I'm so sorry for this being so late everyone. Just like A Second Glance, I couldn't keep up with the one chapter a month. My creativity kind of plummeted and writer's block ensued, yet now I'm been hit by the writing bug, so hopefully I can get going. I've gotten a writer position on a pet site, so that will take priority, but it is helping making me write more. So again, I'm so sorry! Here's some cute Silver action as he charms nearly everyone he meets. Poor Blaze, she has no idea what she is getting into. I also had to cut this chapter in half due to being blocked on the last part. So the next chapter is half written, don't worry!
"You're late." The grumpy voice could only belong to her mentor, the Guardian of Angel Falls. A crimson echidna was walking towards her, stopping only a few feet away from a makeshift altar in the ruins. His amethyst eyes would always flicker back over his shoulder towards the remnants of the Master Emerald, observing the green-tinted lightning that crackled around it. That was a reminder of the unlimited power it once held, now out of balance. Blaze never minded that her mentor's attention was always split into two, after all, he was the only one who could calm the unstable energy if it went out of control, something that even the other two who had connections to the Emerald couldn't do. The cat shook her head, shifting the sleeping child in her arms.
"I ran into some trouble. Most of the food sources are depleted or polluted." With her head, Blaze motioned to the bag of berries at her side. It wasn't the amount they had hoped for, but it had to do until they figured out something else. It was getting more and more dangerous to leave Angel Falls. Knuckles crossed his arms over his chest, rubbing his forehead. Even though it was a few months after the takeover, the destruction caused by Mephiles had been immense. The city was in ruins and the devastation of the Eggman Empire's factories had only hastened the pollution. Choices were becoming slimmer and slimmer, and the people who once populated Aer had broken up into small groups, fiercely guarding their own food supplies.
"So our only choice now is to either head farther out or hope that Tails has perfected the rejuvenation treatment for the trees here." The echidna looked more worried than before, for good reason. It was true that the young fox, only two years younger than Blaze, was a genius and could develop such a thing quicker than all outside sources, but there was only so much he could do with the resources he had with him. Previous prototypes only lasted so long on the greenery in Angel Falls, especially due to the unstable Chaos energy. Normally the trees thrived with the Master's power without need for constant water or sunlight, yet with it shattered…
And then there was the problem of trading with the humans to get the necessary parts; due to the Shattering, they stayed away from Aer and the surrounding land, retreating to their own country. Due to that, there were few humans left here and many of them were not too friendly with outsiders. A rustle of the cloth-covered child drew Knuckle's attention towards her arms, now realizing that she was carrying something else. His brows furrowed, looking from it up to her.
"Ah, looks like the cat did drag something in. What's in the bundle there?" Blaze hesitated, frowning slightly. There was a small chance that her mentor would not like having yet another person who would have to share their sanctuary, especially with the Master Emerald so near, yet… However she had a hunch that Knuckles wouldn't turn away a small child, just like he took her in when she was younger. Carefully pulling the cloth back from the hedgehog's face, she turned him in her arms so the echidna could see him properly. Before he could open his mouth and demand that they didn't need another mouth to feed, she quickly answered.
"A Titan was after this child. I'm not sure why, or even where he came from, but…" Blaze's voice softened unintentionally, looking down at the small silver hedgehog, "He's like me." The commotion drew the sleepy child from his nap. For once, the Guardian deemed the damaged Master under control and turned his gaze fully towards the now squirming kid. He was interested in the fact that Blaze had taken someone home, especially it being a child.
"The kid's got powers too? Ironic…" He was silent for a few seconds, staring at the child who giggled up at him, one tiny hand reaching out to bat at his dreadlocks. The sleepy gaze of it seemed to capture him and hold him in place before those eyes slid shut again. Where had he seen such life before except in his student and the two heroes from before? He jerked his gaze away and rubbed his forehead; he was getting too soft. But if he was going to stay, then there had to be one rule set in place.
"Alright, he can stay, but you're going to have to look after this new little brother of yours now. I am not a babysitter!" The echidna held up his hands and shook his head. A small smile caught Knuckle's eyes, emitting from his feline student. It was rare that he saw such a smile, and it would keep her occupied during the long hours where Knuckles had to meditate with the Emerald in an attempt to find out the shards' locations.
'Little brother? I've… never had any siblings before…'
Blaze turned away and walked to the portion of the ruins where she made her 'home', or what one could call a home anyway in this place. It was a still standing building of stone, one wall nearly cracked in half. Large stones were placed around the area, standing in as furniture where the 'bed' had soft grass and moss that acted as bedding. Random items were stacked up on a built in shelf carved in long ago, ranging from small coins and gems to some mechanical devices from Tails and his human friend. What was her name again? The feline paused before the name came to her. Maria, it was Maria! Eggman's little cousin, a girl who was the opposite of the notoriously evil doctor.
The child woke up with a start and squirmed in her arms, bringing her back to the present. She hushed him, awkwardly trying to rock him. Maybe she would ask Rogue on how to properly take care of a baby next time she flew in. Putting the bag down on the makeshift table, she walked over to the low stone bed, sitting down as she tried to calm the child. Nervousness seeped into her body, wishing that she knew what the squirming hedgehog wanted. A tiny hand reached up and tried to tug on her ears, the cries turning into giggles. She titled her head. His eyes followed one twitching ear. Wait….
