Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from Sonic the hedgehog, especially not Silver or Blaze, they belong to SEGA and not me!

The power within


The Sol kingdom thrived as time marched on.

Of course, Silver and Blaze and Iris made sure to continue being a happy family despite being the rulers of the land. They always made sure to sneak in some family-fun time and, of course, when something abnormal happens, they always made sure to include it in the list of family fun they have together.

It hadn't been that long since she started talking and walking and the castle staff made sure to keep a close eye on the walkabout princess when they happened to share the same vicinity with her; the princess hadn't seemed to inherit either the abilities of Queen Blaze nor King Silver and it didn't take long for the little princess to become painfully aware of this fact.

Princess Iris toddled about the castle corridors, eyes sparkling like gems and her appetite for knowledge ravenous.

Sometimes the servants would catch little Iris making an attempt to jump off of high places in hopes that she would magically achieve the power of flight, like Silver…but they would be forced to intervene.

It was troubling to see the young princess so downcast over this but, when there was a magical moment where the king and queen and princess could spend their time as a proper family, those became priceless treasures of moments for everyone around and it filled their hearts with love and joy.

Tiny Iris ran around, stumbling and tripping over her own feet as she made a few floppy running steps down the hallway.

The tiny princess let out a few squeals of joy once in awhile.

She skidded to a stop, glaring at nothing in particular as she pointed in the direction of said nothing whilst she started to speak in a pretend authoritative manner. Her small tail was rigid and her ears stood tall and erect.

"Foowish brutes!" She cried "Nothing can get in da way of 'kuh-ween' Iris, Wawwi-oar of da Sol kin-dom!"

She started to run (or stumble) down the hallway, giggling and laughing all the way, until she abruptly crashed into something…or someone.

CRASH!

Iris gave an "oof" sound as she plopped down to the floor before immediately looking up to stare at whoever she bumped into.

Her ears erected themselves as she stared up into the kind-hearted face of a one of the ladies maids whom happened to help tend to help her mother when required. Plus she also tended to give the small princess an extra cookie when nobody was looking but nobody knew that, especially not that Silver did the same thing. Not to mention there were a couple of sharp porcelain fragments from the plate that she had dropped which carried an assortment of food which Iris couldn't identify, it was clear that the plate smashed to the floor after the kit bumped into her.

"Oh dear. Please do be careful, Princess!" A female koala servant chided softly, trying to get to her feet.

Rissy hung her head low, looking to the floor and poking her bottom lip out all in a guilty manner.

"Sowwy…"

The maid sighed and rolled her eyes as she bent straight down and righted the princesses position, standing her back up on her own two feet.

"What were you doing anyway, little one?" Asked the koala maid.

Iris smiled up at the maid, practically beaming.

"I'm playin' pa-wee-tend! I'm a wawwi-oar kuh-ween who fights meanies who tries to take my crowny!"

The maiden couldn't hold back a soft chuckle at the younglings enthusiasm, as well as the several mispronunciations she had made throughout her explanation. She was still trying to master her pronunciations and, being so young, simply couldn't completely get a handle on it quite yet.

The female koala servant smiled warmly at the energetic princess.

It was nice to have a child roaming the castle homes again, she'd been here since queen Blaze was small and she couldn't help but smile each time she encountered such small youth that warmed her ageing old heart. She knew she wasn't her only one, neither, as everyone shared her sentiment that having the princess play in these halls was enough to brighten the day of any dampened soul.

But they, like the king and queen, fretted over lack of having any abilities like her parents.

She showed no signs of levitating stuff nor did she have any signs of making things combust by sheer will and it downright perplexed everyone in the kingdom whom noticed this. What sort of person would princess Iris become when she grew up? Would Iris grow up to have one of her parents abilities or will she have no such thing? And how would it affect her emotionally?

The koala then proceeded to usher the princess away from the scene, not wanting her to hurt herself by cutting her delicate tiny hands on the porcelain shards.

"Now, now, your highness," she smiled gingerly. "Why don't ya just go play while I clean this up?"

Iris seemed reluctant to do so despite the koala bear's constant encouragement and assurances.

The koala frowned as she was beginning to struggle with finding a good excuse to send the kit away for a bit and she opened her mouth to say something, anything, to get her away from the offending shards that could hurt the precious princess…and then she happened to catch a glimpse of something outside, however.

Something unusual.

"My…My goodness…what's going on outside?"

It was both a legitimate inquiry and a means to refocus Iris' attention on something else.

The small hedgehog/kitten hybrid toddled over to investigate and gasped as she pressed the palms of her hands and face hard against the glass window, her muzzle squishing the acrylic and her eyes sparkling in sheer awe. Her small mouth dropped wide open as her jaw hit the floor and she apparently forgot how to breathe for several moments as she tried to take in what magic this could possibly be.

