Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognized characters or gameplay patterns within this fanfiction. Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Eggman, Blaze, and all related characters of such are owned by SEGA.


Blaze woke up to complete darkness, a feeling which she knew she was probably going to have a lot more of in the near future. There was no sound, except for the mild breathing of Tails over in the tent. Her head was feeling much looser, much more to her usual self.

It was one of those times that she was glad that she was a fast healer. Whether that came from burning the pathogen out, whatever it was, or from protecting her brain from the heat, or if it was just because her immune system was super charged, the end result was the same.

She was also fortunate in that she didn't remember drinking whatever it was Tails had made. She sniffed it after he had fallen asleep and was grateful for that. It smelled like skunk mixed with a cow pie mixed with putrid water. It was not pleasant, to say the least.

She conjured a quick orange fireball, mostly for light than any actual warmth. Despite being underground, it wasn't as cold anymore. Had it been so long she'd grown acclimated to it already? She was a cat, after all, and they were known for being able to survive cold temperatures. And so were foxes. Although that did bring up the question of what type of fox was Tails?

She knew what type of cat she was, after all. At least the way the humans had described most of the sapients. But Tails was unique, even among foxes. Yellow orange coloring, white chest and tips suggested that of a red fox, according to the human naming convention, but at the same time then his ears shouldn't be so big. They were almost the same size as his eyes now. They'd grown a lot during their time apart.

"Blaze?" Tails voice called out from the tent. She made another quick fireball and sent it hovering into the tent. "I'll be out in a few minutes, just need to wash off," he said. There was a hitch to his voice, having just woken up. He darted out of the tent onto the other side, jumping straight into the cold lake water.

If he'd been asleep for another few minutes she'd have gone off looking for a giant ring, and be back by the time he woke up. She waited patiently by the shore, hearing the small waves and rippled as Tails washed himself off. She wasn't sure why though, it wasn't as if he had been sweating all that much. Although it always did feel good to take a bath or a swim after being sick, so maybe that was why. She had another idea, but she wasn't going to be entertaining those thoughts.

She handed him a fish the moment he pushed himself back to the shoreline. It was one of their last ones. They had made just enough to last out the storm, plus a few days. They were not expecting to have to dive and run underground from a tornado. "Thanks Blaze," he muttered as he bit into it.

She blinked a bit. His hands were bare. That was...odd. Then again, hers were too. One glove was still taken up by the silver brick, for the next time they could get around to actually getting it uncorroded and used potentially. They hadn't had the ability yet. They needed a few special types of acid, according to Tails. But why were his hands bare? "Gloves?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

Tails shook his head. "No, I'm okay. I always hated feeling directly onto my hand, but a lot like you I guess something changed," he said. "I don't mind it as much anymore."

Blaze shrugged. Well, if that's what he wanted to do she wasn't going to stop him. It might make their trip up a bit weird, holding hands as such. "Think you can fly again today? I did notice you took off the salve," Blaze said, pointing to his bare chest.

"Yeah! I should be good to go," Tails said, jumping up. There was no expected wince of pain, much as she could tell he wanted to try to not show it. He spun his tails around, and started to slowly hover in the air. They were a bit slower than she remembered them being, but chalked that up to him being out of practice. "Yep, good to go!"

"Great. Let's get going then," Blaze acknowledged. She created a few more fireballs for light, taking down the small tent and sticks, wrapping them up in the rabbit hide bag. She'd need to find a better way to wrap that up. Maybe she could find one in the treasure trove, assuming they found it again.

Tails threw his own bail-bag together again, and in less than five minutes the camp was dismantled, leaving nothing to show they were there at all except for some minor holes in the dirt.

They turned to walk through the tunnels again, guided this time by a floating light of Blaze's. She was good with directions, but after being underground for so long couldn't quite remember which way they were supposed to go. She chose a tunnel at seemingly random, not pausing for even a moment. Tails stopped, looking both directions, before he shrugged and went along with it.

His footsteps sounded right behind hers, soft against the dirt. There were small drips as water fell from the ceiling, but it was surprisingly warm.

It took several hours of walking and wrong turns in near silence. Tails was holding up pretty well, Blaze noticed, despite the fact that they hadn't been going like this in some time. Her own legs were starting to hurt as well. She was meant for running, not for walking.

