Blaze took her time returning to her companions, mind fixed on the hostile wasteland above her. She'd already intended to send Marine back home, and this only cemented her decision further. She should send Black with her, too. This desert would be dangerous enough for Blaze even with her abilities; for the others, it would be a death trap.
"So? What did you see?" Marine demanded as Blaze finally reached the boat.
"A desert." Blaze didn't look either of them in the eye, instead focusing on sorting through their supplies. Did she have enough to take with her while still leaving some for Black and Marine? She'd only brought enough for herself and Black in the first place. Perhaps she should just leave it all for them. She'd gone without food before.
"That's all?" Marine deflated.
Blaze finally looked at her, expression grave. "It was a fire blasted wasteland, devoid of life, stretching farther than I could see." She turned back to the supplies. "It's a death trap. I'm sending you both home."
"No way!" Marine protested immediately. "I'm not letting you go into that place alone!"
"My powers will protect me," Blaze said. "You, on the other hand, will pass out from the heat in minutes." She finished sorting the supplies and picked up the now much lighter bag. She'd leave the rest in the boat for Black and Marine's trip back. "I'm going on my own, and that's final." She stood and started to step out of the boat, but stopped short as Black, who'd been watching them argue in silence, finally spoke.
"You can't go alone," he said with that same firm certainty as when he'd insisted he needed to come with her.
"I can take care of myself," Blaze snapped, turning to glare at him. Her anger faded when she saw the look on his face. Somber and determined.
"Probably," Black agreed. "But you don't need to." His green eyes were earnest. It reminded Blaze of someone else, and that made her hesitate.
"It's dangerous," Blaze said quietly. "You could die."
"But we'll be safer if we go with you," Black pointed out. "Marine will follow you no matter what."
Blaze… hadn't considered that. She glanced at Marine.
"He's right," Marine said, for once without her usual bluster. "I'd follow my best cobber anywhere." Then she grinned, swagger returning. "And I'm not missing out an adventure as good as this 'un!"
Blaze looked at Black. "And you? You barely know me. Why do you want to come?"
"I need to," Black said simply.
Blaze looked between the two of them and, after a minute, sighed. "Fine. But you'll both do as I say and not take any unnecessary risks, understood?"
"Alright!" Marine pumped her fist in the air.
"And we're leaving at night," Blaze added. "It'll be cooler."
"Ugh, waiting. That is the opposite of cool," Marine grumbled, but her eyes were still shining with excitement.
"You could go fishing while we wait," Blaze suggested, hoping to get a little quiet so she could catch up on lost sleep. "We might need the extra food supplies."
Marine immediately perked up, then deflated. "I didn't bring my fishing gear."
Blaze shrugged. "Use your hands."
A devilish grin spread across Marine's face at the prospect of a challenge. "Oy Black, you want to help me? The fish seemed to like you. I reckon we'll get heaps of fish working together while Blaze snoozes like a bludger."
Black had barely finished nodding before Marine grabbed his hand and dragged him to the water, chattering all the way. Blaze smirked and curled up in the bottom of the boat. Hopefully she wouldn't get woken up by Marine falling in the water.
Blaze dozed off and on for the rest of the afternoon. Marine and Black did manage to catch a few fish (Black had a surprisingly long reach), and Blaze showed them how to dry the fish out so they'd last longer (her flames helped speed up the process). They all went swimming to cool off, and then Marine and Blaze both caught up on lost sleep. Blaze wasn't sure if Black slept or not; he was awake when she went to sleep, and awake when she woke up. Finally, the sun began to set. It was time to go.
"You should open that thing Aurora gave you," Marine suggested, wringing the water from her hair. She'd attempted to trick Black into falling in the water (an initiation ritual, she claimed) but underestimated his reflexes. She'd followed up by trying to trick him into helping her out of the water so she could pull him in with her, but Black had not been fooled, which was more than Blaze could say for herself when Marine first tried that on her.
Blaze had almost forgotten the bundle Aurora had handed her. She found it and carefully unwrapped the cloth, revealing three sturdy satchels. Opening them, she pulled out a set of cotton clothes, food and water, several pieces of a currency she didn't recognize, and, in one satchel, a sealed letter.
"Is that a royal seal?" Marine asked curiously, leaning over Blaze's shoulder to peer at the letter. Blaze moved it a bit farther away so Marine wouldn't accidentally drip on it.
