For the second time, Blaze woke up to a clanging wrongness. A horrible absence sat cold and heavy in her chest. Something was missing. Instinctively she reached for the Sol Emeralds, only to find herself sharply blocked, like the mental equivalent of slamming into a metal wall. Even her own flames were cut off from her. Walls, walls, binding her on all sides, cutting her off from the outside world, choking her, strangling her, smothering her—

"Blaze! Blaze, wake up! It's okay! Blaze!"

At the familiar voice Blaze's eyes snapped open. At first all she saw was dark stone, illuminated by an eerie red light, but then she made out Marine's anxious face a few feet away. Seeing Blaze was awake, she huffed with relief, the tension easing from her body.

"See?" Marine smiled at her, the expression oddly forced. "No worries." Her tail was twitching restlessly, and her hands nervously wrung the hem of her robe. Why was she wearing a—

Memories of the past two (or was it three?) days crashed over Blaze's mind, and she scrambled to her feet. Something heavy around her ankle jerked her back before she could step towards Marine. Glancing down, she saw an iron chain binding her to the wall. She looked at her hands. Bound as well. A bulky gold ring was fastened around each of her wrists, with a gold chain linking them. The rings felt cold to the point of burning, even with her gloves between them and her fur. Instinctively Blaze reached for her flames, hoping to melt the chain or even just bring herself some warmth, but— nothing. Her stomach twisted.

Blaze wasn't unfamiliar with the concept of limiters, but the cloak she'd worn as a child had only dampened her powers, not cut her off from them completely. The closest comparison she had to these rings was the sensation she felt when she got too close to the Jeweled Scepter. Vividly Blaze remembered long nights spent sleeping in the Scepter's garden so that she wouldn't lose control of her powers in the throes of a childish nightmare. Where the Sol Emeralds emanated warmth and life, the Scepter emanated cold and emptiness. Even sleeping several feet away from it, Blaze had felt a creeping chill, making the bright lights of the Sol Emeralds seem distant and cold, like far away stars.

Worse than those nights was when Eggman had stolen the Scepter and turned it against her and Sonic, cutting them off from the power of their respective Emeralds mid-transformation. Fortunately, Marine's powers had come through for them and knocked the Jeweled Scepter from Eggman's grasp. Still, the feeling of the Scepter's full power turned against her… Blaze wouldn't soon forget it.

The rings, at least, were not as bad as that. The physical chill was fixed on her wrists, not spreading through her whole body, and though she couldn't access them, she could still feel the Sol Emeralds and her powers, waiting for her to break through the barrier. She hated the feeling of helplessness, but at least it wasn't like there was a black hole in her chest. She'd survive.

"You okay, Blaze?" Marine asked anxiously.

"I'll live," Blaze said, shaking herself from her thoughts. She looked at Marine curiously. Her ankle was chained to the wall, just far enough away she and Blaze wouldn't be able to reach each other, and her wrists were bound with what looked like normal iron cuffs. "They didn't put limiters on you?"

"They didn't think my powers were a threat," Marine grumbled, tail lashing indignantly. Then she drooped and looked down at her gloved hands dejectedly. "Guess they're right. Heaps of good I did us, getting dragged around like a sack of potatoes."

"Your powers have helped us before," Blaze assured her, wishing she could step closer to Marine. She'd never been good at pep talks, but she couldn't let Marine be dragged down by the bleakness of their situation. "And they'll help us again. You'll make them regret underestimating Captain Marine."

Marine perked up. "Yeah! I'll show them what happens when you take Captain Marine for a galah! They won't know what hit 'em!"

"That's the spirit," Blaze smiled, relieved. She looked around, surveying their surroundings. They were in a large cell with stone walls on three sides and a row of iron bars on the fourth. A vent in the ceiling let in cool, fresh air, a slight relief from the stuffiness of the cell. There was also a small window above where Marine was chained that seemed to be level with the ground outside. Through it, Blaze saw the same eerie red sky, void of moon or stars, from the night in the desert. She shuddered and turned away. "Where's Black? Did they hurt him?"

"He's over there," Marine said, gesturing to the far wall.

Blaze squinted, barely able to make Black out in the dim light. His markings were glowing a dull red-pink. Iron chains gleamed, reflecting the crimson light from the window. Unlike the girls, his arms were bound to the wall as well as both his legs, and rather than just cuffs around his wrists, his hands were covered entirely by iron. Worse than that, an iron muzzle was clamped around his mouth. His eyes were closed, but Blaze couldn't imagine his sleep would be restful in such an uncomfortable position.

