Blaze found herself hurtling through the air by the time she'd come to her senses. She reflexively searched for Silver with her soul perception, locking on once she found him. He was struggling against the vigorous wind using his kinesis, but when he felt Blaze's soul he had an idea.

He shifted into being a sword, then pushed himself toward his meister using his mind. He was much more aerodynamic now, so he bypassed most of the wind resistance on his way. Blaze caught the sword easily. Her body spun into an upright position just before she landed softly on both feet.

"Nice save,"

"I try," Silver replied.

Blaze peered up at what was left of the main DWMA tower. "We need to get back up there,"

A nearby soul activated. Blaze sidestepped just in time to avoid a soul force attack. The person behind the attempted strike was carried forward by their momentum. They stepped into the princess's view.

"Starline?"

He tried hitting her again. Soul waves fizzled around the palm of his hand after each swing. Blaze moved nimbly in response, but didn't try hitting back just yet. Her soul perception revealed the state of Starline's soul. Not only was his wavelength completely erratic, he was being influenced by a magical energy that appeared as a wriggling spark around his soul.

"Starline, you're being controlled!" Blaze warned. "Don't you recognize me?"

"...kill you,"

The words didn't seem to be registering. Starline went for another soul force attack, so Blaze grabbed his forearm and pulled him along. After successfully tripping him, she jumped back to gain some distance.

"How do we help him?" Silver asked.

Before Blaze could respond, another soul entered the fray. Blaze blocked an incoming sword with her own. The darkling had arrived, and his soul was in a similar state of unrest as Starline's. Surprisingly, his sword had diminished in size significantly. Each of the subsequent strikes delivered by Eclipse weren't as overbearing as they had been in the past. Blaze blocked them easily, but her other opponent was closing in, fast.

Another soul force attack. Blaze ducked the blow, moving into a sweeping kick that knocked the darkling off his feet. She tried hitting Starline next, but he blocked. He threw out a kick of his own, and it landed. Soul waves surged from his heel, and the burst of energy knocked Blaze farther than a normal kick could. Her back slammed into a nearby house, then she fell to her knees.

"Blaze, are you okay?"

"For now," She coughed. "Starline's movements are sluggish, and his soul force isn't as concentrated as it should be. I could beat him if this were one-on-one,"

"The darkling seems weaker too. We can handle them both with the right plan,"

Blaze gasped when she felt an intense chill.

"Chaos Arrows!"

A swarm of magical tendrils came at her. Blaze tapped into Silver's power so she could manage a great leap. The building behind her was thoroughly destroyed. Now that Blaze was on a rooftop, she could see Tikal atop another.

"I don't know about you, but I'm having fun,"


Tails and Knuckles managed to glide along the wild air currents running through the DWMA's sky. They both landed near each other on the ground.

"We've gotta get back up there," Knuckles shifted into his gauntlet form.

Tails grabbed on. "Okay,"

His tails spun rapidly and he lifted off. A few seconds later, a series of thin, pink daggers flew after him. When he noticed them, he swerved in an to dodge. One cut his side, then his body weakened. What little strength he had left was dedicated toward keeping himself from crashing into the ground at full speed. He landed uncomfortably, but managed to get back on his feet.

"Tails! Did you get hit?"

Tails put a hand over where the dagger had made contact. "Yes, but it didn't do any physical damage," When the weakness diminished, he stood. "I think that attack drained some of my strength,"

A woman emerged from an alleyway down the street. She was an echidna wearing black combat gear. Her soul was obvious to Tails now.

"Another witch?"

Two more daggers generated in front of Shade. She grabbed on and held them at the ready.

"I'm not thrilled about this, but I don't have much choice,"

"The girl from the crypt?" Knuckles remembered.

Tails didn't feel well. "How am I supposed to fight a witch alone?"

"You're not alone, dummy. We can beat her! Besides, the world is ending. We don't get to be picky,"

"Fair point,"

Tails decided to charge straight in. Shade dodged the string of punches that Tails tried. The flurry of dagger swipes she threw out in response were dodged as well. When Tails went for a heavy hit, Shade stepped backward quickly. Her opponent's fist continued moving at a downward angle until it crashed into the ground. Tails fired a blast of soul force, enhanced by his resonance with Knuckles. Glowing cracks split the street open; a dust cloud soon appeared.

