Blaze felt her windpipe close up involuntarily once fear took over. She was too afraid to move, so she looked on with her soul perception instead. Knowing it was only an after-image of Black Doom gave her little comfort. Silver found himself in a similar boat. The dark witch turned to meet Eggman's look-a-like.
"We are," Black Doom's words manifest in the form of an unholy rasp. The words oozed creepily from the witches mouth, which was a stationary orifice that more closely resembled a wound than lips. Silver and Blaze were caught off guard by his voice. They shuddered. "But that's not to say I don't appreciate you agreeing to the ceasefire,"
"I'm expecting you to hold up your end," The human replied shortly.
"Of course,"
Black Doom began leading the way when everything flickered. Both figures vanished, leaving Silver and Blaze alone in the decaying pantheon.
"No!"
Blaze moved her head frantically, hoping to find where Black Doom might reappear. Time passed, but the world stayed desolate for longer than it had been before. Silver watched his meister's body flicker as if it were a digital image. He saw the same thing happen when he looked down at his own hand. They stabilized shortly.
"Blaze, we're running out of time,"
Blaze took the timer from her pocket. "We have thirteen minutes left. Getting here took less than ten. If we take just a few more minutes we can easily make it out in time,"
The world brightened again. The buildings were repaired, but Black Doom and the other man weren't around.
Silver sighed. "We'll check if they're nearby. If we don't find them soon, we're leaving,"
"Okay. Let's split up!"
Blaze took off in a sprint. Several Black Arm weapons entered her path, but she didn't hesitate to run through them. Her heart pounded while her eyes cut across this place in search of Black Doom. Her fear had gone. She was now teeming with the desire for knowledge. It was as if she could sense the power of the secret lying within this cursed place.
Silver's distant voice came from above.
"Blaze, over here!"
The princess saw him floating beside the main building. She darted over without hesitation. "Did you find them?"
Blaze let out an "Eep!" when she was lifted off the ground. She floated up the side of the main tower along with Silver. Both landed on a sprawling balcony.
"Don't just pick me up so suddenly like that," Blaze muttered while fussing with her suit.
This floor of the tower was much more open than the rest of the building. Pillars stood in place of closed off walls, allowing the sun's warm light to fill the room. The entirety of the city was clearly visible.
"That's them," Silver stated.
Black Doom and the human man were standing around a wide table in the center of the room. The human reached inside his cloak and released a soul into the air. Although Blaze couldn't sense the soul, its powerful purple glow suggested that it had come from a witch.
"I really crossed a line getting this. I'll have to appease the Grand Witch at some point,"
"Excellent," Black Doom plucked the magical soul out of the air and tucked it into the sleeve of his robe. The witch waved his hand through the air. A leather briefcase was coaxed off of a nearby shelf. It floated onto the table.
"Here you are, Gerald,"
Gerald brought up a device before opening the briefcase. Inside the case was a single glass cylinder with reinforced steel clamps on each end. At the center of the cylinder was a glowing red ball. It was solid, and appeared organic. A dark membrane resembling webbing wrapped around the orb. Gerald used his device to scan the orb.
"Gerald?" Silver wondered.
"Gerald Robotnik," Blaze explained. "He was the former grim reaper. Lord Death is his grandson,"
"Wait, what about Lord Death's father? Wouldn't he have been the former grim reaper?"
"We can figure that out later," Blaze urged.
Gerald put away his device. A dumbfounded expression held him.
"My god. You actually did it,"
"People often find my methods unsavory, but I always honor a deal. It's only good for one use though, so you'd best make it count. Although, it would be amusing to see you try and reverse-engineer it,"
Gerald closed the case. Distraction pushed his mind elsewhere for a moment.
"I should go,"
"Must you run off so soon? Why not get a good look at this city I've built?" Black Doom proposed with amusement.
"I've seen enough," Gerald scooped the case off the desk. "I am amazed all those people are fine living with a Black Arm hive at the center of their city,"
"We get along just fine. Babylon Garden exists because we keep the people and resources here safe. Cities can't last long on their own out here,"
"Well, aren't you kind?" Gerald replied, unimpressed.
