Yo fanfiction world! Storm Hawk 21 here is back with the next chapter for Knight of the Wind, Princess of Fire. It's hard to write stories with so many things to distract me on the internet, mainly anime. I've watched at least twenty episodes in one day, and I'm still trying to beat that. But oh well. I will still continue to update, just maybe not that fast.

Oh, and I apologize in advance if any of the characters are OOC. I do hope that this chapter sheds some light on some things, though. I ain't entirely certain which direction I want this story to go, but I hope that I can at least make it enjoyable for you guys and gals to ready.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog. You hear that? Me no own Sonic. Let me repeat, I space DON'T space OWN space SONIC.

Chapter 2 – Study Knight

Station Central High, Emerald Town, 12:04 P.M.

You know, fighting a huge robot that very much resembled a red and yellow egg with arms, legs, and a really, really bad mustache seemed to be a whole lot easier in my head. Then again, in my head, I'm an anthropomorphic, cobalt blue/cyan blue hedgehog that's capable of running faster than the speed of light and possesses a whole slew of other abilities that would take a while to list and/or explain. Oh, and I'm also wielding a legendary knightsword that is actually Excalibur in disguise.

In reality, however, I'm scrambling all over the place trying not to get squashed or toasted (I swear, it's almost like Blaze is aiming at me). My sword is barely any longer than a knife, and serves only to only scratch and irritate the mustachioed mechanical monstrosity. Not to mention my swordsmanship was, as Tails might say, "utterly abominable". I'm also starting to get pretty tired, and I'm just narrowly managing to dodge this thing's clumsy attacks.

During a brief interval between attacks, I sneak a glance to my partner (or is it princess? I'm not too sure) and I can honestly say that I'm not surprised to find that she's faring much better than I am. In fact, she's barely broken a sweat! She looks kind of annoyed, though. I guess that she would've taken this thing down already if it wasn't so flame-retardant. Then my gaze shifts to her weapon.

It was a staff, or scepter, of sorts, with some jewels inlaid in its head. I counted four in total, but there seemed to be some notches where more could be placed. Each gem flashed in accordance with her flames, almost like they were… linked.

I looked at my own sword and at the similar recesses carved into the hilt. Maybe…

I took out my good-luck charm and noticed that it could possibly fit. I was dimly aware that the robot had resumed its offensive, and Blaze was yelling at me. Something about, "Sol Emeralds… function… activates… requires…" and "GET BACK IN THE FIGHT ALREADY!"

But I ignored her. Hesitantly, I set the small emerald into one of the niches. It 'clicked' in place and I waited. Then, it seemed like time stopped. The sword began glowing, and I'm not sure if it was the ground shaking or if it was me. The blade lengthened to a little over twice its original length, making it a good few inches longer than my arm. Even when the lights died down, the shaking did not stop, and at this point I am certain that it wasn't just me. Blaze was struggling to keep her balance and the robot had toppled over.

Suddenly, a soft voice that filled me with warmth said, "Awaken, protector of the emeralds of chaos. The world once again needs your help. Do not let the world fall to Chaos."

Then, as abruptly as it began, it was over. The only proof that it actually happened was Blaze staring at me in surprise, the robot struggling to rise from where it had fallen into one of the buildings, and my newly lengthened blade.

I also felt… different. Faster, stronger, lighter. Suddenly the sword didn't feel so awkward in my hands anymore. My vision and my reflexes were much sharper.

While I was busy examining myself, the machine decided that it was a good time to deliver an attack. But, it was moving so slow. I could easily dodge this. But I didn't. Instead, I ran towards it, climbing up one of its legs and kicking off its chest. Once in the air, I curled up into a ball, held my sword out, and spun.

I tore through the metal with ease, cleaving the robot in half. It would've been more impressive if I hadn't landed on my face afterwards. OW!

I picked myself up and rolled out of the way in the nick of time, just as the machine collapsed into a pile of scrap and exploded. I smirked and hefted my sword over my shoulder before glancing back at Blaze. She wasn't there anymore.

Just as I was going to take a look around, I felt something connecting with my cheek and a very sharp pain emanating from the point of impact. Plus, my face was still smarting from my earlier faceplant. My knees buckled and I fell on my back again.