"If it is, it's not a country I'm familiar with," Blaze said, turning it over curiously. The backside was blank. The only hint at what the letter might contain was the seal on the front and small writing in the upper corner: "To Nephthys, from Aurora". Blaze considered the seal for a moment, but it still didn't look like any she'd seen before, either from the Empire or the neighboring kingdoms. Shaking her head, she tucked the letter carefully back into the backpack.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Marine asked, disappointed.
"It's not addressed to us," Blaze chided. "Breaking the seal would be an invasion of privacy, and might invalidate the letter."
"But why would Aurora give you a letter for someone else?"
"Maybe she thinks we'll encounter this 'Nephthys' on our journey," Blaze said, examining the other contents of the bag.
"I guess so," Marine agreed, clearly still disappointed at a missed opportunity to snoop. She poked at the clothes Blaze had found in the satchels. "What are these about?"
Blaze unfolded one of the garments, examining it curiously. They were made of soft white cotton. "They look Arabian." She'd seen similar clothes in old artwork and, on occasion, worn by the Arabian inhabitants of the empire. These clothes weren't entirely the same as the ones she'd seen, but they were similar. She raised one up to examine it more closely, and a piece of paper fell out. Blaze caught it before Marine could, holding it out of Marine's reach and ignored her complaints as she examined it closely. She recognized Aurora's elegant script immediately.
{Blaze,
I trust you have made it safely to the end of the sea. Ahead of you lies a great and dangerous wasteland. The provisions I have given you should last you two days. The clothes will help you and your companions to better deal with the heat. I recommend you leave at night; that will earn you a few hours walk without the sun. Once you lose sight of the sea, do not wait for the evening. It will not come. The sun is harsh, but not without mercy, and I believe you and your companions will make it through. Look out for them. You are in your element here; they are not.
Continue east, and you will reach Shanazar within a day of steady walking. Show them the letter I gave you, and they should treat you well. Be wary of any you encounter on the way. The desert is harsh and unforgiving, and unfortunately, it has a way of making its people the same. I wish you luck on your journey.
Aurora}
"What does she mean, the evening won't come?" Marine asked, reading the letter over Blaze's shoulder. For the first time she sounded nervous about the journey ahead.
"I don't know," Blaze admitted.
Her mind drifted back to Light Gaia. The days had grown longer and hotter, until the night was but a few hours long. Even imprisoned as she had been for most of those unnatural days, she had noticed daylight continuing to shine through her window when it should have been the middle of the night. It had been a disturbing sign of Light Gaia's growing power. Was there a similar force at work here, in her world?
No time to consider that now. Blaze shook herself and stood. She handed Marine the bundle of clothes that seemed to be in her size. "Get changed."
Marine took the clothes and scampered off to find a cleft to change in out of sight. Blaze gave Black his clothes and left him to get dressed while she found her own spot. Not that Black probably cared much about privacy; he hadn't been wearing any clothes when she first found him, and he'd seemed more confused by them than anything when Blaze gave him some. She didn't know if that meant he came from a place where he wouldn't be expected to wear full clothing, or if he just didn't remember. But Blaze figured they could all use some space and time to themselves, even if it was just for a few minutes. They'd certainly be spending plenty of time together in the desert.
Blaze changed quickly into the white, robe-like dress Aurora had provided her. She carefully tucked her hair into a red headscarf that wrapped around her forehead and mouth—presumably to protect her face from the elements—and changed her sun-emblazoned white gloves for plain red ones. That done, she carefully folded the clothes she'd been wearing before, then stood for a moment, debating whether she should leave them in the boat or take them with her. In the end she decided to put them in her backpack. Her subspace was already cluttered enough, and it wasn't like the clothes weighed much. She might want something not sandy to change into once they reached… Shanazar, the note had said. Was that a city? A town? A kingdom? Blaze didn't know.
She returned to find Black wearing a white tunic that seemed a little too big for him and a headcloth that looked like it was about to fall off. Blaze helped him straighten it out. He'd draped her old cape over his shoulders again, and was still wearing the same gloves and sandals she'd given him yesterday, emblazoned with the symbol of the Sol Empire.
"I don't know how this symbol will be received," she told him. "But we still need to cover your markings." After a moment's thought, she took his gloves and turned them inside out so they looked plain white. While he put them back on, Blaze kicked off the plain sandals Aurora had given her and gave them to Black. "Put these on. I'll wear my other sandals."
