Blaze's first clue that something was wrong was her inability to drift off. She'd been so leaden with exhaustion earlier that she probably could have sunk right through the floor if her mattress wasn't in the way. Yet here she was, well past midnight and not a bit closer to sleep. Had she forgotten something? She ran through the day's events – laundry and dishes after a late brunch, breathing exercises to prepare both her voice and nerves for the evening, dinner, hair and makeup, the show, and then back to the apartment where she'd —

Shadow. Before she'd been surprised by Silver, she'd been expecting a post-show critique from her secret tutor. And as her raised fur bore witness to, her apprehension was no less for the delay. He was here. She could sense it. She could also sense that he wasn't pleased.

With the skill of her feline kind, she remained perfectly still, save for twitching ears and darting eyes. Why hadn't he said anything yet? She waited several agonizing minutes until she couldn't take the silent waiting anymore.

"Maestro?"

The question held like a fermata before the voice finally responded. "The hedgehog – who is he?"

It was not at all the question Blaze had expected, and bewilderment briefly eclipsed her anxiety. "He's an old friend, maestro. I knew him before Father passed."

"You seemed very pleased to see him," he commented, though Blaze sensed it for the question it actually was.

Where is he going with this? "He was my only friend growing up. And I haven't seen him in years." Under her confusion, the nagging fear of inadequacy still itched at her. She took a moment to steel herself. "Maestro, my performance tonight. Was it.. passable?"

The tension in the room all but vanished. "Do you doubt that it was?" he asked disbelievingly.

She did, but she wasn't about to admit that weakness to her teacher. "An artist is hardly the most objective judge of their own work..."

"My dear Maria, you were nothing less than magnificent." With those words, a great weight lifted off the young singer. Blaze audibly sighed with relief, and a huge grin spread across her face as her teacher continued. "Your portrayals of playful innocence, yearning desire, and wrenching sorrow were all genuinely heartfelt. You convinced your audience and — more importantly — you convinced yourself. That was no role. You became Maria."

The warmth of satisfaction bloomed in her chest. "Thank you, Shadow. If I was truly that wonderful, then it is only because of your instruction."

A pause. Then — "What did you call me?"

Blaze's train of thought screeched to a halt as she processed what she'd just said. "Oh! Rouge said that's what she calls you."

"Did our fair director say anything else about me?"

Did he have something to hide? Aside from himself, apparently. "No. As a matter of fact, she was quite tight-lipped about the subject."

An amused chuckle. "Do I sense some resentment? Do remember that curiosity doesn't always work out for your species. Although..." He drifted off into a thoughtful silence.

"...yes?"

"I told you once that a true act of music reveals the soul of the performer. Do you remember that?"

That first lesson, three months ago. "Of course."

"You have sung for me many times over the past weeks, Maria, and because of that, I understand you. I know you. Perhaps it is only fair that I return that favor. Perhaps your inquisitiveness deserves some answers. Would you like that?"

"Only if you really want to." Blaze's words were calm, but the twitching tip of her tail betrayed her excitement.

"It would be my pleasure," he replied warmly. "Close your eyes."

Whatever Blaze was expecting, it wasn't a searing light beyond her eyelids and then a sudden sense of vertigo.

When her head stopped spinning, Blaze became aware of cold air and soft beeping. Opening her eyes showed a mostly dark room lit only with a few emergency fluorescent lamps and the colored indicator lights of a dozen machines.

She slowly rose to her feet and investigated the nearest monitor screen. As far as she could tell, all the machinery was idle or on standby, save those maintaining environmental factors.

Her observations were interrupted by the tap of approaching footsteps. As she looked up, the door slid open to reveal a male hedgehog.

"Welcome, Maria."

His voice confirmed what she had already assumed: this was her tutor. Shadow's eyes jumped out at her first, crimson and bright as a warning strobe. His black body was nearly invisible in the room's darkness, an effect ruined by traditional white gloves, a red head stripe, and shoes that softly glowed from beneath.

"Thank you." She briefly considered attempting small talk before abandoning the notion and asking the question she actually wanted answered: "You live in a laboratory?"

Shadow tilted his head. "Why do you say that?"

Blaze motioned at the computers. "Temperature, humidity, and air quality controls; sterilized everything; science equipment."

Shadow nodded approvingly. "Excellent observations. Yes, this is a laboratory, of a sort."

"Unusual housing choice. And the scientists don't mind you staying here?"

Shadow chuckled, a sound that was equal parts actual amusement and secret knowing, with a tinge of… resentment? "I wouldn't know. The station has been abandoned for years."

"Oh. Okay." Blaze jogged after Shadow as he left the room. She trailed him through equally metallic and impersonal hallways, designated only by department and numerical code. "And no one's ever come to check up on things? This place doesn't exactly look like it was cheap to build."

