Blaze opened her eyes to darkness.

The room was quiet save for Marine's snoring and the gurgling of the shrine fountain. Blaze gently disentangled herself from Marine's arm and slid to the edge of the bed, but then she hesitated, looking back at Marine. She had her arms wrapped around a pillow in Blaze's absence, mumbling to herself in her sleep. Her brow was furrowed, and her tail twitched restlessly. A bad dream? Blaze knew Marine had them sometimes, even though she always loudly denied it if questioned in the morning.

They still didn't know what had become of Marine's parents; all she would say was that they'd "left", followed by a spirited insistence that she did just fine on her own. She'd been found by the Coconut Crew, so at least she hadn't grown up completely alone, but Blaze still wondered what happened to Marine's birth family. Had they really abandoned their daughter at such a young age? Left her alone on an island to fend for herself? Marine insisted she didn't care, but she'd never been a good actor. Blaze could tell it bothered her. She had seen Marine's anxiety whenever anyone left on a trip, and her obvious relief when they came back. Though Marine tried to cover it up with her usual bravado, Blaze had seen her crying when Sonic and Tails left. At the time she'd chalked it up to the typical emotionality of a seven-year-old, but later she'd wondered if there was more to it than that.

Either way, Blaze knew Marine wouldn't handle her leaving well, especially not leaving in the middle of the night without so much as a goodbye. Blaze hesitated a moment longer on the edge of the bed, then shook herself and slipped out of the mosquito net. It was better this way. What she was doing would be going against the express word of the empress, tantamount to treason. The less Marine was involved, the better. Besides, if she knew what Blaze was planning, she would insist on coming, and Blaze couldn't allow that.

Blaze stood a moment, letting her eyes adjust. The room felt far darker, far colder without the Sol Emeralds. She'd fix that soon. Once her eyes had adapted, Blaze moved to her closet, opening it as quietly as she could. She reached for her uniform—the long-sleeved, pink-hemmed purple tailcoat—, then paused. It was her official uniform as the guardian of the Sol Emeralds, approved by the empress herself and modeled after the uniforms of all the guardians before her. Was it right to wear it when she was going against the empress's orders? Was she doing this as the imperial guardian, protector of the Sol Emeralds and right hand of the empress? Or was she acting like a naive child chasing after a fairytale?

Blaze narrowed her eyes. No. She wouldn't think that way. The Sol Emeralds were out there. Answers were out there. If Dwi had forbidden her from acting as guardian, then she wouldn't go as guardian. She'd go as herself. A traitor to the crown. A disobedient niece. And perhaps, if she was right about this… a hero. The thought sent a rush of adrenaline, of excitement, through her body. She flattened her ears, chastising herself. She wasn't Sonic. She couldn't just run off on adventures whenever she wanted. She had a duty—a responsibility to her people and to the Sol Emeralds.

And right now, that meant acting in an… unofficial capacity.

Blaze grabbed a different outfit, one less likely to draw attention to her status. She left her gold necklace and jewel bindi tucked away in the closet. They would just be symbols of wealth and power. She found the box of vermillion powder Cinder had given her a few months ago as well as the mirror she kept in the back of the closet. Illuminated by the stars outside and a single candle, she carefully applied the powder to her forehead, creating an imperfect crescent. It was hard to get the shape right alone, by hand, but maybe that was fitting. That done, she slipped on a pair of flat-heeled shoes, good for running in, gathered a few spare clothes into a small cloth bag, and dissolved the bag into her subspace pocket. She slipped her usual high heels in as well. Just in case. Finally she straightened and took a moment more to look around her room. How long would it be before she could return?

Eyes flashed in the dark. Blaze froze.

In the corner, where Marine's hammock hung, cool green eyes glowed in the darkness. Black dropped soundlessly out of the hammock and stood, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

They stared at each other for a moment in silence.

"I'm going," Blaze said in English. Her voice sounded far too loud in the darkness. "Please don't wake her or try to stop me."

"I'm coming with you."

Blaze blinked. "You… are?"

"Yes." Black's voice was quiet but sure.

Blaze shook her head. "You have no involvement in this, Black. There's no reason for you to come with me."

"I need to," Black said with certainty.

Take care of him.

Watch the wolf closely. There is more to him than you know.