Never before had she seen such beauty in all her young life…

When she remembered how to breathe, the kit noticed that her breaths caused the widow to become foggy and so she finally broke out of her trance and hurried off to go grab one of her parents.

It was Blaze she came across first.

The pyrokinetic cat Queen had been busy with writing boring tax laws, not one of her favourite things to occupy her time with but a necessary thing to occupy her time at the very least.

When she was young she had always been taught about how sometimes she had no choice but to do certain tasks for the good of the citizens she would reign over, the lesson had practically been drilled into her head so she had also learned not to complain. She knew better than to whine about this, she was no small kitten anymore and she needed to be responsible —if Iris had seen her shirk her duties then what sort of example was she setting her?

"Mama! Mama!"

Speaking of whom…

Blaze hadn't expected to hear her daughter hollering for her with such enthusiasm and she immediately became alarmed when she saw her baby girl full of uncertain curiosity just charging like a raging bull into the royal chambers and staring right at her with the widest stare she'd ever seen in her entire life.

"What is it, Iris?" Blaze asked, both curious and fearful that something awful had happened.

Rissy cried back in reply.

"Mama! Da sky is b'oken!"

Blaze just stared at her daughter, dumbfounded.

She didn't know what to make of this…she didn't even know where to begin, especially not when the kit took her arm and decided to tug on the sleeve to beckon the cat to follow her. She furrowed a brow down at her very young daughter and frowned sternly as her amber eyes glinted with reluctance to leave her very important work for the sky apparently being broken, but she decided to humour Rissy and take a look.

The lilac cat queen sighed in defeat.

There went any chance of her finishing those blasted tax laws…

Yet she made a mental note to scold her daughter not to interrupt her like this again unless it was for a dire emergency.

Blaze got up from her seat and allowed her child to pull her along by the sleeve and it was quickly discovered that her daughter was surprisingly strong for one so young, the queen expected nothing less than her own child. She wanted to praise her daughter but decided to wait until her daughter revealed to her why she thought the "sky was broken" in her words.

"What's da' white stuff?" The little one inquired, dragging still her mother along behind her until they stopped in front of a window and then pointed out of it.

Blaze was confused until she saw the huge and thick blanket of white that covered the whole isle of Sol. Her eyes widened in momentary shock and her own expression matched that of her stunned daughter for a brief instant before it melted into a calm and controlled expression with a small subtle smile blooming across her muzzle.

Snow covered the fields as far as the eye could see.

It covered the ground in a thick quilt, looking so deep that if anybody were to go out and stand within, they would probably be swallowed by it. It also covered the rooftops on everyone's homes down below and it was even coated by a thin layer of frost as well. Not only that but little specks of snow whirled and spun as they drifted towards the ground weightlessly like precious feathers.

"Why, it's snow." Answered the Queen "It is quite uncommon to see it here in the Sol dimension."

Iris tried to pronounce the word for herself, although the word felt foreign on her tongue so she struggled.

"Suh…Suuuuuuhhhh…Suuuh-know?"

Blaze nodded but she chewed her lower lip in an attempt to stifle a chuckle, slightly amused as well as endeared over her daughter's attempt to pronounce "snow" and she felt as her heart swelled within her chest due to the sheer cuteness of it.

She wouldn't openly admit it, however.

"Yes. Snow. It's basically a phenomenon that happens when it gets cold and water vapour freezes into ice crystals and starts to fall in light white flakes that eventually settles and covers the ground in a thick a white coating."

Iris stared up at her mother in pure awe, her eyes huge and sparkling as she absorbed the knowledge like a sponge.

She didn't know snow was so fancy that there were big words associated with it!

Before the kit could open her mouth to make a comment, the mother and daughter pair were interrupted by some hyperactive shrieking —it was difficult to comprehend what they were saying at first but it didn't take long before she became intelligible and clear to the ears, thanks to the source of said shrieking coming up and blasting them in the ears with their yelling.

"BLAZE! RISSY!" Silver cried. "ITS SNOWING, ITS SNOWING, ITS SNOWING!"

He dashed towards his wife and daughter, lassoing a scarf around his own neck and practically throwing a jacket over his shoulders.

His actions were so sloppy that it appeared as though he grabbed the first wintry-themed attire he just so happened to spot and actually threw it on without a second thought. His feet clomped against the marble floors, a huge smile blossomed upon his muzzle, and his eyes were wide open as he hastened through the walkways. His shoes skidded along the polished marble with such intensity that sparks came flying from the friction between the soles of his shoes and the floor below.