Finally she stopped in one of the few brighter areas, water coming down in buckets above them. The hallway kept going for as far as she could see, into an inky dark black that swallowed everything the more she looked.

"I think one's right here," Blaze said. She peered upwards, sending a small flame towards it. There was a small crack deep into the ceiling, where water was dripping down as if someone had pointed a hose to it.

"Doesn't look open though. Give me a sec, I'll look," Tails said. He took off the bail-bag and handed it calmly to Blaze before he spun up his tails, heading for the ceiling. She could vaguely see his shadow in the light as he went around the small entrance way. It was barely big enough to fit his tails in when they were whirling like this, although admittedly his tails did have quite a reach nowadays. "Yeah, this one's closed. We'll have to find another," Tails said as he came back down.

Blaze gave a small curse, before she started to walk again. She kept both the bail-bag and the rabbit hide bag as she did so, trying to remember a map in her head. She'd gotten turned around when they came to the lake, and her sickness hadn't helped...

Or had it?

She blinked. Most of the traps she had set off were underneath the ruins, small pathways leading to what she assumed was a labyrinth. What if it wasn't? What if it was actually a set of tunnels? Either way, they came in from a covered area. This entire time she was walking towards the water, assuming there would be a way out from there.

"Find the dry spots," Blaze said as she ran her hand over the dirt wall. It was easy to feel the dryer spots, and the warmer spots. It was course, thick and cold in many places. More like mud than actual dirt. She sped off a moment later, ignoring the multiple passageways off to the left and right.

Tails cried for her to wait before he sped up to her speed. "Blaze! Don't go too fast, we don't have any rings and we can't see what's up ahead!" Tails yelled.

Her mind was still fevered, she realized. These tunnels were filled with something that made them sick. She was out of character, out of her rightful mind. But she refused to panic, one part of her mind still the guardian of the Sol Emeralds. And that meant she had to maintain her levelheadedness.

She rushed through the tunnels, up and down over and under, avoiding all lefts and rights. Her hand was trailing against the wall, feeling for the slight distortions that would tell her when it was dry or not.

It took only minutes at her pace. There was an area here, dry and cold. She looked up, seeing it pitch black above her. "What if this place wasn't a labyrinth?" she asked. "What if these were actual tunnels? Why else would they be straight and narrow like this? These are transportation tunnels!"

"No, no, I'm pretty sure this was a labyrinth," Tails said instantly. He whirled up his tails and checked the path above him. His voice carried quickly, "Yeah, this one leads out! Or at least somewhere 'not here'!" he yelled back.

He hovered back down, and Blaze grabbed onto his bare hands, feeling the soft fur against her own, as he started to bring her up. She put her shoes against the wall, making sure to push against them just a bit, hoping it would make it a bit easier on the fox.

As the flames grew closer to the ceiling, Blaze realized she did recognize most of this. She had actually come through here, which meant this was...somewhere on the pathway. Tails brought over the floor, and with a quick drop Blaze hit the ground. The fox followed a moment later, breathing hard. "Not used to doing flights like that all the time anymore. I'll have to get back into practice," Tails said quietly.

"I think we dodged a much worse position," Blaze said, staring outside a small windows. The area was in shambles, with most of the trees gone or having fallen down. The ruins lived up to their name even more now, as shards and slabs of rock were gone, thrown about with no reasoning to their placement. Areas that hadn't been caved in were now, and even in front of them the hallway had a giant rock slammed into it, a good chunk of it gone.

It wasn't difficult to climb, but it still made Blaze have to use her hands to climb up. Tails was right behind her, flying slowly as they made it into fresh air for the first time since the storm.

The air was crisp and clean, the scent only given off when things were going to be okay. The top of the ruins weren't too far, and Tails grabbed her hand a moment later. "What?" she asked as he pulled her, quite hard, towards the top.

He just pointed, and through the glare of the sun was able to just barely see it. A small distortion starting to appear, a waving of the air and an electrical feeling in the air. Within seconds, a small yellow glow showed, rapidly spinning to become bigger, a giant ring floating happily at the top of the throne room.