" … Alright," Blaze agreed reluctantly. "You may come." She narrowed her eyes at him. "But it will be dangerous. Are you sure you want to?"

He only looked back at her steadily. He almost seemed… resigned.

"Very well. Get dressed, and keep quiet. I don't want to alert Gardon."

Black nodded and began slipping into the clothes he'd worn the day before. Blaze helped him tie the headscarf and led him to the window. She pulled the curtains aside. Outside the stars glimmered faintly in the sky, while the horizon was bathed in a dull red glow as always, casting the night in an eerie light. Once Blaze was sure no one was outside the window, she found the part of the mesh screen—meant to keep bugs out—that had come loose from the window frame and carefully pulled it back.

"You've done this before," Black observed, amused.

"A guardian must have her secrets," Blaze answered primly. She felt a twinge of nostalgia as she remembered Ebony saying the same thing to her years ago, winking as she snuck her niece out of the palace. She missed those days.

Blaze climbed out of the window, dropping lightly to the ground on the other side. Her room was in the back of the temple, close to the sea, which made it easier to sneak out without anyone seeing her. It also helped that the grounds outside, so close to the Sol Emeralds, were considered sacred by many, and guards were not traditionally posted there except in times of crisis. She offered her hand to Black and helped him climb out of the windowsill. Once he was out, she pressed the screen back in place. She turned back to see Black staring up at the sky, brow furrowed in confusion as his markings glowed a soft cyan.

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

"There's no moon," he said quietly.

Blaze looked up with him. It was true. The only lights in the sky were the dim and distant stars and the red glow on the horizon—the eternal flames, some called them. This was always what the sky had looked like, as long as Blaze had been alive and longer. The only satellite to ever grace their skies was the Miracle Planet, and that was only for a few days each year. The moon was only known in old, old stories of Solaris and Lunaris, seldom talked about these days. Why stir up sentiment for the past when there was nothing anyone could do to change it? Better to act like the world had always been like this, like all worlds were like this.

Blaze had never thought her skies were strange. She'd never known any others. But then she'd chased Dr. Eggman and the stolen Sol Emeralds into the other world. Sonic's world. And there she'd first seen a truly black night sky, lit by glittering stars and the glowing white moon. No constant glow of red on the horizon. She had never forgotten that first sight of the moon and stars in a pitch black sky. It was beautiful.

Coming back to her own world, her sky had felt pale and polluted by comparison. She'd tried to explain it to other Solians, but try as she might, she couldn't make them understand. You had to see it. You had to feel the cool night breeze on your face, devoid of the constant heat and the faint scent of smoke and ash that seemed to follow Blaze everywhere she went in her world. She'd always thought it was because of her powers, but in Sonic's world the air was fresh and clear. Once, when she was younger, Blaze had asked Aurora if she smelled the smoke, too. Aurora smiled and said that was just what the sun smelled like. But Sonic's sun didn't smell of ash and smoke. It smelled of wind and grass and growing things. His whole world smelled like that. Even Eggman's glittering and cold machines, reeking of oil and steel, couldn't drown it out.

Blaze was the only person to have come to Sonic's world from the Sol Dimension. It was only after she came back that she realized how pale their night was, how ashy the wind always tasted. How dull the sky looked without the moon. No one who'd spent their whole life in the Sol Dimension noticed those things.

And now Black looked at the sky and saw the absence. There was no moon.

"No, there isn't," Blaze agreed. "There hasn't been for a long time." She inhaled, the air smelling faintly of bitter smoke. "Come on," she said, pulling Black's attention from the sky. "We need to find a ship."

They walked to the docks in silence. Blaze led them along a route that would avoid anyone who might ask too many questions. A few times they came close to running into a guard on patrol or a priestess on a night stroll, but Blaze's ability to detect the Sol energy of others warned her of anyone approaching, and they weren't spotted. Normally she would have trusted in her position getting her past any guards, but Dwi had no doubt ordered them to keep an eye out for a wayward guardian going against her empress's orders. So they stuck to the shadows. The red light on the horizon felt like an eye searing into Blaze's back, watching her disobedience in silent, burning judgement. She refused to let it get to her.

The dock was a small wooden pier a little ways down the beach from the Jeweled Scepter's shrine. Blaze could see the Ifrit's warm glow, only partly hidden by the pavilion in which it was sleeping. Even the Fairies were asleep, their normally bright glows dimmed as they hid in the grass. The world was quiet and still. Everyone was asleep. Which was why it was all the more surprising to see Aurora standing on the beach, looking at them expectantly.