Silver had the energy akin to an excited child rushing around the place on Christmas morning.

The second the hedgehog saw Iris, he proceeded to scoop her up by the underarms and lifted her up high in the air before peppering her small face with kisses. The kit squealed with sheer delight and surprise as she tried to evade the playful kisses her dad was trying to give her. Her tail swished around happily, whirling and spinning around to convey her giggly and upbeat mood.

Blaze felt her heart squeeze in her chest at the sight of her husband behaving in such a childish manner.

That same squeezing sensation being accompanied by this warmth that spread to her hands and feet. She would have denied it if she said that her husband didn't appear so adorable when he behaved like this but she knew she had to keep her thoughts and feelings to herself regarding the matter, she had to retain a regal demeanour.

That didn't stop Blaze from smiling a little, though…

Silver peppered Iris' face with more kisses, earning a couple of delighted shrieks from the young kit.

Every second the octaves of her shrieks of surprise rises to the point where it was almost straining to the ears but neither parent minded much since their daughter was happy with this and that was all that mattered. Once the futuristic platinum-furred hedgie finished his display of affection, he deposited his daughter back in his wife's arms and it was after the young hedgekitten was secure in her mother's arms.

He practically twitched on the spot due to his over hyperactivity build and increase more and more as the nanoseconds passed until he couldn't hold it in anymore.

He whooped as he practically crashed out the door and running outside.

"WHOOO-HOOOO!"

Blaze and Iris both watched after the futuristic king hedgehog, the former watched with a facial expression more blunted than what could be expected to be one of the sharpest of blades while the latter wore a neutral facial expression.

Their minds were both reeling after what they had just witnessed, neither had expected Silver to be this overly-enthusiastic about this strange shift in weather.

Finally Blaze closed her eyes and let out a chuckle, her vocals vibrating in amusement.

She loved her husband with every fibre of her being even if he could be a tad overexcitable and inexperienced with life at times due to him growing up in an apocalyptic version of the future and not knowing what one or two things are. Thinking about this made the fiery cat queen of the Sol kingdom briefly reminisce on how she and Silver fought monsters together as a duo in that fiery wasteland of a world.

"I swear. Sometimes that silly father of yours behaves more like a child than you do…" Blaze muttered.

The purple anthropomorphic cat smiled down at the hedgekitten in her arms and whirled on her feet to go towards the nursery. She hefted her daughter over her shoulder, cradling the back of her head in one hand and the other was supporting her back as she made sure to carry Rissy as carefully as she possibly could.

"Come, sweetheart. Let's get ready for the cold outdoors."

"'Kay, mama!"

The skies were abundant with dark clouds which were almost as dark as the night sky —it was as if someone had chucked a bottle of ink up into the heavens.

The ground was covered in a thick blanket of pure white snow that didn't even have any footprints imprinted in it, the fir trees surrounding the palace grounds had branches which were peppered in frost and snow just like all the other trees and buildings and other such structures around the Sol kingdom.

The wind whistled low in Blaze, Iris and Silver's ears as they traversed through the snow-covered field.

Silver, Blaze and Rissy all were dressed in their own wintry attire to protect themselves from the breeze which had a frigid bite to it:

Blaze was dressed in a red velvet overcoat with fluff/cotton trimming with a matching ruby red cape tied around her neck with a neat little knot around the front, she even wore a pair of fire-proof gloves to keep her hands warm against the frigid cold slivers of wind that brushed passed.

Silver was wearing that same teal-coloured winter jacket he had grabbed earlier and he even threw on a pair of special gloves which looked just like his regular gloves but more suited for cooler climates. He also wore special winter boots instead of his regular black boots with the turquoise edges and white stripe going upwards.

Iris was dressed in a thick purple onesie/coat with little purple mittens covering her small hands.

The kitten stared down at the snow, her eyes wide and enchanted as she beamed at the white powery stuff. Her eyes were wide and full of wonder and her small mouth was agape. Her ears were straight and erect and she looked as though she had seen the most beautiful thing ever. Even though her gaze never truly wavered from the snow-covering the ground, she still gazed watchfully over her surroundings as she was carried out of the castle.

The kit cooed and let out the odd "ooh and ahh" as she was carried into the field of white.

The family of three just walked around the castle grounds…and then, out of nowhere, Silver snapped his fingers and ran ahead of his wife and daughter.

Blaze was bewildered about the futuristic king hedgie's strange behaviour but just kept walking.

Her brows furrowed and she frowned.

What was Silver doing now?