Marine bit her lip nervously. "He had a blue with the guards when they tried to grab ya. They roughed him up good and muzzled him before they tossed him in 'ere. He can't tell me if he's hurt or not."

Blaze's ears flattened. She tried to walk to Black, but the chain pulled her short after just two steps. Blaze hissed with irritation, futilely tugging at her restraints. She peered into the darkness, trying to see if Black had any visible injuries. She couldn't see any, and it sounded like he was breathing evenly, but it did little to soothe her, not with those chains and the muzzle on his face.

"{Black!}" Blaze called softly in Mandarin. She glanced at the iron bars, but there didn't seem to be anyone standing outside. She raised her voice. "{Black! Wake up!}"

To her relief, Black's ear twitched and he raised his head, eyes blinking open. He jerked against his chains, then seemed to register where he was and slumped back against the wall.

"{Are you alright?}" Blaze asked quietly in Mandarin.

Black looked at himself, chains and all, then shrugged and nodded. Despite herself, Blaze smiled. Black cocked his head at her, then gestured with his arms as best he could to the cell around them. Blaze guessed what he was asking and turned to Marine.

"Do you know where we are, exactly?" she asked in English.

Marine frowned. "They blindfolded me on the way 'ere. We passed a lot of guards. I think someone mentioned the palace dungeons?"

"Did they say anything about what they planned to do with us?"

"They said something about me being 'good material', and something about taking Black at dawn, but I don't—"

Marine cut herself off at the sound of boots on stone from outside their cell, rapidly drawing nearer to them. Blaze's fur rose, and she again jerked at her chains. They had all been carefully arranged so they couldn't reach each other or the door. She wouldn't be able to stop their captors if they tried to take Black or Marine. She couldn't protect them.

There was the click of a key being turned, and the door swung open. A guard, face covered by a white cloth, stepped into the cell. Several more guards, all armed, stood outside. Blaze felt little comfort seeing that their eyes had pupils. Whatever had happened to the hyena, as far as she knew it could happen to anyone here at any moment. She snarled, straining against the chain, but the guard paid no attention and walked straight to Black. She heard his muffled growl, but bound as he was there wasn't much he could do to stop the guard from detaching the chains from the wall. He did resist when they tried to pull him from the cell, digging his feet into the ground, but the other guards waiting outside quickly overpowered him.

"Don't take him!" Marine shouted furiously, voice cracking.

One of the guards hesitated, glancing at Marine. Blaze seized the opportunity, calling out in Arabic. "{Wait! What are you doing? Why are we here?}"

The guard glanced towards her, and for a moment it seemed they would answer… but then they shuddered, glancing around as if afraid someone had noticed their hesitation, and turned to help the other guards drag Black out of the cell.

"{Answer me!}" Blaze yelled, fighting furiously against her chains. "{What are you doing with him?}"

The guards didn't answer and the chains didn't break. All Blaze could do was watch as Black was dragged down the corridor. He glanced back at her, fear clear in his eyes and the bright red of his markings, and then he was dragged out of sight.

"{Where are you taking him?}" Blaze called after them, desperate for anything, any clue, any answer. "{Please, just tell me!}"

She kept shouting until the footsteps faded, and continued shouting after that until her voice was hoarse. Finally she slumped against the wall. The silence rang in her ears, the cold creeping even deeper into her bones. Black was gone. She hadn't protected him, and now she had no idea where he was or what was going to happen to him. The only sound was the dripping of water and the scurrying of vermin in the ventilation system.

"What do you think they're going to do?" Marine whispered.

"I… I don't know," Blaze admitted. She swallowed, wishing her mouth didn't feel so dry. "I don't know."

"I do!"

Blaze nearly jumped out of her skin as an unfamiliar voice echoed from above. Marine shrieked, pressing herself against the wall.

"Don't eat me, ghost!" she yelled, raising her shaking, still cuffed fists. "I'll—I'll knock your block off!"

"Why would I eat you?" the voice asked, sounding distinctly unthreatened. It seemed to be coming from the vents. The voice was young and feminine, and whoever the speaker was, they spoke fluent English, though with an accent Blaze couldn't quite place. "Everyone knows it's zombies that eat people, not ghosts."

Marine scowled. "Ghosts could eat people, if they wanted to."

"No they couldn't."

"Yes they could!"

"No they couldn't."

"Yes they bloody could!"

"Marine," Blaze interjected wearily.

"The ghost started it!" Marine protested.

"I don't think it's a ghost," Blaze said, squinting up at the vent. "Who are you?"

"Doesn't matter," the voice responded blithely.