Blaze no longer fought as she sped off towards it too. This was it, they could go home now! After all this crap, she was ok with it. She'd find some other way to cross the barriers and meet with Tails and Sonic. She'd done it in the past. They'd done it in the past.

The path to the top was much less difficult on the outside of the ruins, even with all the carnage thrown about by the storm and tornado. Blaze used her fire powers to give herself a quick boost jump whenever she needed it, and Tails was quick to respond with his own speed boost.

Two minutes later they stood in front of it. "How do we do this?" Blaze asked. A part of her wanted to jump in, feeling the call already, but she wasn't sure if that would work. She wasn't sure it could work, honestly.

"Hold hands, and jump in," Tails said. He grabbed her hand and not even a second later jumped into the giant ring. Blaze found herself dragged in, and she felt the current go through her as the surroundings, minus the ring, instantly disappeared.

The ring spun and spun around her. "Get ready!" Tails yelled, "It's going to be a rough landing!" Blaze looked up at the sky, a dull grey landscape with what looked like planets hovering above her, and knew that whatever he meant, he meant it better than it was. It was a rough landing.

-Side T-

The world was a chaotic shamble of colors and ideas that popped into Tails' head. There was land, at least, and the grey skybox above them. There were roads and bumpers on each side of them, with a few dozen springs.

He barely had a chance to recognize his surroundings before the world started to shift. Blaze was knocked off-balance, and Tails quickly pulled back on her arm to bring her back up as he started running with it. "Rule number one of the Special Zone, run with it! Rule number two, have a plan for all possibilities!" Tails shouted. He hoped she was listening, as the Special Zones were weird.

This one even more so. Just as he'd gotten used to running with the world alongside the pathway, the world suddenly shifted. A large tube-like structure engulfed them, surrounding them with water and giant fish. At least this one was familiar, Tails thought. When Metal Sonic had gone rogue and become Metal Overlord, this was the design the Special Zone had at the time.

Blaze managed to get her feet under her this time, and started to run along with. "Is it normally this chaotic?" she asked.

"Not normally, no. Usually it's better about it!" Tails answered. The tube glowed a bright blue for a second as small balloons were generated into existence. He grabbed a few, grateful as he felt the energy flow into his body. "The balloons are here to help you boost through to the emerald!" Tails explained.

Blaze nodded, but before she could even reach one of the balloons, the world shifted once more. Through more and more alterations that Tails recognized, and some that he didn't, the world kept shifting around them. At some points they were on a flat planet, others a floating pathway, still others a giant half-pipe.

"Is it possible to get lost in the Special Zone!?" Blaze asked as she shot a stream of fire towards a floating brick. This was a new one, to Tails. A single floating platform with dozens of bricks and blocks slowly floating towards them, faces of agony and pain etched upon their faces.

"No! It shouldn't be!" Tails said, his voice echoing his thoughts. His thoughts were being voiced onto the blocks now, just as the world shifted. How many times it had done so, Tails had lost count. He held onto the bail-bag, and was glad that Blaze had managed to work a small handle for the rabbit hide bag. Something was different about the Zone.

Was someone trying to interfere with it? It had been to a bunch of places Tails had recognized, and a few that he hadn't. He felt a snowboard materialize under him, and he grabbed Blaze's arm as a board materialized underneath her. "It just looks like a fall, it's not really!" he said.

He felt Blaze tense underneath him as she looked down. Almost a space-station at this point, a long tube filled with the cartoonish black and red bombs on the side. And they were free-falling.

They shifted again, the colors organizing themselves to a giant blocky maze. He recognized the symbols in the back, that of a floating fish and bird. The Special Zone, as far as he knew, couldn't shift while someone was in it. And yet that's what they were doing. "Come on, touch the red blocks!" Tails said, pointing as best he could towards a small set of red far off.

"What would that do?"

"Hopefully get us out of here!" Tails exclaimed. His body was forced into a ball, and he tried to time his jumps to get over to the corner. It was slow going, as the world kept rotating around them. He inched his way closer and closer, almost within an arm's reach before the world shifted.