Now Shadow definitely looked like he knew something she didn't. He waved his hand forward (a completely needless gesture, really, since she was already following him). "Let me show you something."

He led her to a metal door much like all the others they'd passed. The only difference was the security panel, which looked as though it had been severely damaged at some time, then repaired by someone of only middling ability – it didn't look pretty, but it still worked, as Shadow proved when he input a code and the gate opened. Blaze stepped through the doorway and gasped.

Although this room contained equipment far more impressive than the one she'd arrived in, her attention was dominated by the large angular windows that lined two full walls. Blaze approached one slowly, almost reverently, and pressed her gloved hand against the glass as she looked out over the turquoise sphere below.

Shadow came alongside her. "Well?" he asked, eyes fixed not on the magnificent view but on her face.

"It's gorgeous," Blaze breathed. "Pictures don't really do it justice, do they?" Belatedly, it occurred to her that this was even less normal than living in a science lab. "You live on a space station?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Shadow shrugged dismissively. "I suppose you would call me a loner. I tend to prefer my own thoughts to the company of others."

"So do I, but that doesn't mean I live on a space station."

"You must admit the view is superior to any found on the planet."

"Okay. Space station." It sounded no less bizarre the third time she said it, but Blaze knew better than to dwell on a topic when she wasn't making mental progress. "That's quite the commute to the theatre." Blaze suddenly thought of the sci-fi shows Miles occasionally referenced. "Did they build a teleporter up here?"

"Something like that."

"Wait, really? I was kidding..." Blaze trailed off as she followed after her host. Shadow led her back the way they'd come in, though she quickly lost track of where they were even before they passed the room she'd entered originally. Eventually they emerged into an open, tiled room that still had folded tables lining the far wall.

Her brows scrunched in confusion. She'd thought he was showing her the teleporter room since she asked about it (sort of), which this clearly not. "Isn't most of the food up here past the 'best by' date by a decade or so?"

Shadow said nothing and walked behind what had probably been the serving area; she couldn't tell whether Shadow missed her attempt at humor or just ignored it. "I'd give you a proper tour of the facility, but there's barely anything worth seeing. Most of the rooms are simple labs, and you've already seen the only area with a decent view of space."

"Then why did you bring me to the cafeteria?"

Shadow's smile was unexpectedly quiet and sweet. "Because this is the only room with both a good intercom system and a record player."

An unseen violin filled the room with the sonorous notes of a classic Strauss waltz. Despite the upbeat sound of the music, Blaze found herself blinking back tears. "Father..."

Shadow had returned to her side. "Do you dance, Blaze?" he asked, hand extended.

She lightly grasped it with her own. "Nothing more than the basic steps."

"Neither do I." But he still led her to the center of the room. His other hand rested lightly on the small of her back, and together they spun smoothly and simply across the floor. It seemed a little silly, dancing in an abandoned lunchroom, but the familiarity of the movement and music was much stronger. Between it and her earlier reunion with Silver, Blaze recognized a sense of safety and belonging that she hadn't experienced for years.

After what felt like both only a few seconds and many hours, the needle slipped off the edge of the record and the cafeteria returned to its ghostly silence. The dancers came to a halt and bowed graciously to each other – and then Blaze startled herself by yawning. She may have forgotten the full day she'd come from, but her body was fully aware that it was going on three o'clock in the morning back home. Suddenly even standing was a challenge.

Shadow chuckled affably and beckoned to her. "I'll take you to the old dormitories."

And so Blaze blearily shuffled down the barren hallways once more. Shadow walked beside her, and when her tired feet stumbled he was right there to steady her. On one of these occasions she noticed him smiling, but it wasn't amusement at her expense, just fond. And maybe it was just her sleep-deprived brain, but she had the sense that although he was looking at her, he was seeing someone else entirely.

Eventually, Shadow guided her through a doorway and towards a white, spartan cot. She promptly collapsed on the bed – it was little more than a thick pallet on a metal frame, but anything would do for now. She found herself covered with a rough but warm blanket, then soft footsteps moved to the doorway.

"Good night, Maria," Shadow murmured.

Blaze's mumbled reply was lost in the mattress, and she was out before her tutor even left the room.

Just barely less than a year between updates, yay! ...That yay is only partly sarcastic. Clearly I was never meant to write multi-chapter fics, but I will finish this one if it takes until I'm 30. Which it might.

I'm aware that it's not exactly subtle what's going on in Shadow's head, but remember, Blaze has never heard of that one blond human girl. As far as she knows, Shadow is just doing the call-the-actor-by-their-character thing. Dramatic irony, folks.

Next chapter: fallout at the theatre, because dead body.