-Tails-
Although Sonic's words gave us all hope, although they called in telling us they'd be all right, I can still hardly believe it when Blaze and Crossfire walk in together. Chess yells and leaps into the air, and she's not the only one. Caught up in the general mood, it takes me a few seconds to notice Crossfire's hurt. By then, I see Amy looking him over, expression saying a lot to me, though it's probably pretty blank to Sonic. Worry that he's hurt, relief that it's not worse, a lot more subtle impressions behind her not-quite-neutral expression. Amy has a tougher self-control than I'd once thought she could ever have. And Sonic… what's he thinking? I glance across at him, but his expression is almost unreadable, and I realise with a shock that I don't know. I just don't know. Sonic… he was my friend for so long, but that was all those years ago, and now… he's not a stranger, but everything is so different. I don't know what he's thinking, don't know what he'll say. I've pinned my hopes on him for years, but time's worn away all the little things I used to know about him. How could this… he was my best friend… and now…
I'm not really looking at Blaze, but what he holds out in front of him grabs everyone's attention. A gem a little bigger than his fist, brilliant colour shining from its facets, casting dancing reflections across the room - a Chaos Emerald! How - ?
Blaze smiles, the light reflected from his blue eyes, dancing there. The blue adds a secondary colour, hinting at mysteries I've never even thought of. It's almost… strange, seeing those eyes gazing down upon the Emerald. There's something, an idea nagging at the very edge of my thoughts, but it's dispelled when Blaze starts to speak.
"I thought we'd find something important."
Everyone goes quiet and listens to him. We all want to know how in the world he found it, how he got it away from Robotnik. It must have been the one in that base, but I wasn't going to go after that yet; it's too heavily guarded. No wonder he raised a storm on the network! I want to ask so many questions, but for now I'll just let him talk.
"We were looking for scrap near the base, and both of us started feeling that we had to go there. It wasn't something we could ignore, like we were being drawn there by an invisible force."
"Yeah, your crazy feelings almost got us killed. Knew I'd see the day when you fouled up." Crossfire's hostility is normal, normal to all of us but Sonic, and even he seems to accept it as the way Crossfire is. Somewhere deep under his harsh exterior, I think Crossfire is just a little bit pleased with what they managed to carry off this time.
"I knew we wouldn't die." But there's almost uncertainty in his voice, and a peculiar emphasis on the 'we' that makes me want to shudder. They wouldn't die… but by the sound of that, I'm not certain he'd thought we'd live through whatever followed that choice that they hadn't made. Blaze continues his recount of events, unperturbed.
"We got into the base easily enough, and we had surprise on our side. There was one robot that was pretty tough, but I knew where its weak point was. Then we found the Emerald and got out. But the others won't be so easy. He's alert now, and I think we made him mad." No need to ask who 'he' is; we all know that one. Robotnik.
"Easy, was it? Easy enough for you to say. You never get hurt at all. Don't know why you made me promise you…" His voice is cutting, harsh, as always. I've never found out what this promise of his was, but it's something important to both of them, and Blaze seems to think it very necessary.
In all this recitation, the only person, oddly enough, who didn't seem at all surprised, or even too unexpecting of this, was Sonic. He was clearly worried about them, worried for their safety, but he seemed… pleased, I think, when Blaze mentioned that strange attraction. As though he'd suspected something, and wanted it confirmed. Perhaps he wanted to know if Blaze could find the Emeralds for us… well, I think that's just been proved well enough for me.
Amy's seeing to Crossfire, walking out with him now to our temporary infirmary. There's rarely much change in his expression, but his shoulder must hurt. I don't think anybody wants to think about strategy and our next move right now; we just want to celebrate our victories. It won't hurt to let all that go for the rest of today, at least. We haven't had something like this happen in so long, and now Sonic wakes up, thinks of a plan, gives Shadow a chance to rest, and we get another Emerald, all in a few days! Looks like life's finally on the upturn, and we're finally getting a proper chance to win. Sonic's done so much for us… he's every bit the hero we were all afraid we'd lost. And he will be my friend… no, he always was. I'm the one who's changed. I want things to be the way they were again, me and Sonic. Amy's my friend too, and the others, but Sonic… he was always my best friend. And now he's woken up and I don't know him like I used to any more. Sonic… I'll be your friend again, just like I used to. You'll see. I can't have changed that much. I can't.