"Sonic!"
Sonic looked back silently. Tails hesitated for a moment. He couldn't remember the last time Sonic acted like this. Even when he was at odds with Shadow during their mission in Empire City, Sonic kept from lashing out. Now, there were no holds barred.
"I know you're angry, but don't you think Amy has a point?"
Sonic gave a cross laugh. "I really don't need my brother turning on me right now,"
Tails nearly wavered, but continued speaking his mind. "Eggman practically threatened to kill you last time we saw him. If you keep looking for Shadow, you'll be putting yourself in danger! Plus, we don't even know what the situation around Shadow is!"
"Eggman said Shadow is his tool, and now he's locked away. If most of the DWMA is acting like he doesn't exist, that's even more suspicious. You expect me to just sit around and wait?"
"I just want you to be careful. You're up against the entire DWMA here,"
Sonic exasperatedly threw up his hands. "That never stopped us before. We only became meisters because we stood up to Eggman when we were kids. Now I'm the only one left who cares,"
"We all still care, Sonic. But we can't just do whatever we want, especially now that the kishin is awake. You saw how strong he was. You really want to oppose him and Eggman at the same time?"
"Honestly, yeah. I kinda do."
"You're just being stubborn," Tails observed with irritation. "You showed up late to our last fight. Blaze and I were hallucinating just trying to stop those witches. The kishin isn't just another monster. We couldn't even hurt him and neither could you. And he wasn't even at full power!"
"I wasn't at full power either," Sonic dismissed. "And I dealt with madness waves in my fight too. I'm not afraid of that,"
Intrigue entered Tails's expression when he recalled further. "What happened to you in the crypt? Why were you covered in black blood?"
Sonic's frustration-fueled confidence wavered slightly. He shrugged.
"I had to resonate with Eclipse to end the fight. The black blood was just a side effect. I'm fine now,"
"I could sense a dark power before the kishin woke up. It was you two wasn't it? I sensed the same thing during our mission in Empire City. When you were resonating with Shadow,"
"Maybe. So what?"
"Well I...Is that really safe?"
"I said I'm fine. The doctors checked all of us after the battle, right?"
"But are you sure it's safe to resonate with Shadow? It seems like Eggman put the restrictions in place for a reason. Maybe you should stay away from Shadow until we know what's going on,"
Sonic resumed leaving. "I'll pretend you didn't say that,"
Tails wanted to do more, but thought of nothing else. He reluctantly returned to the others.
Somewhere outside of Death City there was a peaceful brook weaving through a patch of woods. Sonic visited this place to be alone. When the uncertainty in his life could only be assuaged through distance from his friends and Death City. He had not been here since he met Shadow.
Sonic picked up a small, rounded stone and tossed it out into the river. It skipped a few times on the water's surface, leaving ripples before sinking completely. The isolation of this place gave him some peace, but it also made it very obvious when someone entered into his soul perception. There were two souls approaching. He might have thought they were there to ambush him if they weren't out in the open.
"I hope you're not expecting me to bow," Sonic threw another stone without stepping away from the river.
"I don't know you very well, but I imagine snarkiness is a good sign?" The princess of Sol asked.
There was a softness in her tone that caught Sonic off guard. He watched Silver and Blaze, patiently waiting for them to speak.
"We've been talking; there's some things you should know. It's better that we meet out here since the DWMA is monitoring everything more closely with the kishin being revived,"
Sonic continued plucking stones and skipping them atop the water.
"Shortly after noticing that there was a black arm scythe-"
"Shadow," Sonic interrupted.
Blaze reattempted her explanation, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Shortly after noticing Shadow at the DWMA, I volunteered to keep an eye on him,"
"Not surprising,"
"I was wary of him. I assumed he was a threat, and that Lord Death was trying to make the most of a weapon like Shadow,"
"A weapon like Shadow…" The phrase left Sonic's mouth with a sharp disgust.
"You know what I mean,"
"Yeah, I do. You think he's a monster,"
Blaze let out a long sigh, and paused before replying. "I was wrong. I want to help,"
Sonic gave Blaze his full attention. He was surprised, but still showed some skepticism.
"I thought Lord Death was using Shadow for good, and my main concern was just that he was being careless with something he didn't fully understand. After hearing him talk about Shadow during our last debriefing, that's clearly not the case. Not only did he understand the risks, but he knowingly endangered you and Shadow,"
"I figured you'd be happy that Shadow's locked away now," Sonic commented.
"Even if I felt that using a Black Arm weapon was unacceptable no matter what, which I don't, I couldn't support Eggman currently. He still plans on using Shadow to benefit the DWMA. I was worried that you were the one recklessly pursuing power, but I don't believe that anymore. You stood up for Shadow against the grim reaper. You were looking out for a friend. I'd like to think I would do the same if someone treated Silver that way,"
Silver smiled at Blaze, who mostly seemed embarrassed. "You already did. How many times did you fight with your mom about me before I became a death scythe?"
Blaze laughed quietly. "Fair point,'
"You guys really want to help?" Sonic looked sincerely curious now.
"First, we should tell you something about the Darkling. We read through your report from when you first encountered him," Silver explained. "You mentioned that his blood looked like a monster before becoming a weapon. We didn't know about that until we saw it ourselves,"
"You saw a horned demon draped in robes, right?" Blaze asked.
Sonic nodded.
"His blood sometimes takes the form of Black Doom," Blaze said.
"The guy who created the Black Arm weapons?" Sonic asked.
"Yes. We don't have anything concrete yet, but the soul inside Eclipse's blood is likely a damaged remnant of Black Doom's soul. Perhaps he had split off a piece of his soul at one point, so he might be revived in the future,"
Sonic was unsettled now. "Can something like that really happen?"
"Black Doom was no stranger to darker magics so it's not impossible, although we still need more information,"
"We've got a plan to find out more," Silver added.
"Let's hear it,"
"We want to see what we can find out about the DWMA's past along with Shadow's. Since we're a 3rd party cooperating with the DWMA and not direct agents, we can conduct our own investigation with more freedom and less scrutiny from Eggman.
"Do you think it'll work?"
"I've been in contact with my family," Blaze explained. "My father wasn't happy to find out that Lord Death has been hiding a kishin all this time. I imagine he has no shortage of dirt on the DWMA. There's a good chance he'll know where I should start."
"Okay. What should I do?" Sonic asked.
"Stay here in case something changes with Shadow's situation," Silver said. "Then, whether or not something comes up from the investigation, we can at least plan our next move here in Death City. Think you can stay out of trouble till then?"
Sonic felt a grin coming on for the first time in a while. Confidence made his body feel lighter. The chaotic world around him didn't seem so hopeless.
"No promises,"