"{Aurora?}" Blaze whispered in Indonesian. "{What are you doing here?}"

"{Seeing you off,}" Aurora answered calmly. Her white robe seemed to glow in the starlight, contrasting the bundle wrapped in red cloth that she held in her arms. She gestured behind her, where a small jukung, painted white, gold, and pink, was tied to the pier, bobbing gently on the waves. "{I've already prepared supplies for your journey.}"

"{…Thank you.}" Blaze didn't know what else to say. She glanced at Black and was surprised to see him glaring at Aurora, his markings flared a warning pink-red and his ears flat. He hadn't been particularly friendly to anyone she'd introduced him to other than Marine, keeping a wary distance from Gardon and even Coral, but she'd never seen him look so openly hostile.

Then again, it wasn't like Blaze really knew him well, did she? She'd met him… had it only been this morning?

Aurora noticed Black's hostility as well, eyeing him briefly before turning back to Blaze. "{Be careful, Your Highness. You are journeying into uncharted territory. Head east, and be watchful.}" She pressed the bundle she was holding into Blaze's hands. Then she bowed gracefully and whispered for Blaze's ears only, "{Keep a close eye on your companion. He is more than he seems.}"

Blaze returned the bow. "{I will keep that in mind.}"

Black was eyeing them both, confusion and suspicion clear on his face. Blaze made a "later" gesture, which he seemed to reluctantly accept. She awkwardly nodded to Aurora one last time and stepped into the boat. Black followed more clumsily, dropping onto all-fours to balance himself as the boat rocked. Blaze untied the boat from the dock and leaned out to push them off. Then she sat on one of the seats as the boat drifted out into the sea, carried by the current.

Blaze looked back, trying to catch one last glimpse of her home. The palace sat tall and severe on its stilts, its windows dark and closed off, its steep and sloping roof looking like a pointed crown. The shorter but no less grand temple struck her as more melancholy, its gently gleaming eyes watching her departure somberly. Aurora was still standing alone on the beach, her robe fluttering around her as she watched them with a solemn expression. Meeting Blaze's gaze, she smiled slightly and called out one last time. "{Good luck, Your Highness.}"

Blaze nodded once, then tore her gaze away from her home, fixing it instead on the waiting horizon. She wondered when she would come back. If she would come back. No, don't think like that. She would be back, and soon. She would find the Sol Emeralds, and she would bring them home.

Shaking herself, Blaze stood and looked around. Worrying wouldn't get her anywhere. She needed to figure out how this boat worked. She'd gone sailing many times before, but never had she been the one in charge of the boat. It couldn't be that hard, could it? Marine handled it fine. The first task was getting the sail down. It was heavier than Blaze had expected, and she yelped as she nearly fell off the boat trying to balance herself.

"A little help?" she hissed at Black in English. He was staring distractedly at the sea, but at her voice he glanced over and cocked his head, markings shifting to cyan. "We need to get the sail up. Or… down. Whichever it is."

"I don't think you know how this works," Black said, not hiding his amusement.

"Do you?" Blaze snapped. "Come over here and help me."

Black climbed to his feet and helped hold the sail, much to the relief of Blaze's arms. Together they eventually managed to figure out how to get the sail set out. That left Blaze to figure out how they steered the boat. She was sure there was some way to do it, but she couldn't figure out how. Did they just leave themselves to the mercy of the wind? She was beginning to regret not taking Marine up on those sailing lessons. Black was extremely unhelpful, spending much of his time staring thoughtfully into the sea or looking confused. To be fair, it wasn't like he had experience. In anything. At all. Going two nights without nearly enough sleep was beginning to fray Blaze's patience.

"Quit moving!" she hissed at Black. "You keep rocking the boat!"

"You're moving more than I am," Black grumbled.

"That's because I'm doing all the work!"

"I thought you knew how to do this."

"I—ugh!" Blaze threw her hands up and turned her back on him. Unfortunately she couldn't really storm off in a boat, so that left her glaring at the not-any-closer horizon, definitely not sulking. She rubbed at her eyes, hissing with frustration. She just wanted to sleep and not have to deal with this stupid boat and this stupid wolf and—

"Someone's coming."