It wasn't a normal shift though, or as normal as this place got. The world rotated faster and faster, the blocks slowly whiting out to match the colors of the skybox now around them. He felt a sudden acceleration, although he wasn't sure where to. His hand gripped on Blaze's arm a bit tighter.

Momentum stopped, and Tails looked at the now clear sky. Ruins stretched out in front of them, looking vaguely like the same ruins that they'd come out of. "Are we...still here?" Blaze asked as she stared across. "I thought that madness was supposed to take us home."

"It should have! The Special Zone acts as a connection between all dimensions! It should've spat us back out where we came in from in our own worlds!" Tails answered.

His mind was whirling. The Special Zone doesn't act like the way that it did. It just didn't. So the very fact that it did meant something was off, something was weird. What could make the Special Zone do that? An interference, maybe. If someone was trying to enter it continuously, trying to search for the ways around, that would force it to keep shifting.

Was someone looking for them? Was Sonic looking for them, going through the various giant rings that he knew of? Or was it someone from Blaze's side?

The lavender cat sat down, staring up at the blue sky. "I guess then we just have to wait," Blaze said quietly. Tails started questioningly.

"For the Sol Emeralds. They'll charge up while I'm here, and then allow open a direct dimensional transfer."

"You didn't say this earlier because...?"

"It would take longer. Much longer. We can keep trying the Special Zone, but I think we're stuck here for however long it takes the Emeralds to charge," Blaze said. "It's also variable too, and rather sudden. At least, according to the legends."

Tails sat down next to her, staring out at the sky and forest. It was a near endless cycle of green as far as he could see. Far off in the distance he could see the rows of trees slowly bow in the wind. "Legends...?" he asked. Does that mean that Blaze is only hoping, and doesn't actually know? Admittedly, he shouldn't say anything, as his hypothesis was thrown out the window.

"Yes. There's a myth in the Sol Empire that when the Guardian is moved between worlds, the Sol Emeralds will transfer them back to the Emeralds. Just as the land is attached to them, they are attached to the Guardian, and so move with, or move them."

"You think they're already gaining energy?"

"I would hope so. It depends on what Marine is doing with them. I doubt she's using their energy though. The Sol Emeralds are all about fire."

"Hence your pyrokinesis then?"

"No, I was born with that, in both worlds. No, the Guardian doesn't magically get fire abilities when they become Guardian. The Sol Emeralds energy is more fire-based and heat-based then any others. The Chaos Emeralds are all similar to electricity, right?"

"Close enough. Similar in methodology though. So the Sol Emeralds use fire for them? So when we see a pillar of fire out in the distance, we know we have to go there, then?"

"Essentially. But we're going to be here for a long while, I think. We should find a place to set up a more permanent location."

Tails sighed. That wasn't good. An unknown amount of time in an unknown world was never a good thing. He forced himself up, staring off into the distance. "Alright. What should we be looking for?" he asked.

"A defensible location. We already know this place has creatures that can hurt us. Second, food sources. Berries, fish, animals...anything and everything. Once we get those two, we can set up other things we need."

"Like a communications tower," Tails suggested. "We can look through the ruins here, but considering the tornado the other day I'm not sure this is the best place. Otherwise I'd say here."

"No, I agree, not here," Blaze said. "Could you build one of those?"

"What, a communications tower? With the right materials, sure. All that we really need is some steel and iron, or some copper. I can do the rest," he said. A plan was forming in his head of what it would look like, what it could do. What it would do.

"Copper, iron, and steel. We'll see if what the trove has can do us any good," Blaze said quietly. "We may also want more and bigger bags than just these two. Unfortunately I don't know much about tanning or leather working."

"I can do leather, but not tanning. Those oils always ended up always over my fur," Tails complained with a smirk. Blaze gave him a side-glance, her mouth upturned in the corner. A small tooth showed through. "Shall we go looking, then?" he asked.

"I think we should. Keep an eye on this place, just in case we spot another giant ring. The rings in the Special Zone don't get transferred with us, do they?"

"Wish they did. But no, they don't. Chaotic manifestations of a chaotic realm. I don't even think they're real, truth be told. Just illusions that happen to look like rings."

"Could you make some?"

"Rings? I've heard of a ring generator, ages ago, but Sonic never told me anything about it. Apparently it was smashed back when Eggman first attacked."