"You said you knew what they're going to do to Black."

A pause.

"Who's Black?" the voice hedged.

Blaze reigned in her frustration. She needed this person's help, whoever they were, even if they were delusional. Or messing with them. It was hard to tell. "Black. Our friend. Wolf with glowing markings? This tall?"

"Ohhh, the short guy," the voice said. "Saw them carting him off."

"Well?" Marine demanded when the voice failed to elaborate further. "What are they gonna do to him!?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? They're gonna sacrifice 'im to the sun!"

There was a moment of silence after this proclamation.

"…How do you know that?" Blaze asked at last.

"Everyone knows that," the voice informed her. "They even tried to sacrifice me once. They'll probably do the little squirrel next."

"I'm a raccoon!" Marine protested indignantly.

"Are you?" the voice asked mysteriously.

Marine opened her mouth to argue further, but Blaze quickly interjected. "You still haven't told us who you are, or why you're here."

"First tell me who you are so I know you aren't with the sun," the voice said suspiciously.

"Don't trust her, Blazey," Marine whispered. "If you give her your name, it'll give her power over your soul."

"That's the fae," the voice corrected her, the eye roll clear in its tone. "Ghosts don't do that."

"Well maybe you're a fae ghost!"

Deciding she didn't really have much to lose here, Blaze raised her voice. "I am Princess Cahya Blaze, guardian of the Sol Emeralds and princess of the Empire of Sol. I came here looking for the Sol Emeralds." She looked up at the vent, squinting. She thought she could make out a figure crouched inside. "Now who are you and why are you here?"

There was a moment's pause. Then, after a moment of noisy shuffling, the vent was pulled free. A figure hopped down into the cell, landing lightly with practiced ease. She looked to be some kind of Solian badger with orange fur, brown stripes, and bushy hair pulled into messy pigtails and tied with string. She was about Blaze's height, though it was hard to tell exactly how tall she was with her crouched on the floor like she was. She studied Blaze with suspicious blue eyes, a boomerang gripped in her hand like a weapon, before nodding abruptly and tucking it into her belt. "I'm Sticks, and I'm here because the ghosts sent me to rescue you."

"Ghosts?" Marine squeaked. "Real ghosts?"

"Real ghosts," Sticks affirmed gravely. "Alien ghosts."

"I… see," Blaze said hesitantly. Of course their rescuer would be a lunatic. "And these ghosts told you to rescue… us?"

Sticks nodded seriously, then grinned. "Guess we better get on with it, huh?" She pulled a key from the satchel hanging on her shoulder and scurried over to Blaze, unlocking the cuff on her ankle before Blaze had a chance to process what was happening.

"Where did you get a key?" Blaze asked curiously.

"Stole it," Sticks said, studying the cuffs on Blaze's wrists. "Or more accurately, stole it, forged a copy, then returned it. I don't have the key to the gold ones, though."

"It's fine," Blaze said, doing her best to ignore the chill around her wrists. Even if she couldn't use her powers, as long as she had her legs free she could run and she could fight.

While Sticks freed Marine, Blaze looked out of the cell, checking the corridor for guards. She thought she could see some standing farther down at what seemed to be the stairwell up. Presumably that was the only way out.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Blaze asked, turning to their rescuer.

"Secret tunnel," Sticks said, like it was obvious. She looked Blaze up and down, then nodded to herself. "Come on, the ghosts are waiting." With that she jumped nimbly back up into the vent.

"I don't trust her," Marine grumbled.

Blaze shared her sentiment—putting their lives into the hands of a paranoid at best, outright delusional at worst badger they'd never met before was far from appealing—, but given their situation… "Do you have a better idea?"

Marine scowled.

"Then let's go."

Blaze helped Marine climb up into the vent, then jumped up herself. Her bound wrists proved a hassle, but Marine and Sticks grabbed her arms and pulled her all the way up. Once everyone was in, Sticks led the way, wriggling through the tiny stone "passage" Blaze barely fit. She dreaded to think what would happen if they got caught in here, but no shouts of alarm came, and finally Blaze saw sunlight ahead.

"Wait a minute," Sticks whispered. Blaze and Marine obediently stayed still while Sticks crawled ahead. A minute later she whispered back at them, "It's clear."

Blaze and Marine wriggled forward, while Sticks removed the vent ahead of them and set it to the side. She jumped out, disappearing from view. A moment later Blaze followed her, landing with a thump in a puff of dust. She reached up to help Marine drop down after her, then turned to Sticks.