Blaze whirled around. "What do you mean someone's coming?"

Black just pointed back toward the island they'd left. It at least looked far off now, so they were going somewhere. She squinted, trying to figure out what Black was looking at. Her ears twitched as she picked up the distant growl of an engine, fast growing closer. It sounded strangely familiar. Blaze's eyes widened as a green and orange jet-ski became visible, tearing across the water towards them.

"BLAZE! YOU BLOODY DRONGO!" Marine could be heard yelling over the growl of the engine as her jet-ski reached Blaze and Black. She stopped her engine and stood on the seat, glaring at Blaze with all her eighty centimeters of height. Her fists were surrounded by a green-white glow, though she didn't seem to be aware of it. "What were you thinking, leaving your best mate behind while ya rack off to the woop woop with only a strange bludger for company—no offense, Black—and a tinny to take you to the end of the world?" While Marine ranted she started tying her jet-ski to the back of the jukung, only pausing to jab an accusing, glowing finger at Blaze. "You didn't even say goodbye you bloody galah!" She jumped into the jukung and glared up at Blaze, her tail bushed up behind her.

Blaze felt the first creepings of guilt as she noticed that, for all Marine's bluster, there were tear tracks in her fur and her eyes were red. She quickly shoved the feeling aside in favor of a much easier emotion to deal with: frustration. "{Why did you follow me, Marine?}" she demanded, not bothering to speak in English. Black didn't need to be involved in this argument, and Marine could speak Indonesian fine.

"{I'm not letting you go off to the end of the world without me!}" Marine yelled. "{I'm sick of you leaving me behind!}"

"{You are a child,"} Blaze snapped back. "{I am the guardian of the Sol Emeralds. This is my responsibility, not yours.}"

Marine scowled. "{That's not true! I'm a hero, the same as you! Or I will be, one day! I've got powers and everything!}" She pointed an accusing finger at Black, who just looked confused (granted, he had no idea what either of them was saying). "{And how come he gets to come with you? You don't even know how old he is! You barely know him at all!}"

Blaze swatted her finger down. Thankfully it had stopped glowing. "{That's different,}" she huffed. "{Black is…}" she glanced at Black and switched to English. "How old are you?"

He shrugged.

"See!?" Marine yelled.

"{Black is older than you,}" Blaze said, ignoring her. "{And old enough to make his own decisions. You, on the other hand, are my responsibility, and it's up to me to decide if you come with me or not. And you're not,}" she added firmly, just to be clear.

Marine folded her arms. "{If I'm your responsibility, doesn't that mean you have to look after me? So I have to come with you, because otherwise you'll be leaving me unsupervised!}"

"{That's—that's not how it works!}" Blaze snapped. "{I wasn't— I'm not leaving you unsupervised. You have Gardon.}"

"{You didn't tell him that!}"

Blaze scowled. "{I will when I take you back.}" She stomped across the boat, then paused as she realized she had no idea how to turn around.

Marine immediately seized on her hesitation. "{I can be useful!}" She pointed out eagerly. "{You don't know how to sail! How are ya going to get where you're going if you can't steer? I can do that!}" She widened her eyes, looking up at Blaze pleadingly. "{Please let me help you!}"

Blaze ground her teeth. She didn't want Marine involved in any of this… but it was true neither she nor Black had any idea how to work the boat. She hated it when Marine was right.

"{Fine,}" she said at last, and Marine squealed excitedly. Blaze pointed at her warningly. "{But you're only coming with us to the edge of the ocean. As soon as we don't need the boat anymore, you're going back home.}"

"{Then how will you get home?}" Marine challenged.

Blaze glared at her. "{We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.}"

"{Alright, alright,}" Marine raised her hands in faux surrender. "{Sheesh, I was just asking a question.}"

Blaze rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat with a huff. Marine immediately set to work, adjusting the sail and chattering constantly as she did it. Black cautiously sat by Blaze, looking at her inquiringly.

"So… she's coming with us?" he asked at last when Blaze refused to speak with him.

Blaze hunched over, ears flattening against her head. "Apparently."

Black grinned. "Couldn't stop her?"

Blaze scowled at him. "I'd like to see you try."

Black looked at Marine, energetically hopping around the boat and yelling at an imaginary crew, and shook his head. "I'll leave her to you."