Marine finally arrived, nearly tripping in a white robe similar to Blaze's, though smaller. Her hair was loose, bushing up like it usually did when it wasn't in pigtails, no matter how Marine and Blaze tried to tame it. Her head cloth was barely managing to hold on.
"Is everyone ready?" Blaze asked, pulling the strap of her satchel over her shoulders.
"I was born ready!" Marine boasted, slinging her own satchel over one arm.
Black just gave Blaze a thumbs up, his bag hanging off his shoulder.
Blaze took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the ocean, then let it out. "Then let's go."
"I hate sand," Marine declared for what had to have been the thousandth time. "It's course, and rough, and irritating, and bloody annoying."
"You've said that," Blaze said, watching as Marine scrambled up the hill after her. "Many, many times."
"Doesn't make it any less true!"
"You could have stayed behind," Blaze pointed out, reaching down to help Black up the hill. Loathe though she was to admit it, privately she agreed with Marine. The sand was difficult to walk in and was getting everywhere in her fur and clothes. She hoped they had showers in Shanazar.
Marine scowled at her. "You could have picked a better place to have an adventure."
Blaze rolled her eyes and kept walking.
True to Aurora's word, only two hours after they set out at sunset, the darkness of night faded. It was a slow shift, far from a true sunrise. The farther they walked, the more the stars faded under a hot, unnatural glow, until they found themselves stumbling over the sand in a heat as burning as day. Shielding her eyes with her arm, Blaze dared a look up at the sky to see it was filled with a harsh reddish light, like a bigger version of the strange gleam she was used to seeing on the horizon. It wasn't quite an eternal day; there was no blue sky, and no sun visible overhead. It was more comparable to walking through a wildfire, the flames washing the world with heat and casting it in a red glow that made everything look threatening and alien.
Still, Blaze pressed on. She could tell Marine and Black were wearing down; Black, especially, seemed miserable in the heat. But he kept walking without complaint. After an hour of trekking under the strange red light, even Marine fell silent, her tail drooping with exhaustion.
"Come on," Blaze encouraged, ignoring the aching in her own legs and the dryness in her throat. "Just a little farther."
"I can do it," Marine insisted hoarsely, only to stumble and fall down the hill.
Blaze ran to help her to her feet. "Here. Drink some of the water."
"We should save it," Marine mumbled, but accepted the canteen when Blaze shoved it into her hands.
To her credit, Marine managed to walk almost an hour longer, but finally her legs gave out and she collapsed in the sand. Blaze moved to pick her up, but Black beat her to it. Despite his short stature and obvious exhaustion, he carried Marine with ease. Blaze's concern only grew when Marine didn't protest being carried other than a few barely coherent mumbles.
"Are you alright carrying her?" she asked Black.
He nodded, not taking his eyes off Marine. His face was creased with worry, and his markings had turned a reddish-purple, but his voice was soft and steady as ever. "She's light."
"We'll take turns," Blaze decided.
They kept walking. Not for the first time, Blaze wondered if she'd made a mistake letting them come with her. She considered turning back, making them return home, where they'd be safe. But something pulled her on, like a tugging on her soul. It wasn't unlike the pull of the Sol Emeralds, and she hoped that was what it was. But… no. She knew this was different. This distant pull burned in a way the Sol Emeralds never did, and it lacked their vibrant and varied colors. This wasn't seven warm voices, familiar and safe; this was one burning force, alien and dangerous. Though… perhaps "alien" was the wrong word. It was familiar, but in a far different way than the Sol Emeralds. She'd felt it before, this white hot pull.
Blaze wasn't ignorant. The moment she'd learned of Light Gaia, she drew a connection between it and the legends of Solaris. An immortal being of light, powerful and ancient enough to be mistaken for a deity, associated with the sun. An unforgiving, all-consuming being of white fire. She'd thought—no, she'd hoped Solaris was just a legend. But then she'd seen Light Gaia herself when she visited Sonic's world. Eagle-like and burning with flame, just like the ancient depictions of Solaris. And she'd felt its flames attempting to scour her mind, turn her into its puppet, just like the Phoenix in the story. The Sol Emeralds had protected her, urging her to hold on, help is coming, and she had, gritting her teeth and resisting the all-consuming light until Sonic finally arrived. She'd returned home shaken and, if she was honest, scared. If Solaris was real, lurking out in her world somewhere… Would she even be able to stop it? What if it took her over, turning her into its new phoenix?