Some rocks were thrown Shade's way, with several hitting her. The surrounding dust also kept her from anticipating Tails's next attack. He landed a punch. Shade did manage a block, but the impact was intense. The witch was launched a short distance away, and had to use her magic to regain her balance. Both her arms stung, with her right one being punctured as well. She inspected the wound.

"Those damn spikes of yours,"

"There's a reason people call me Knuckles,"

Shade frowned. "Knuckles isn't much of a name for a proud echidna warrior,"

"Echidna warrior?" Knuckles asked.

"Proud?" Tails asked.

The gauntlet took control of Tails's hand and slapped him upside the head.

"Echidnas have a rich heritage," Shade explained. "You know echidna gauntlets were considered sacred by the ancient tribes, right?"

"Nothing sacred about me, lady. And I don't know anything about this tribe business,"

"You seriously know nothing about the history of the echidnas?"

"People around here do a bad job of keeping me informed," Knuckles complained.

"You do a bad job of following along," Tails countered. His gauntlet smacked him again.

"It's a waste for you to die here. If you leave Death City, we won't have to fight," Shade said.

"Sorry, but my friend is stuck fighting the kishin. I'm not leaving him behind," Knuckles replied.

Shade let a smile slip. "You might not have a fitting title, but you do have the heart of a warrior," She became serious again. "Unfortunately, I won't be fighting you honorably,"

Tails picked up on the sound of thrusters coming closer. Omega swooped in overhead, firing his blasters rapidly. The fox dove out of the way of the barrage. When the robot touched down beside Shade, it was clear to Tails that something was wrong. The lights of Omega's eyes were flickering between red and purple. His voice generated with difficulty.

"R-r-r-r-r-reporting for d-d-d-duty!"

"This sucks," Tails concluded.

Both the witch and the robot ran to make their counter attack. Omega swung his mechanical arms with great force. Tails dodged, but had magical daggers thrown at him while he did so. His movements were now restricted, so he had to resort to blocking the majority of Omega's blows.

The daggers kept coming; they'd clip him here and there, sapping more of Tails's stamina. Despite blocking, he was getting pummeled by Omega, now. His strength failed, and he was knocked aside. Tails hit a building before slumping on the ground into a seated position. He glanced at the witch weakly.

Shade held up her arm so her opponents could see that she was healed now. "I can drain my enemies' power and gain more strength. The longer you fight me, the more likely you are to lose. You're in no shape to keep going. Just leave,"

"I won't run," Tails stood up.

"I see,"

Shade stepped aside. Omega used his thrusters to surge forward. He readied his right arm for a punch.

"Hi-yah!"

Before the punch could be completed, Omega's right arm was demolished by a hammer strike.

"Not again!" The robot cried with surprising clarity.

The next shot hit him in the torso and left a noticeable dent. The robot was flung away. The rescuer made a pleased declaration.

"Just in time!"

"I think I'd rather let that witch kill me than get saved by Amy," Knuckles considered.

"Shut up, Knuckles!" Amy growled.

"I'm glad you're okay, but what are you doing here?" Tails asked.

"There was an attack. The few people left on campus were told to evacuate into the city. I felt a lot of scary energy coming from here suddenly, so I used my meister-sense. Then I found you!"

"It's called soul perception,"

"Don't give me your nerd corrections now. We have a fight to win!" Amy bonked Tails on the head with her hammer.

Instead of pain, the fox felt his strength returning. "Did you just heal me?"

"Yep. Cream has a healing wavelength,"

"The same power as my mom!" Cream added.

"Another meister and weapon," Shade scanned the area. "Where's that other robot Tikal gave me?"

The robot she was looking for appeared just then. It clawed at Amy, but the meister moved in time. She swung her weapon back at the attacker, but missed. The powerful thrusters embedded into the machine's legs were allowing it to maneuver through the air with precision. It landed by Omega, who was back to standing up.

"Wha-? Amy sputtered. "Is that a robot-Sonic?"

"Why do you have a robot version of my brother?" Tails demanded.

Shade gestured at Metal Sonic. "Tikal found this thanks to that scientist. It used to belong to the DWMA," She became bewildered. "I don't know why I'm telling you this. Maybe it's because you're unthreatening?"

"Unthreatening?" Amy glowered. "We'll show you!"

Both groups charged in to square off once more.