"Where are we?" she asked, examining their surroundings warily. They were in some kind of deserted back alley, populated only by trash bins. The world was cast in a warning red glow by the sky above. It gave Blaze a distinct feeling of being watched by some hostile cosmic force.

"Outside the palace," Sticks said, carefully peeking around the corner and out into what must have been a main road. "C'mon, let's get going before they realize you're gone." She took off running, leaving Blaze and Marine no choice but to scurry after her.

Sticks led them down a twisting route, taking them through deserted allies and ducking behind empty market stalls whenever they had to walk down a central road. Few people were out, mostly city guards on patrol and a few hurrying, uniformed figures Blaze guessed were couriers. Blaze briefly considered that Sticks might be deliberately confusing them with her winding route, but it wasn't like it made much of a difference. Blaze and Marine had never been in Shanazar before. Without Sticks, they wouldn't have any idea where to go. And it wasn't like she had betrayed them yet.

As they traveled on, the buildings began to become smaller, closer packed, and more ramshackle. The city wall loomed ahead of them, but just as they seemed about to reach it, Sticks veered down another path, taking them through a narrow alley. She glanced around warily, then tugged a grate from the ground.

"C'mon," she hissed, and jumped into the hole.

Blaze hesitated only a moment before following her, and Marine came close on her heels, grumbling about the darkness. As if in response, light flared, and Blaze jumped back as Sticks's face appeared inches from her own, illuminated by the torch in her hand. Sticks snickered at her expression, then turned and led the way down the tunnel. Blaze wrinkled her nose at the smell and the muck sticking to her shoes, but they'd followed Sticks this far. They might as well go the whole way.

"Where are we now?" Blaze asked after a few minutes of walking in silence (aside from Marine's quiet grumbling).

"Secret tunnel," Sticks informed her. "It'll take us to my cave."

"You have a cave?" Marine asked.

"Share it with the ghosts. Buncha squatters, but at least they don't eat my food." She huffed, then perked up as she saw something ahead. "Here we are!"

A soft white glow appeared through a round entrance in front of them. Blaze's ears twitched at the distant trickle of water and an alien chittering sound. It almost reminded her of the babbling of the Fairies, but bigger and louder. Marine pressed against her, ears flat.

"Is she serious about the ghosts?" she whispered, looking up at Blaze anxiously.

"If she is, they must not be dangerous. They haven't hurt her, after all," Blaze pointed out, trying to sound as reassuring as she could.

"I guess so," Marine mumbled doubtfully. She kept close to Blaze as they finally stepped into Sticks's cave.

The cave was a pleasant surprise. Blaze was surprised how spacious it was, especially after the cramped vent and the small tunnel. A hole in the roof provided outside light, as well as a small waterfall that gurgled over the rocks. Moss and mushrooms clung to the ground, while clumsy, childish paintings covered the walls. Off to one corner was a bedroll and a variety of objects. Some of them made sense, like a cooking pot and a small chest, but others, like a surfboard and a broken shelf, made Blaze wonder if Sticks wasn't something of a hoarder.

More interesting than any of that, however, were the creatures currently swarming Sticks, filling the air with curious chirps. Blaze immediately saw where the ghost idea came from. The little beings were a pale blue-white, floating in the air as easily as fish in water. They were all glowing softly, filling the cave with gentle light the same color as their bodies. They were rather squid-like in form, with blobby bodies (or heads?) and short, smooth tentacles. They each had a single round, red-pink eye in the center of their face—if it could be called that, when it had no other features—and two rounded antennae on top of their head.

"Don't crowd me," Sticks grumbled affectionately, shoving one of the creatures away. "Look, I brought the princess you wouldn't shut up about." She pointed at Blaze, and immediately all the creatures swiveled around to look at her.

"Hello." Blaze waved awkwardly. She wasn't sure what else to say. Marine was huddled behind her, peering at the "ghosts" with suspicion.

For a moment, the creatures simply stared at her. Then, as one, they rushed her. Blaze stumbled back, instinctively raising her bound hands to defend herself, while Marine squeaked and squeezed her eyes shut. But the strange creatures didn't attack, instead surrounding Blaze like they had Sticks a moment earlier, poking at her curiously with their tentacles. The air filled with chirping, and to Blaze's surprise she heard an echo of their voices in her head, the way she often heard the voices of the Sol Emeralds. She couldn't make out the words, but the impression, of brightness and clarity and cool white snow, reminded her of the white Sol Emerald. Of course, none of the Sol Emeralds had the almost childish exuberance of these creatures. They surrounded her with their excited chirping, like a group of children pelting her with questions. Shame she couldn't understand any of it.