Blaze shook her head, banishing the thought. No. The Sol Emeralds had protected her before. She had spent so long learning to control her own powers, she would not let anyone or anything take that control from her.
Still… she knew little about Solaris's true nature, only myths and legends. She'd asked the Sol Emeralds about it after she was freed from Light Gaia's grasp. All they'd told her at the time was that her world was an alternate version of Sonic's, which was why a being like Light Gaia could be known in her world's history. She was still unsure exactly what they meant; was this a different timeline, diverging from the history of Sonic's world at a key point? Or was there something fundamentally different about Blaze's world from the very beginning? She didn't know, and the Sol Emeralds seemed hesitant to explain. Or unable to.
Well. Whatever Solaris was, Blaze wouldn't let him, or the fear of him, control her. If he truly was what was pulling her into the desert, her mission was even more urgent than she'd realized. They couldn't turn back now. With the Sol Emeralds missing and the Jeweled Scepter stolen, there was nothing to stop Solaris taking over Blaze's world. Assuming he hadn't already succeeded. Blaze glanced at the burning sky overhead, the false eternal day. Was that the point of divergence? Was her world the one where Light Gaia won?
She kept walking.
It wasn't long before the burning sky shifted into true day. It was a relief to have normal sunlight rather than the strange red glow, but that relief quickly faded as the heat only intensified. Blaze took to carrying Marine while Black stumbled after her, barely conscious under the oppressive sun. She had them stop several times, and insisted both Black and Marine drink and eat, but without any shade to escape from the heat, it didn't help much. After Black nearly collapsed into a gully, Blaze slung his arm around her shoulder, supporting him as they staggered on. They had no choice but to keep moving. There was nowhere to escape the sun except the city Aurora had promised they would reach within a day's travel. So they kept walking.
Blaze herself was stumbling with exhaustion, practically dragging Black and Marine after her as she struggled to keep her eyes open in the blinding light, when she heard shouts up ahead. Three Solians, all clad in dark grey robes, approached, calling out in Arabic. Blaze didn't have the strength to resist them or even to comprehend what they were saying. At least if they were taken captive it would mean getting out of the sun.
The strangers reached them and started talking to each other animatedly in Arabic. Black seemed to wake up a little at the strange voices, baring his teeth when one of the strangers—a purple mole—tried to grab his arm. His snarls stirred Blaze to action. She gripped Marine tighter and glared at the nearest stranger, an orange porcupine. He raised his hands in surrender.
"{Do you speak Arabic?}" he asked.
Blaze nodded.
The porcupine grinned. "{Okay, that's great. What are you doing out here?}" He frowned at Black. "{Your friend doesn't look too good. You need to get out of this sun.}"
"{We're going to Shanazar,}" Blaze managed to rasp out in Arabic.
The porcupine hesitated, a shadow falling over his face. He glanced at his companions, a large purple mole and a small teal fennec. The fennec nodded, and he turned back to Blaze.
"{We'll take you to Shanazar. Can you walk a little farther?}"
"{I can,}" Blaze said, strength returning at the prospect of reaching their destination.
The porcupine glanced at Black. "{Can he?}"
Blaze frowned. Black was swaying on his feet as he glared at the strangers. He looked on the verge of passing out.
The porcupine seemed to read her concern and nodded at the mole. "{Is it alright if my friend carries him?}"
"{What is he saying?}" Black asked Blaze softly in Mandarin, keeping his wary gaze fixed on the strangers.
"{He says they'll take us to Shanazar,}" Blaze murmured back. "{I don't think they're going to hurt us. Will you let the mole help you?}"
Black looked at her uncertainly, then nodded reluctantly. The fennec whispered something to the mole, and he picked Black up with surprising ease. The porcupine, meanwhile, lifted Marine into his arms, and the fennec wrapped Blaze's arm around her shoulders. Blaze didn't resist, well aware she was likely to fall over and not get up if she walked on her own. She kept a close eye on her companions, but both the mole and the porcupine were gentle with their burdens.
