.

The kiss didn't last for long after that; for as enjoyable as the effort was, it was clear that neither of them especially knew what they were doing. The moment they separated, Blaze shot up to stand straight while the hedgehog half followed her by fully sitting up. For a moment, just a moment, the sounds of their heavy breaths filled the room. The hedgehog coughed, clearing his throat after both the surprise and perhaps to clear his airway after spending so long in such an odd, cationic, state. Blaze couldn't stand to look at him, not for a minute or more at least.

It was only once their breathing had slowed to near silence that Blaze threw a glance in his illuminated direction only to find that he'd turned to her first. Immediately however, eye contact broke again. Heat was bubbling on her lips, on her hands, in her heart and in so many places. What was she supposed to do now? What was he supposed to do now? It was all such a mess!

She dared to glance at him again, finding his fingers were on his lips and a glow had consumed his golden eyes; he was still processing, completely out of action. She had to take initiative, just as she already had; she couldn't let him, otherwise this stupidity would continue. She had to pick the right words, she just had to, but there wasn't time to think!

"W-Well, now we know who the real sleeping beauty is, don't we?"

The joke hit the air between them like a brick hurdle by the world's wimpiest hooligan against an unbreakable windowpane. True silence claimed the space between them as their eyes crashed into each other, natural drawn to that utterly awkward joke's source and its receiver respectively. Not more than two blinks later, a crooked and bursting smile had swollen onto his face. The same look, albeit likely more muted, was shared on hers.

Those cracking smiles gave way to laughter. Laughter gave way to him buckling forward and her using his frame for support. This had all been so very stupid, from the impetus of his arrival to the concluding joke. Despite the early hour of the morning, despite the double dose of embarrassment she'd just induced and despite the dangerous trajectory she'd set them on, Blaze knew things would be alright. Those cracking smiles gave way to laughter. Laughter gave way to him buckling forward and her using his frame for support. This had all been so very stupid, from the impetus of his arrival to the concluding joke. Despite her rude awakening, the double dose of embarrassment she'd induced and the dangerous trajectory she'd set them on, Blaze knew things would be alright. Her meetings were creeping ever closer, she couldn't begin to guess the hour, but with of this morning's bizarreness behind them, Blaze wanted to savour this silly moment.