Looking up, I saw an irritated Blaze. She grabbed me by the collar, picked me up, and began to violently shake me. "Why didn't you do that sooner? What happened to your sword? What is this 'protector of the emeralds of chaos' business? And more importantly, WHERE DID YOU GET A SOL EMERALD?"

"I… don't… know…what… you're talk…ing about!"

"The Emerald you put into your sword!" She finally decided to stop shaking me, but she was still ticked. And I was dizzy. But at least now I could answer her.

"You mean my good-luck charm?" She nodded. "I've always had it with me. I don't remember when or where I got it, I just know that it's not a Sol Emerald."

"How?"

I was about to answer her when I heard sirens in the distance. Really? The cops are just getting here now, after we beat that thing?

Blaze seemed to hear it too. "We are not done. Do you have a place where we can talk without interruptions?" I nodded, unsure where she was going with this. "Good. Take me there." Without even waiting for me to reply, she began dragging me along. I managed to grab my sword from where I dropped it. I returned it to its sheath, idly noting that it grew along with the sword. I couldn't dwell on the issue for too long, as Blaze just pulled harder and I desperately tried to stay on my feet.

What have I gotten myself into?

Sonic's Hideout, 12:45 P.M.

It took longer to get here than I thought, since we had to avoid being seen by other people. Two kids with weapons and covered with post-battle grime walking away from a flaming, half-demolished school? Reporters would eat that up. But all that matters is that we've arrived.

Where? Read the location.

It wasn't anything fancy, just an abandoned construction site. The fence was still up, the building (it was supposed to be a warehouse, I think) was half-finished under the tarps, and the construction equipment was steadily gathering dust. The contractor just left it like this; I don't know why they never finished. Something about a strike from the workers. Whatever. I found this place was perfect for me to ride my Extreme Gear.

I guess this place was like my own escape. Nobody else knows about this place, not even Tails or Knuckles. It was supposed to stay that way too, but I couldn't think of anywhere else. Besides, it wasn't like Blaze would just blab about it to everyone, right?

Right? … Who the heck am I talking to?

I led her to a hole in the fence I had discovered a couple of years back. She didn't seem to mind crawling or getting dirty, unlike most stereotypical princesses. Then again, nothing was stereotypical about Blaze. I can honestly say that about her, and I just met her this morning. It's kind of weird, but it feels like I already knew her before today.

"Are you going to tell me what we're doing here?" asked Blaze.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. You said you wanted a private place to talk, right? Then follow me." I ducked under the tarp, pushing away those thoughts for later. Burn that bridge when I get there. No pun intended.

In one of the corners, I took the liberty of furnishing the place a bit. Nothing much, just an old recliner someone threw out, a patched-up mattress with equally patched blankets, an ice chest, and a small camp stove. My back-up Extreme Gear, Blue Star II, was leaning against the wall. Clothes and various supplies were strewn about everywhere. Some candles, a flashlight, empty instant noodle bowls and water bottles, etc…

I may not live here, but I do spend quite a bit of time hanging out here. No reason why I should be uncomfortable.

"Make yourself comfortable," I gestured towards the chair and mattress. Blaze chose the recliner, only to find that it couldn't recline anymore. I shrugged and grabbed a soda from the chest, mentally noting to restock my supply.

"Enough stalling. Explain what happened." It wasn't a request.

I plopped down onto the floor. I took a deep breath. "I… don't know."

"What?"

"Exactly what that means. I instinctively knew what to do as soon as I put my lucky charm into the sword. The lights, quake, and voices I'm pretty much clueless about, though."

"Fine. Then your 'lucky charm', you claim it's not a Sol Emerald, but then why does it react in the presence of other Sol Emeralds and emit the same vibes? And how did it come into your possession?"

"Again, some part of me just knows that it isn't a Sol Emerald, whatever that is. And it's always been with me."

Blaze sighed. Clearly she wasn't satisfied with any of my answers. "If it isn't a Sol Emerald, then what is it?"

I was about to reply with another "I don't know", but something stopped me. "The emeralds with the power of chaos," I said instead. "Chaos Emeralds. And I'm supposedly their protector."

THAT got a reaction from her. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped. This was the most expressive I've seen her be all day!

"Chaos Emeralds…? Then, could it be…?" She began mumbling something I couldn't really hear. But I did manage to catch the words "legend", "dimensions", "duty", and "sword".

Figuring that I wouldn't get anywhere if I just let her continue on like that, I interrupted, "BY sword, do you mean Caliburn?"

