The princess of Sol opened her eyes. A large satellite dish stood looming above her. She was lying on a white cloth in the shade provided by the dish. Now that the sun was setting, the desert air had become pleasantly cool. Sitting up made Blaze notice a black suit coat had been folded up and placed under her head while she was out.
"Why am I being the mature one on this mission?" Silver questioned.
He was sitting on an old, busted-up chest beside Blaze. Once she noticed he wasn't wearing his suit coat, she sheepishly handed him the one she'd been laying on. Silver set it beside him on the chest.
"I needed to know," Blaze replied.
"Knowing isn't worth much if you get killed and can't tell anyone,"
"You're right,"
Blaze wasn't keen on being chastised by Silver, but she knew he was unfortunately justified in doing so.
"How'd you get me out? You were hurting, too,"
"I didn't have to go back in since you weren't exactly far away. I used my mind to make a hole in the vortex, then pulled you toward me,"
"Good thinking,"
Silver chuckled. "It was almost as impressive as your throwing distance,"
Blaze laughed sleepily. "I guess I was tired of risking both of our lives. Better I face the worst by myself,"
"Was it worth it?"
Blaze nodded. "Gerald Robotnik is the one who caused this storm. He double crossed Black Doom by detonating some kind of horrible weapon so he could wipe out Babylon Garden. He destroyed the hive, killed all those people, and left this chaotic scar behind,"
Silver absorbed the information with great dismay.
"He'd really do something so horrible? Is that the former Grim Reaper's legacy?"
"That, and Shadow,"
"Shadow?"
"Black Doom mentioned that Gerald was interested in Black Arm weaponry. Why else would a Grim Reaper work with the creator of the Black Arms? I think that briefcase had some kind of core that could help create a Black Arm weapon,"
"And you think the weapon he created was Shadow?"
"You said so yourself: Shadow isn't like those monsters we saw. Wouldn't it make sense for Gerald's vision of a Black Arm weapon to be fundamentally different from Black Doom's? A weapon that taps into the power of the Black Arms while still being a person. One that could live and grow without being bound to Black Doom,"
"And become the ultimate death scythe?" Silver wondered.
"Ha…" Blaze covered her mouth in thought. "Perhaps Shadow has retained some sense of his previous self after all,"
"But wouldn't all this make Shadow old?" Silver waved a hand at the vortex. "Everything we saw in there had to have happened decades ago, right? Or did the Grim Reaper take a long time creating him?
"No idea,"
Silver let out a sigh and thought some more. "Are we upholding horrible acts by working with the DWMA? Is there any other way to stop the kishin?"
"I think for now, we need to tell Sonic about all this. We should be prepared to treat the DWMA as an enemy as well. Who knows what they'll do once they realize where we've been poking around,"
Silver stood up and put the rest of his suit on. "Alright then, let's head back,"
Blaze got up as well when her eyes widened. "The extreme gear! It broke down in the storm; we're stuck out here!"
"Not exactly," Silver replied calmly.
A short distance away, at the base of the satellite dish, were the three Babylonian rogues. Wave was milling over Blaze's extreme gear with Jet and Storm loitering nearby. A panel on the side of the dish had been opened. Various components were littered on the ground. When Wave saw Blaze was now standing, she approached and handed over the gear.
"I fixed up your shoddy board. Now you can make it out of this desert, no problem,"
Jet and Storm came forward right after.
You're alive," Jet observed. "You were flickering like a crappy TV after your weapon dragged you out of there,"
"You helped us?" Blaze asked. "Why?"
"Maybe I felt bad for attacking you," Jet shrugged. "Or maybe I'm just a really nice guy,"
"Reminder: I'm the one who fixed the board. You didn't even do anything," Wave noted.
"I...ENCOURAGED you to fix the board,"
"So?"
"So, I laid the groundwork for a kind act," Jet insisted. He pulled the white cloth off the ground; the one Blaze had been laying on. "And look who's cloak is on the ground!"
"Whatever," Wave sassed.
"Thank you for the help," Blaze said.
Jet shook his cloak off, then put it back on. "You were right to tell us not to go in there. This whole day was a wash,"
He kicked the withered chest, knocking it open. Inside was an assortment of corroded metal sitting amidst piles of dust.
"The chest looked like it was full of expensive jewelry when we found it," Wave explained. "Guess we should have known better,"
"You're a hunter. You know what was up with all those monsters in there?" Jet inquired.