Blaze raised an eyebrow. "Of course I've tried," Tails explained, "but that kind of control to force rings is immeasurable. If there actually was a ring generator, I'd have done my best to reverse engineer it. Maybe I'm just missing something, but every time I've tried it comes up with nothing."

"Are you going to keep trying?"

"Considering our lives may be on the line if I didn't? Yeah," Tails said. It wasn't just his own life on the line, now. Blaze was with him, too. And that meant both safety and hazards aplomb. Hazards mostly if she saw anything untoward.

He was a fifteen year old male, after all.

"I say we go that way," Blaze said, pointing off in the distance. See that rock? That's a good place to start. We'll look there and around there, and choose another destination if we need to."

Tails smirked. He saw it, barely on the edge of his vision. The sun was starting to set now. They'd been talking for several hours, about their various plans and how they were going to make this work. A new home in a new world.

"Race?" He asked, whirling up his tails. The familiar twinge of pain was non-existent, and he grinned as Blaze smirked up at him, forcing herself up too.

Through all the crap they've been, through all the injuries they've obtained, they're still at their heart speedsters. Blaze with her broken and holed up jacket, and tights that were more shorts than anything, and himself with his own splotches of red on his fur and hands. He knew there were probably other spots on his back too.

"I'll never turn one down," Blaze answered with a smirk. She looked down a bit, before steeling herself and looking at the rock.

She sped out a moment later, fire coasting in her wake, and Tails grinned. They would be okay. He whirled up his tails again and shot off following her.

They would be okay. He would make sure of it.

-Interlude-

The Palace of the Sun was an intimidating place to be at the best of times. To be there when someone is in trouble, it was even worse. The guards glared at all passerby, and there was a sense of unease about the air.

Marine slowly made her way up the steps, one at a time, going as slow as possible. She was trying to look dignified, or as dignified as she could be in this scenario. She held a small brown sack, made from the toughest of leathers and was almost impossible to cut, securely in one hand. Inside it, seven small gemstones were glowing furiously.

The guards at the top of the steps glared at her. She wasn't sure if they'd been briefed or not on what had happened. If they hadn't, then they were just doing their jobs. If they had, then she was in a lot more trouble than she thought. Was the King home? Actually, now that she thought about it, she didn't think she'd ever met the King, and she was personal friends with the Princess...

A koala stared at her from between the gates. "Marine, was it? Come, he's waiting for you," he said quickly and lightly. It was as if nothing was wrong, as if her friend hadn't simply vanished into nothing on a forgotten island in what was supposed to be a forced and unknown vacation for the girl!

She followed him at a brisk pace, despite the fact she was only slightly bigger than he was. Her shoes echoed across the ground far louder than she thought was safe or was comfortable with. Her place was on a boat, far away from the stuffiness that was the middle of the Sol Empire.

She was led to a small room on the east wing. It was a cozy room, with a lush red carpet and a small bed, and filled to the brim with books. A small desk lay in the corner, with a simple wooden cushioned chair. A tall lynx sat there, hunched over the books and writing a letter. "I'll be with you in just a moment," he said as soon as Marine stepped in. The koala said nothing, simply bowing and walking away.

It was a simple room, Marine noticed. There was almost no personalization. No drawings, no art, no pictures...nothing that said this room belonged to anyone, asides from the mass of books. "Marine. Care to repeat?" The lynx said suddenly, turning around.

He was taller than she was, by nearly a foot or two. Nearly as tall as Blaze was. Brown fur with yellowish stripes. He reminded Marine of the dingoes that were once common around the islands where she was from.

"I uh...I don't know what you want me to repeat, mate. I told you all everything!" she answered. She kept her grip on the Sol Emeralds, and hoped they wouldn't trigger anything. Like a massive fire in the center of the palace. That would be a good thing to avoid right now.

"Radio on the Wave is picky, Marine. Unless you ever got around to upgrading it sometime before Princess Blaze...what was it you said? 'Suddenly disappeared into the night'?" The lynx asked, a scowl appearing on his muzzle.