She watched Silver in a mix of confusion, bewilderment and perplexity; she knew her husband was a lover of snow —why wouldn't he be? He spent a lot of his life trapped in a world that was consumed by an endless inferno (curtesy of Iblis) so he must have seen snow as the best thing since sliced bread. Her mouth formed a small frown and the furrow in her brows deepened while they knitted together to paint a look of downright confusion on her face.

In the meantime, Silver had grabbed a pair of snowballs by using his telekinesis to make the balls of snow float in the air with his identifiable turquoise aura.

Silver smiled as he worked.

"Hey, Rissy! Take a look at this!"

Iris' ear flicked when she heard her father's voice and she looked over to him.

Once he was confident he had his daughter's full attention, he proceeded to gently thrust one hand out with his palm facing outwards and the turquoise circular mark on his hand started to glow brightly. The intense glow spread from his hand to the mound of snow and a considerably large chunk broke off of the snowy ground before levitating into the air and setting itself on top of the huge round snowball.

Once the chunk of snow was set atop the bottom ball, the glowing went away.

The hedgehog then poked two fingers into the upper part of the large top snowball and drew an upwards curved line below the two dots he made with his fingers.

After that, his snowman was a success!

Blaze, in the meantime, bent down and placed Iris down on the ground below so she could toddle over to explore and investigate.

Thanks to her thick winter onesie and her mittens, the kit didn't even react to the snow as she stumbled and skipped over to the snowman that her father had made and stared up at it in innocent wonder. Her eyes were huge with curiosity while her large ears flicked back as she seemed to contemplate on what she could do now.

Then, all of a sudden, her cute little cat lips broke into a huge open-mouthedsmile (which exposed one tiny baby fang) and she spread both legs apart and thrust both of her hands towards.

It was obvious what she was trying to do now…

It broke both Blaze and Silver's hearts to see their small daughter trying so hard.

The kitten's eyes squeezed shut and her ears flattened while she pushed and pushed as hard as she possibly could —her nose tightened, her face bunched together, her tail straightened, shook and trembled, her back lengthened, her young arms and legs wobbled like jelly as kept trying to ignite some sort of power that she hoped lay dormant within.

"Nnnnnrrrrrgh!" Iris groaned as she kept trying and trying, refusing to give up.

Silver and Blaze looked to one another and then back to Rissy.

They wanted to encourage her…but they didn't want her to get hurt, physically from pushing herself or emotionally from being crushed at a probable reality that she thought would come true just not.

Which would be the lesser of two evils?

It was a difficult roll of the dice.

"Ahhh…Ahhhhhhh…AHHHHHH-CHOOOOO!"

Thankfully, neither Blaze nor Silver needed to worry about crushing their child's dreams just yet as Iris let out one of the worlds biggest sneeze.

The sneeze was so big that it practically knocked Rissy off of her little feet and sent her tumbling to the snowy ground below and her small backside hit the soft-snowy ground which covered the ground.

Her small body gave a small shudder despite the winter-wear that covered her from head-to-toe and she couldn't help but look down with a slight glum expression. She sniffled, but thankfully it wasn't from crying, it was quickly apparent as to what caused it due to the small amount of snot dribbling from her little black nose. She gave a second little shiver of her body as she looked up to her parents.

"Uuuugh…I don' feew well, mama…" The hedgekitten shuddered.

Blaze immediately knew what was wrong.

"Aww, my poor baby. It looks like you've caught a small cold."

Rissy didn't make much of an argument and she sniffled as she raised both arms up to indicate she wanted to be scooped up into her mother's arms.

Blaze obliged by stooping down and taking her young kit into her arms and snuggling her close.

Iris responded quick by burying her little face into her mother's chest.

The second her child was in her arms, the queen's throat started to elicit a series of purring noises as she closed her eyes and a tiny smile curled at the corners of her lips, the sides of her muzzle tinted bright red due to the wintry weather. She didn't need to worry much about the cold due to her soul being alit with flames and her pyrokinesis protecting her from any amount of hypothermia.

She looked over to Silver and nodded, signalling him to follow her.

"Come, Silver." She said, her voice as warm as an open fire in the midst of a blizzard. "We have to take care of our little princess."

Silver didn't put up any protest but he didn't look too happy about this snow day having such a premature ending. He didn't wish to expose his true feelings, though, so he decided to just say nothing and did as his wife suggested.

"Okay, sweetie…"

The king and queen of Sol headed back towards the castle so they could nurse their sick child back to health.

However, something neither of them knew was that there was a malevolent force lingering.

It was a force that silently threatened the Sol kingdom.


A/N: Hi, guys. Heres a new chapter of "The Power within" and I hope you guys like it.

Sorry this took awhile to update, I have been busy.

You guys are awesome and I shall try and update again soon!

-Chloemcg