Soon Blaze saw the smooth white walls of what looked to be a massive city looming ahead of them. The fennec supporting Blaze tensed, exchanging looks with the porcupine. Blaze couldn't find the energy to question their wariness. As they reached the gate, Blaze gratefully collapsed in its shade, barely registering the argument their rescuers seemed to be having with the city guards. Finally the porcupine came over to her, laying Marine in her arms.
"{They'll take you somewhere out of the sun and give you some water,}" the porcupine told her with a smile that didn't hide the unease in his eyes.
He stepped back and an armed guard, wearing similar clothes as those Aurora had given them, grabbed Blaze's arm. She considered jerking away, but she was keenly aware of Marine, far too still in her arms, and the promise of shelter and water. She glanced at Black, unconscious in a guard's arms, and knew now was not the time to fight. The guards led them into the city. The crowd of people in the street quickly parted to let them through. Blaze glanced over her shoulder, trying to see what had become of the trio that had led them to the city, but she couldn't see them through the bustle of the street.
The guards led them to a dark, cool room and brusquely handed them canteens of water. Black perked up now that he was out of the sun, staring suspiciously at the guards standing by the door. Blaze occupied herself trying to wake Marine. Warm relief bloomed in her chest when Marine finally stirred, looking around with bleary eyes.
"Drink," Blaze told her in English, pressing some water into her hands. Once she was sure Marine was obeying, she turned to the guards and spoke in Arabic. "{Thank you.}"
One of the guards removed his headscarf, revealing a Solian hyena. He looked old and worn, yet there was a strange energy about him that Blaze was too weary to figure out. "{You and your companions seem on the verge of death. Why were you with the Sand-Blasters?}"
"{Sand-Blasters?}" Blaze echoed.
"{The three who brought you to the city are Sand-Blasters,}" the guard explained. "{Enemies of Shanazar.}"
Ah. That explained the behavior of their rescuers.
"{I didn't know,}" Blaze answered honestly.
The hyena regarded her for a moment, then relaxed. "{You seem sincere. Solaris must have smiled on you that the Sand-Blasters showed you mercy and brought you here.}" He gestured to another guard. "{Bring our guests some food.}" He frowned at Black, who was huddled in the corner beside a barely conscious Marine. Black glared back. "{You are a strange group. Why were you traveling through the desert?}"
"{It's a long story,}" Blaze sighed.
The hyena chuckled. He stepped closer to Black, who drew back with a growl. "{This one… he seems strange.}"
Black stood up, backing against the wall as he glared at the hyena. Blaze stood too, wary of the sudden tension in the room. She sensed the guards shifting behind her, but kept her eyes on the hyena and Black.
After a moment the hyena backed away with a sudden smile. "{No worries, my friend. You are a guest here.}"
Black frowned, but he stepped away from the wall, still keeping a close eye on the guard.
"They say we're guests," Blaze explained to him in English, hoping Marine would hear as well. "I think we're safe."
Black growled, not taking his eye off the hyena. "We're not."
Blaze frowned. "What do you mean?" She looked at the hyena again and felt a chill run down her spine.
The hyena's eyes had no pupils.
"{This one,}" he said in a far different voice, a voice that rang in Blaze's head, reawakening the pain of old scars. White light, burning. Her friend, twisted and used by something cruel and bright.
She moved to do something, to stop the hyena from whatever he was about to do, but her reflexes were dulled by exhaustion, and she was too late to stop him from striking out at Black with his spear. Black ducked the blow, but it knocked his scarf from his head. The marking on his forehead, the symbol of Lunaris, glowed an agitated pink-red in the darkness.
The room erupted into chaos.
"{Cursed symbol!}" a guard hissed, while another seemed to cross herself. The rest lowered their spears, advancing on Black. Blaze immediately put herself in front of them, snarling at the approaching guards. Black dropped to all fours and hunched protectively over Marine, who was staring around with bleary confusion.
"{Hold,}" the hyena said in that strange voice, gesturing at the other guards to stand down. He was looking at Blaze with keen interest. After a moment he turned to the guards. "{Take them to the palace prison.}"
"{You will not—!}" Blaze started to snap, but suddenly the hyena grabbed her, locking something around her wrists. Pain cut through her like a sword stabbing into her chest. Blaze screamed and crumpled to the ground. Dimly she was aware of Black lunging forward, snarling, of Marine's scream rising above her own, of the hyena smiling down at her with those eerie pupil-less eyes. All this was seen and heard in a moment, and then, like shutters slamming closed on her mind, everything went black.