"Ah, right right!" Marine said. She hoped that her act of confidence would lend her to not die horribly. Wasn't that usually what happened to sapients who weren't on the right side of the law? Or did that not happen anymore? She wasn't sure, she'd gotten used to being around pirates for so long, and their excuse for everything was either get everyone drunk or murder.

"It was a dark and stormy night on the Wave-"

"Marine," The lynx interrupted. "Just what happened."

"Come on mate! Cut me some slack here! You know this ain't my shindig!"

"Marine!"

"Fine, fine. I was working on the Wave and went to sleep late. Woke up and Blaze was gone, and we was stuck on some forgotten island in the middle of the big blue. You happy yet?"

"Very," The lynx said unhappily. "Forgotten island? Care to describe, or name it?"

"I checked every sea chart from here to Whirlpool island and that was on none of 'em. Normally I'd be more than happy to name it but seeing as how my best friend is currently vanished into midair from it-"

"Marine. Describe it?"

She let out a low growl. Raccoons, or tanuki in her particular case, were not known for their growling abilities. The lynx, however, remained unimpressed. "Fine. Small island, bit bigger than the palace. Forest on southern side, wildflowers on the north and western side. Middle has three fancy statues with a whacked out spiral -"

"Marine..."

"I was getting to that! Hold your gosh darned rudders will ya? Spiral in the center. Statues in the middle, hedgehog, fox, and one I couldn't tell because the sun got in my way."

The lynx ran a hand down his face. "Spiral...that sounds familiar. Grab that book over there, will you?" The lynx said, pointing to one of the shelves next to her. He grabbed another one from the shelf next to him and immediately started pouring over the index.

Marine glanced at the shelf, before blinking. Which book was he pointing at? There were all different colors, but he hadn't specified, and there were at least two or three dozen on each shelf. "Uh...which book mate?"

"Warp Zones."

"Warp Zones...warp zones..." Marine said to herself as she went to looking. These weren't the types of books she'd ever read, these were the kind that she avoided and left to other people to read. Or dropped them overboard if they bored her and she wanted to see if she could make them float.

The answer was no, for any that were wondering. She could not.

In the middle of the third shelf she finally found it, a small book with barely legible writing on the side 'On warp zones'. She pulled it out, a dark blue dusty cover with barely the words on it. "This one mac?"

The lynx turned. "That's the one. Put it here," he said, tapping the side of his desk. He went back to pouring over his book, occasionally flipping back to and from the index. He was looking for something, but whatever that was Marine had no idea.

She gave another quick glance towards the Sol Emeralds, making sure that all of them were there. They were, and the green one was even emitting a bit of heat and light. Didn't that mean it was active? Blaze might've been channeling it then, but didn't she need them in her actual presence to be channeling? That's how the whole Burning Blaze thing worked wasn't it?

"You uh...gonna tell me what you have going on up there?" Marine asked after a moment. The lynx blinked in frustration before glaring at her.

"I was not planning to, no."

"You know, you could at the least introduce yourself. I don't know ya."

"You told someone you didn't know something about this very sensitive situation, while holding the Sol Emeralds?" The lynx repeated. Marine felt sheepish for a moment. When put like that, that was pretty bad. Would she do something like that?

She just had. So yes, yes she would. "Yeah, guess I kinda did!"

"Marine..." the lynx repeated for the...Marine had lost count now. Of how many times he'd said her name. "I'm Gordon. Think the vizier for the Empire. Gardon is Blaze's personal assistant. Speaking of which, he should be here by now."

"I'm here, my liege," A voice shot out from being Marine. She jumped two feet in the air, holding the bag of the Sol Emeralds to her chest as she screamed in fright. A small koala, similar to the person that had showed her the way, stood in the doorway. His blue eyes painted mischief. "I'm sorry, Guardian, did I scare you?"

"He does that. Ignore him," Gordon said quietly. "Quieter than Blaze at the best of times..." he muttered. "Show Marine to her room, could you?"

"Of course, my liege."

"I'm not your liege."

"Close enough," Gardon shrugged. Marine took a moment to finally calm down, her heart beating faster than a hummingbird's while feeding.