Blaze nearly jumped out of the chair, like she forgot I was even there. "Y-yes." She cleared her throat. "How did you know the name? Wait, let me guess, 'you just knew', right?"

"Actually the name's on the sheath."

Blaze huffed. This was starting to get fun. "Anyways, Caliburn is a treasure passed down in my family, along with the Jeweled Scepter. Supposedly, adding Emeralds to it will increase both the sword and the wielder's power. But it never reacted with any of the Sol Emeralds, so I'm beginning to think that your 'Chaos Emeralds' might be the key to unlocking its full potential.

"You see, these Emeralds, if they are anything like the Sol Emeralds and I believe that they might exist parallel to each other, are abundant with a special kind of energy produced from within the stones. You seem to harbor some sort of connection with them, so both you and Caliburn will grow once you collect more. It's highly likely that–"

"Whoa, slow down there," I cut her off. Princess or not, my head already hurts. Besides, I'm not one for studying. I'm more of a 'get-it-done' type of person. "Long explanation short, all I need to do is collect more of these rocks until all of these spaces are filled, and for each Emerald both the sword and I get stronger. I don't need to know the specifics."

This time Blaze pouted. It was kind of cute, actually. Now if you excuse me, I need to smack my head into the wall for using the word 'cute'.

"So milady, what really brings you here?" I asked. Blaze actually looked a bit hesitant to answer. "Can't help you if you don't tell me."

She sighed resignedly. "Don't call me that. I… caught the trail for one of the Sol Emeralds and it lead me here. There were a multiple readings, but most of them led to nowhere. One of the more promising signals was emanating from Station Central, so I transferred there. It turns out that it was just your Chaos Emerald."

It made sense, but she was deliberately leaving something out. Well, she has her secrets, I guess. I have my own, after all.

…I probably shouldn't have said that. At least it's just in my thoughts. It's not like people can read them, right?

"So, what are you going to do now?" Hey, it couldn't hurt to ask, right?

"I am going to search for the remaining Sol Emeralds," she replied instantly. "I need to make sure that they do not fall into the wrong hands."

"Like the guy who sent that robot from before?"

"Yes." Blaze pulled out a crumpled photo from her pocket and tossed to me. I un-crumpled it and found myself looking at what might possibly be the most repugnant man on the planet. I really don't want to have to describe him, but it's in the contract…

This… eggman was exactly that: an egg on legs with arms attached. He was wearing a red coat with white straps and yellow buckles and cuffs, white gloves, black pants that seemed to barely fit his bulk, and a pair of black boots with white laces. He was bald, wearing a pair of circular, reflective glasses along with a pair of inventor's goggles and he had had a very creepy grin, beak-like nose (I would like to apologize to every bird in existence for that), and the worst mustache I have ever seen, including the one on the robot. Wait a minute…

"Let me guess, Eggman here is the one who sent that robot?"

Blaze nodded. "His name is Dr. Ivan Robotnik. He used to be a brilliant inventor and a leader in the world of robotics. It was rumored that he was one day going to revolutionize the entire world with his creations. But around five years ago, he just… vanished." I remember Tails telling me something about that. As an inventor himself, Tails was privy to news about stuff like this despite only being five at the time.

She handed me another picture, more crumpled than the previous one. After straightening it out, I was looking at what was probably Eggman's evil twin. Or eviler twin.

He was the same as Eggman in every way, right down to the shape, except that his colors were inversed. He had a black and yellow coat with white buttons and a red bodysuit that led into a pair of black and yellow striped boots. Also, he had semi-circular glasses, a different pair of goggles, and he had white hair rather that brown.

"A few months after his disappearance, he reemerged with this man, who also happens to be a scientist. He calls himself 'Nega'. Both of them began using their machines to create heinous acts of villainy, which normally centered on retrieving gems of some sort."

"The Emeralds," I guessed. Blaze nodded in affirmation. She paused for a moment, as if she wasn't sure how to continue. A moment turned into a minute. A minute turned into several minutes. Several minutes turned into half an hour.

Okay, I think they get it already.

I impatiently began fidgeting. It was difficult for me to stay still for too long, and it seemed like Blaze probably wasn't going to say anything soon. Finally, I gave in and said, "I'm wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-ting!"

She glared at me. "This is a very difficult topic for me to discuss. You cannot expect me to just tell you straight out."