"What are they?" Blaze asked in wonder.

"Alien ghosts," Sticks said. "Weren't you listening? I've been thinkin' of callin' them Wisps. Or Fragments. Or maybe Galiens. I'm workshopping it."

One of the aliens brushed up against Blaze, and she sucked in a breath at the sudden surge of energy that jolted through her body. It was brief, but familiar. Sol energy. These creatures sounded and felt like the Sol Emeralds, just… smaller. Less infinite. More like wisps of power than the source itself.

"You said the Wisps told you to find me," Blaze said, turning to Sticks. "Can they talk?"

"Yeah, but we mortals can't really understand them." Sticks nodded to the paintings on the wall. "Usually we communicate through pictures. Or charades. You'd be surprised how hard it is to play charades with someone when you don't even have the same number of limbs, but their art is even worse."

A Wisp chirped, sounding offended.

"They seem to understand us fine." Blaze studied them curiously. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

One of the Wisps flew in front of her, hovering at eye level. She looked… different than the rest. She was the smallest of the group, with the same blobby form and pale bluish-white coloring as the others, but between her two antennae she had something none of the others did: a blue curl, almost like hair. Why did she look different from the others? Was she some sort of leader?

The Wisp chirped at her eagerly, hopefully. Again Blaze could somehow feel the intended words in her mind, but it was like they were in a different language.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand," Blaze said. The Wisp drooped in disappointment.

"I tried askin' where they came from and what their invasion plans were," Sticks said, gesturing to one of the paintings on the wall. Blaze drew closer to get a better look. Two messy circles, one far smaller than the other, and between them a bunch of blobs that might have been the aliens. "All I got is that they're from another planet. Or maaaybe the moon, which would make them time travelers as well." Sticks pointed at another picture nearby, this one of a stick figure with something pointy over its head. A crown? A flame? "Then I tried to show 'em some picture books, give them inspiration, and they got real excited about this story with a princess. Eventually I figured out they wanted me to look for a princess, and—" she cut herself off and turned to the Wisps, jabbing her thumb at Blaze. "Hey, is this the princess you wanted?"

The small Wisp bobbed up and down eagerly.

"That's a yes," Sticks informed her. "Probably."

"Why did you want to find me?" Blaze asked the small Wisp.

She chirped and gestured energetically with her tentacles. She was clearly trying to say something, but Blaze couldn't begin to guess what.

"Yeah, that's a favorite of theirs," Sticks said, nodding and folding her arms. "We haven't worked out what it means. Every time they try to explain it, they just throw white paint everywhere and ruin my furniture."

"How long have you known them?" Blaze asked, deciding to focus her questions on Sticks until she found some sort of Wisp translation key.

Sticks scratched her head. "A couple of weeks? About a month, I think. I found one wandering around the palace while I was on a job and told 'em to scram. Instead they followed me back here, and brought their buddies too."

"Not very bright ghosts," Marine muttered from where she was hovering by the door, eyeing the Wisps warily.

At her words several of the Wisps spun around, noticing her for the first time. Marine shrieked as they swarmed her, poking at her curiously with their tentacles. The little curly one seemed to notice Marine's distress and chirped at the others, shooing them away. Freed, Marine ran to hide behind Blaze, tail bushing impressively. The little Wisp trailed after her, chirping what seemed to be an apology.

Sticks grinned at the display. "They're not so bad, once you get used to 'em. Good company."

As she patted Marine's head reassuringly, Blaze wondered what kind of life Sticks had been living that she found alien ghosts good company. Considering she lived in a cave and regularly broke into the palace, Blaze guessed Sticks didn't have a terribly active social life. Not that Blaze could judge her on that count. She'd only realized there was a use to friendship when she met Sonic two years ago, and she was still trying to get the hang of it. But at least she had people. She had her friends in Sonic's world, and Marine, and—

Black. Blaze's stomach dropped. She turned to Sticks with sudden urgency, nearly unbalancing Marine. "Were you serious about them sacrificing our friend to the sun?"

Sticks nodded gravely. "The ritual starts at dawn, and they'll sacrifice him at noon."

Blaze glanced up at the sky through the hole in the roof. The strange red glow of the night—if it could be called that—seemed to be fading. They didn't have much time.

"We have to rescue him," Blaze said, tail lashing. "Will you help us?"

"'Course. I'm always down for a jailbreak. I've got a bit of a business rescuing sacrificees, I'll have you know." Sticks frowned. "Though… your friend isn't a normal sacrifice. The security will be heavier than normal." Then she grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But I think we can do it. I'll just need to get a few things first…"