"Pretty sure you shaved a year or two off my life with that trick mate!" Marine said. She held the bag to her chest. Blaze had mentioned her 'personal assistant', in the same way that someone would mention a personal assistant whose sole job it was to facepalm when they did something they really shouldn't have. Like those comics she'd read once; the way Batman treated Alfred. Yeah, that was it. Respectfully, but not at all.

"Follow me, Guardian."

"I ain't the Guardian. That's still Blaze," Marine said. She followed him out of the room, and the koala's uptight act slowly dwindled as she said it.

"Guardian's code says forty eight hours have to pass before the emeralds pass to the next guardian. As Blaze doesn't have any kids, that leaves essentially just you."

"Blaze ain't dead yet."

"And how do you know?" Gardon asked, slowly weaving his way around the multiple servants around. Marine tried to make sure none of them were paying attention considering Gordon's attitude.

She reached into the bag and gently pulled out the green Sol Emerald, just enough to let Gardon see its glow. "As I said on the radio, they're still glowing. You could've helped me with big claw man back there!"

"That...is a good sign, yes. And no, I could not go against Gordon that easily. He is my boss, after all. And if he or Princess Blaze demand it, I will be fired."

"You could have at least tried mate."

"Please don't refer to me by that moniker."

"Sure thing mate."

"Marine..."

She grinned. She liked needling people. Finding out their buttons, and simply mashing them, again and again. Blaze found it out both infuriating and hilarious, although if anyone ask her she'd deny it to the moon, but Marine knew. "You said Blaze didn't have any kids. Didn't think the guardianship was passed down like that," she asked after a long moment.

"It's not. However, we usually check direct relations first. After that we go around the various town in the Empire, searching for the one that the Sol Emeralds have next chosen."

"See, mac, that's what I don't get. They're gems. Pretty gems yeah, but it's nothing like those fancy Chaos Emeralds they have in the world over."

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response. And please use a respectful moniker when addressing me."

"Sure thing mate."

He glared at her. She grinned at him. "They may be just gems," Gardon replied, huffing himself to be standing taller. He was still shorter than Marine by nearly a foot. "However they are incredible gems with a nearly sentient will. Those 'Chaos Emeralds', which I doubt even exist based on Blaze's fairytales about them, do not have the same capacity for learning and intelligence as the Sol Emeral-"

Gordon, the lynx, stalked out from behind a suit of armor. "Ah, there you two are. I think I found out what happened to the Princess. But it needs to remain here, between us. No more blabbing about to anyone who listens."

"So no letting shorty here get drunk and yak his mouth off, got it," Marine said, one hand on Gardon's head. The koala tried to move her hand, but she stuck on like glue.

"Yes. Or you, although I suppose you are a bit young for that. Come," Gordon said, leading them to what looked like a small abandoned storeroom. It held small suits of armor and helmets, and a few swords that had more than a small coating of dust. He shut the door and flicked on a small torch, held by the side. He took a moment to look around, "Quite ominous, this room. I should send the servants here to clean more often," he noted absently aloud.

"I think she went through what's called a warp zone. It's an area that, when triggered, sends someone to another world. I believe Blaze mentioned them off hand at one point to you, Marine. Sonic and Tails?"

"I remember those two! They came through on a warp zone then?"

"They most likely did. They exist on all worlds, but it is usually with the assistance of the Sol Emeralds that they trigger. Most of the power demands at these sites are much too high for casual usage."

"So something tricked the Sol Emeralds into sending Blaze to another world. Can't we just go back there and send a few of us to go find her with these, and bring them back?" Marine asked.

"Most likely not, no. They can only trigger so often, and with the Sol Emeralds power still being trained on Blaze, they most likely wouldn't answer to us, anyways. All we can do is wait."

"Screw waiting. I'm gonna go back there. If she comes back, that's the first thing she's gonna see. Even if I have to build a gosh darned house!" Marine exclaimed furiously. "I will get these emeralds to answer me, and I will get over there. She deserves nothing less!" she finished, the emeralds glowing brighter in their bag.

She stomped off before either Gardon or Gordon could stop her, her mind on the plans for the Wave.


Marine's accent is hard. This is the final chapter of the Expedition arc, and next comes the arc that I'm most concerned about; Excess! If anybody has any tips on how to write an australian accent, or any accent at all, really, please let me know. Until next time!