"I only followed your example," Black Doom gestured at the city below. "Perhaps I'll mimic you further by creating a school as well. You aren't the only one interested in procuring Black Arm weaponry, after all,"
"You heard about my academy, did you?"
"I did. You really are on the backfoot, aren't you? Is that monster of yours giving you that much trouble?"
"Don't give me that. You've been faring even worse," Gerald snared.
"I imagine better days are ahead for both of us. Take care,"
Gerald exited. Black Doom silently watched his city from above. He held the witch's soul in his hand while contemplating.
"The former Grim Reaper made a deal with Black Doom?" Disgust covered Blaze's question. "Bastard…"
"Blaze, let's go," Silver commanded.
"Alright," Blaze agreed with some reluctance.
The two of them reentered the balcony so Silver could bring them down from the tower. He shifted back into a sword. Blaze armed herself, and set down her extreme gear. After that, the sudden appearance of a real witch reminded Blaze how much this vortex distorted her soul perception.
Wave emerged from an open entryway to see Blaze pointing a sword at her. A fury burned through the cat's otherwise stiff expression and showed through her eyes. She looked as if she'd just witnessed something horrible. Wave almost spoke, but froze instead. She felt like Blaze was about to kill her.
"Hey!" Jet jumped in front of Wave. He faced Blaze with a glare of his own and his arms held out. "You hunters think you can just do whatever you want? Push people around? So what if she's a witch?"
"You attacked me," Blaze spat.
"Yeah well, that was my idea. Just kill me if you're so sore about it,"
"Jet!" Wave protested.
Everyone flickered, interrupting the conversation. The scenery became destroyed again. A feeling of nausea ran through each of the people present.
Blaze stared at the two in front of her. Storm emerged from the tunnel holding a large chest. He was confused and out of breath.
"I'm only interested in leaving. Will you be interfering with that as well?"
"Nah, I don't need anymore fire hurled at me," Jet grumbled.
Blaze lowered her weapon. "Then you might want to leave this place too. Quickly,"
"We can do that," Jet pulled his goggles down, then gave a mild grin.
The rogues loaded the chest on Jet's board. Storm became a weapon, and they were off. Blaze noticed Gerald floating in the sky after she hopped on her extreme gear.
"Silver, let's follow him on our way out. Just in case,"
"Blaze…" Silver chastised.
"He's in a hurry too. We'll be fine,"
If Silver could roll his eyes while in weapon form, he would have. Blaze shifted her path so she could follow the former grim reaper's projection. They were near the edge of the storm when Gerald stopped. Blaze swung her extreme gear around in an arc while breaking. A cloud of sand kicked up.
"What's he doing?" She wondered.
"Blaze!" Silver cried.
Their bodies began blurring. Nausea and lightheadedness had stuck with them for the duration of their journey out. Now, those symptoms were only getting worse.
"We're gonna die! The edge is right there, Blaze. Come on!"
Blaze resonated with Silver. She threw her weapon with all her strength.
"No!"
Silver's sword form shot across the remaining distance to the barrier of the storm. Blaze was alone with Gerald's projection. She watched him while in a daze.
Gerald operated various switches and levers on the console of his hovercraft. He stopped, then held his finger over one button.
"Good riddance," He said.
The button was pressed. An explosion of light bloomed from the heart of Babylon Garden. It continued expanding until every building had been absorbed. Gerald let out a disgusted grunt while Blaze gasped. The light hurried outward into the surrounding desert. Blaze was reminded that it was time to leave.
Her extreme gear sputtered; her speed faltered. She only needed a few more seconds, but her altitude was also dropping. Blaze hopped off her board, letting it crash into the sand. The princess stumbled forward for a handful of steps.
Then she collapsed.
Thanks to everyone who checked out the Wattpad version of the story. Seems like the story is finally getting some momentum over there. I'll keep working on the story, and hopefully more people will end up reading!
Thanks again for reading!