Blaze took the question with a hint of surprise. "Those were Black Arm weapons created by an infamous witch named Black Doom. We just found out that he was living in Babylon Garden when it was destroyed,"
Jet looked back at the vortex. "What about all the images of people? Why were those there?"
"I'm not entirely sure. The person who caused the destruction was the former Grim Reaper. He was fine taking the lives of everyone who lived in Babylon Garden as collateral,"
Each of the Babylonian rogues looked disturbed by that news. Jet spoke up first.
"Wait, all those people we saw in there got blown up?"
"He used an incredibly powerful weapon, one that might have even incorporated certain magical wavelengths to ensure Black Doom's destruction," Blaze decided against explaining Black Doom's potential revival through Eclipse. "That's the best explanation I have for why we saw images of people in the vortex,"
Storm stepped forward bearing a solemn gaze. He spoke for the first time while viewing the magical storm.
"Perhaps the souls of the innocent people caught in that explosion became one with the vortex. They live on, carrying proof of the horrible act inflicted on them so that others may learn from the past,"
Silver and Blaze sat stumped by Storm's speech for a few seconds.
"I supposed that's possible…" Blaze blinked involuntarily while her mind refocused. "You all should know that the current Grim Reaper is causing a lot of grief as well. A monster he had imprisoned is now free. Said monster is powerful enough to influence the entire world toward madness. Things will continue to get worse until we're all affected if the kishin isn't stopped,"
"Is something like that real?" Jet sounded skeptical.
"I can't prove anything for you now, so make of it what you will. Either way, I'd suggest that you keep the people you care about close by," Blaze added.
"Sounds like I can continue on as normal then," Jet shrugged, then gained a look of determination. "You know, that fireball-trick combo you pulled off earlier was good stuff. If you're ever in the area again, we should have a real race. As long as that big monster you mentioned doesn't destroy the world,"
Blaze seemed stunned and embarrassed by the proposition, so Silver responded for her.
"You're on,"
"Then after you lose, we can go on a date,"
Blaze crossed her arms, masking her additional embarrassment with a standoffish swagger. Jet leaned into Silver's personal space wearing a grin.
"Or maybe you'd wager your flashy weapon instead?" Jet winked at the death scythe who was now blushing wildly.
"I'm uh, pretty sure Blaze wouldn't put me up for a bet," Silver glanced back and forth between Blaze and Jet, who was still smugly staring into his eyes.
"It's definitely more appealing than the first option," Blaze remarked.
Wave pulled on Jet's cloak, causing him to stumble backwards. "Don't take him out to dinner unless you want to eat nothing but barbecue,"
Jet adjusted his cloak then pointed at Wave. "Rib platters are peak romance and you know it!"
Silver pondered the statement and involuntarily nodded alongside Storm.
"Uh-huh," Wave replied dismissively. "If you're going to spend all this time dreaming, maybe you could come up with a new gig? We are leaving empty handed,"
"I'll think of something at some point," Jet groaned.
"That reminds me," Silver tossed a small pouch to Wave. She opened it, and found several gold coins inside.
"Wha-?" Jet croaked.
"For the repairs," Silver grinned.
The pale hedgehog became a sword. Blaze grabbed her weapon and got on her extreme gear.
"You just carry that much money around with you?" Jet blurted.
"Provisional funds for use on missions. Take care,"
Blaze waved once before taking off. The three rogues were left to admire their payment feeling dumbfounded. Jet spoke using a distant tone.
"This much is 'provisional funds' for them?"
Wave closed the pouch and pocketed it. "Guess today wasn't so bad after all,"
"Remind me to be nicer to rich people," Jet decreed.
He and Wave picked up their boards, which were propped up against the base of the satellite dish. Wave was about to set down her board when she hesitated.
"Thanks Jet,"
"For my big-brain take on ribs?" The hawk asked.
Wave rolled her eyes. "For jumping between me and that hunter back in the vortex,"
"Oh that," Jet fussed with his board, hoping to hide his embarrassment. He set it down and approached Storm. Jet hastily ran his fingers through Storm's chest feathers. "Protecting you is our job. That's why we keep this muscle-y lug around, right? It's definitely not for his looks!"
Storm's embarrassment brought him to speak once more. "Hey!" He gathered himself and shifted to weapon form.
Jet grabbed his weapon, then hopped onto his board. "Plus, it'd be really annoying to look for another mechanic,"
Wave chuckled, then boarded her own extreme gear. "You'd never find one half as good,"
The sun was getting low when the three rogues made their way home and the team from Sol began their return to Death City.