"Well excu-u-u-u-u-u-u-se me Princess," I cringed at the expression. If I used that too often, I'd take up a vow of silence for the rest of my life now and any/all of my incarnations in the future.

That seemed to trigger something in Blaze as she stood up and glared at me with an intense burning. Literally. Her eyes were on fire!

"Excuse you? Excuse you?" she repeated disdainfully. "How am I supposed to tell you about how my family was given the duty, nay, the honor of guarding the Sol Emeralds and has been passing the role of guardian down for generations? And how that role was eventually succeeded by me, the girl with the cursed flames? Or how they were stolen under my watch?

"My entire life, people saw me as a monster all because of this accursed fire! I thought that I might finally be able to prove myself to everyone by using this curse to protect these stupid rocks, like my noble ancestors before me. But no, I couldn't ever have something go well for me because they were stolen by those blasted Eggmen the one moment I let my guard down!

"I couldn't face anybody after this had happened, so I ran! Go ahead and laugh at me. I ran away from everything and I intend to never return until after I recover the Sol Emeralds and restore them to their rightful places. Otherwise I'll never amount to nothing more than a monster to those people!" Blaze broke down and fell to her knees, sobs wracking her entire body. She desperately tried to stop, but she couldn't.

I froze. That fire in her eyes, she… she was actually crying. With tears made of flame. I may be new to this whole 'knight' thing, but I'm certain that making a girl, especially your princess/liege, was on the "Do NOT Do" list. I hesitantly stood up, but Blaze didn't stop.

Aw man, this is so not cool.

I dug around my pocket and produced a blue handkerchief. Tails and Knuckles had laughed at me when I decided to get a fireproof one. Well, who's laughing now? Not me, since I still have to deal with Blaze.

I handed her the piece of cloth and she took it without question. She dabbed at the small fires trailing down her face. I waited a few moments before I said anything.

"I'm sorry. Please stop crying." That's right, not only did I, Riccio "Sonic the Hedgehog" Vento-Cavaliere, apologize, I also said please. Somebody call the record books!

Blaze sniffled. "It's alright. I… should not have broken down like that."

I lowered myself to one knee to I could speak to her eye-to-eye. "Don't worry about it. If you hold everything in for too long, then you might just burst someday. Besides, there's nothing like a brief lapse into madness to relieve stress, I always say." She gave a very small smile (I almost couldn't see it and I get the feeling I wasn't supposed to) and wiped the last of her tears before handing me back my handkerchief. It wasn't even hot, just a nice, pleasant warm.

"Hey, princess…" I began, but she cut me off.

"Blaze, just Blaze, Sonic. You might be my knight, but I am practically an exiled princess. Besides, I never cared much for that title."

"Fine… Blaze? You wouldn't happen to have a place to stay, would you?"

Her eyes widened. "I was so focused on retrieving the Emeralds that I might have neglected certain… things."

I chuckled. Don't get me wrong, I'm not making fun of her. It's just that she's… different from anybody else I know. A good different. "Then why don't you stay with me at my place? I've got plenty of room."

"Would your parents mind?"

My mood dampened slightly, but I was careful not to let it show. "I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind having a guest stay over more than having me fight a giant egg-bot. That is, if they were around at all…"

I hadn't meant for that last part to come out, but judging from Blaze's expression I had probably sounded very angry.

"What did you just say?"

"Yeah, um… the thing is… how can I put this?" I mentally berated myself for slipping like that, but I might as well tell her since she (albeit forced and angrily) told me about her situation. "I never really knew them. As far as I can remember, my mom left me on my uncle's doorstep when I was still a baby. I know nothing about my dad."

"Oh, I am sorry to–"

"Don't," I interjected. "I got tired of hearing that after the first time. Besides, I like living with my uncle Chuck. He's way past cool."

"Then he would not mind if…"

"Yeah man. You can stay with us for as long as you need, and I'm sure I'm speaking for the both of us." Then, I 'innocently' mentioned, "Besides, he's off at a science expo so it'll just be the two of us."

I grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the building. When I looked back, I have to admit that I guiltily enjoyed her flustered expression. Not that I would ever do or even try anything. That wouldn't be cool.

And I am way past cool.

Thanks for reading everybody. Please remember to leave a review. How else am I supposed to find out if you liked this story or not?