Another tilt of her head. Again those yellow eyes followed it, especially when it twitched. Silver's eyes widened, like it was a game or a toy… Toy? Both ears flattened, observing once more how fascinated Silver was acting. A sudden tug on her ear made her wince and flinch back, only to see a teal aura in her peripheral vision. Her right ear was being tugged by the aura, the child holding both hands out to eagerly grab ahold of the soft looking object before Blaze shook her head, the aura easily dispelled. So the child wanted to play, yet she wasn't confident in herself to properly play with the baby. For the first time, she wished the white bat was here. Something gold glinted at her as the sun began to move towards the horizon, drawing her attention. In the corner of her room, there was a pile of Sonic's golden rings. Frowning, she remembered that Tails was supposed to come by to pick them up yet had been held up by a contact from the nearest remaining city. Perhaps…
Testing her theory, the cat stood up, retrieving one of the circular items and returning to her seat near the child. The golden ring was dangled in the air before Silver, whose eyes seemed to widen at the shiny object. Eyes locked on to it, no matter where Blaze moved it, it never left his sight. It wasn't much, but by the aura that appeared and tugged it down towards the child, it should suffice as a 'toy' for him. Letting go, the ring floated unsteadily down towards Silver, who giggled and attempted to slobber all over the golden item. Well, Blaze thought with a sheepish smile, Sonic wouldn't have minded too much over this, right? It should keep him occupied too.
"Stay here, Silver." She whispered down to him, touching his small arm before she quickly left the room, noticing how the kid barely seemed to see her leaving. Once out of sight of Silver, Blaze shuddered, causing her hands to fly up and rub her arms. Her fur still tingled from passing through the barely visible barrier of Chaos energy the Master Emerald was putting off. Due to her initially being from a dimension where there was Sol energy, not Chaos energy, it always made her feel uncomfortable and out of place no matter.
However it wasn't as if she remembered what her homeland had been like, she had been sent here when she was barely two and the last memories she had was of the Sol Emeralds shattering and the Sol energies going out of control. And then there was that soft warm voice of who she believed to be her mother, telling her that everything would be alright before the portal closed. Regardless of where she came from, her Sol energy wasn't too compatible with the Chaos energy, thus she wisely kept her distance from the broken Emerald.
Running her gloved hand through her ponytail, a deep frown etched itself onto her face. Many times since The Shattering she found herself wondering if the two events could possibly be connected. The Sol Emeralds of her dimension shattering was all too similar to what had happened here years later, yet other than that, there was no evidence that could connect the two. Sighing dejectedly, she kept her eyes on the ground, watching the half-wilted grass struggling to stand against the pummeling of a mere gust of wind.
It took Blaze a few moments to realize she stopped around fifteen feet away from her mentor, the designated minimum safe distance that protected her from the unstable energy of the Master Emerald. Knuckles had his back to her, eyes almost always glued onto the three large shards that had been rescued from its previous resting grounds.
"What power did you say the kid had?" The cat almost jumped at him suddenly talking, forgetting that while he usually was silent and looked as if he had the utmost concentration, he could easily tell what was going on around him, and thus most likely heard her approach. Blaze blinked, glancing back at her modest house before replying.
"Psychokinesis. Although he has some sort of control over it, if his concentration wavers, it disappears." An intrigued grunt answered her in response before he straightened. A sudden realization overcame her mentor, eyes darting to where her house was in the ruins with dread.
"Blaze… Don't tell me you just left that child all alone."
"I left him on the bed. He was playing with one of Sonic's rings. It's not like he could run off and get into trouble." Blaze frowned, not seeing what the problem is. The child just woke up, and was quite enamored with the ring.
"You forget this is a baby you're talking about! That and you said he had powers, telekinesis?" The echidna rubbed his forehead. This was falling apart already, there was a reason why he disliked having many people on this portion of the land, not only because of the dangerous energy sparks the Master sent out every now and then unless he calmed it, but because of a creature that lurked nearby, one powerful enough to control any source of water it came across without any effort. One that he happened to be unable to control.
"Didn't you forget about a certain guardian who doesn't like to be disturbed, even by me? If that child runs into Chaos… Just go and find him!" Knuckles was fuming, pushing the small cat towards the forest around them. Blaze sighed, knowing well not to argue, especially since he did have a point. Chaos hated to be disturbed, and the only one who could understand and influence his actions was hidden in the nearby temple, but she wasn't easy to find either unless she sensed danger. Turning with a nod, she quickly began to set off towards the forest, but she was only a few feet away when she heard an inhumane shriek emitting from behind her. Flinching despite herself, she glanced behind her.
The shards of the Master were radiating with a green energy, lightning sparking between the three. The shriek increased as the shards began to vibrate. Knuckles clenched his jaw and walked towards it, ignoring the energy that was lashing out at him. Placing both hands on the nearest shard, he began to mumble at it as he closed his eyes.
"Oh calm down, Emerald." The Guardian mumbled, not flinching as a lightning strike arched near his face. Smiling in relief that the Emerald would be calmed down, the cat turned away, shivering with the massive amounts of energy pouring from the Emerald's temper tantrum. She could only hope that her new little brother had fallen asleep with the ring, and not have wandered off. The spirit in the ancient ruins was fine with others wandering around but Chaos… She quickened her pace.