Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognized characters or gameplay patterns within this fanfiction. Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Eggman, Blaze, and all related characters of such are owned by SEGA. All original character's are owned by me, unfortunately.
Exile 8.9
They swiftly fell into a routine, Blaze felt, that only strengthened how they handled the things the world threw at them. Blaze would stay down below, letting her eyes heal and slowly regaining her fires from the time trap back at Vianex, while the others stayed above, with Spark or Tails navigating based on who wasn't sleeping.
She still wasn't sure how her fires had been sealed, but slowly she was regaining more of her former strength. By the end of the third day after the whirlpools, she was able to see in more detailed shapes as her eyes healed, almost being able to make out Tails and Spark's faces. She couldn't quite make out their expressions yet, but she was getting there. Colors were starting to pop back into view too, now as she could see the blue of the sky and the blue of the sea. The burns, too, had healed by that point. Calling up her fire didn't hurt anymore, and once she could see in fine detail she was planning on making a new set of clothes.
Tails would stay atop the deck, occasionally coming down only to sleep or eat. Spark would bide her time with either of them, either lying on top of the deck talking with Tails and sunning herself, catching food for them which seemed to be even more plentiful the further southwest they went, or down below the deck with Blaze, slowly learning common and playing games on Tails' tablet.
She had grown fond of the word games that Tails had installed in there, playing around with ways to make it translate to her native tongue before she would set it back to common again. It was a way for her to learn, and it was rare that Blaze had to step in with a correction to pronunciation.
It was evening, now, and the full moon was starting to rise over the horizon. Sunset had been a while ago, and Spark was currently sailing by the stars, and Tails was asleep. Blaze took the moment to step up to the deck, feeling and smelling and hearing the sound of the unbridled ocean as it passed around them. "I thought you would have been asleep," Spark asked in common. Her speech was stilted and hard to perceive, but Blaze was used to it. Spark rarely spoke her native tongue now, forcing herself to learn common. She had requested that both Tails and Blaze hold nothing back, and to only speak it.
It led to some miscommunications. "I tried, but sleep wasn't coming. Thought I'd come up here and see if you need the help."
"No, I do not. I sorry for the thought."
Miscommunications. "Thank you for the thought," Blaze corrected gently. Spark looked frustrated before she nodded. She was getting better, but there was still only so much she could learn from kids books to conversation. And sometimes Tails would lapse into technospeak about the tablet that made Spark ask Blaze for a translation. Blaze had no idea.
"I'd still like to enjoy the sun. Next storm should be here soon, I think," Blaze mentioned as she looked up. She kept her eyes well away from the full moon and while she could see darker colors on the horizon, she wasn't sure if those were clouds or not. Fine details still eluded her. But the air pressure also gave it away; the area they were in wanted to storm again.
A wind passed through, catching the sail handily. Spark reached out, barely thinking as she corrected their course. It was brisk and chill, but not icy, not like it had been during the storms or during her and Tails' trip down to Ikan'Thoa.
"Do you think that Tails...would want me, eventually? Before you two go home?" Spark asked in her native language. Blaze blinked, forcing herself to switch over again. She'd gotten better at it, but sometimes her mind was still fogged up.
She sighed though after a moment. "I'll be honest. I don't know. Everyone keeps coming to me for advice, and the only advice I know-"
"Is to show a display of force and or burn down a town. I remember that story," Tails voice said as his head peaked out. One of his eyes was shut and he looked as if he just woke up, seeing as most of the fur on his head was still matted on one side.
"Wait, what?" Spark asked, a teasing tone starting to enter her voice as she went back to common. "I want to hear this story," she said.
"No, no you don't," Blaze answered for her.
"Yes, yes she does," Tails teased. "Blaze is a princess in her home world of the Sol Empire. Think Strike, just less mean. Anyways, she had a bunch of suitors, sapients that wanted to get to know her if she was a viable match for them."
"More for me to know if they were a match for me, than anything," Blaze answered, rolling her eyes gently. If she wasn't going to get to tell the story, the least she could do is correct their assumptions. Spark seemed content though, her head going back and forth between the two of them.
"You know what I meant. But she ran across a really nasty piece of work, and to show him off she gave a massive display of fire around him, scaring him off."
"It wasn't 'massive', it was a single room. And I didn't lose control. That was another time. And I didn't 'scare him off', he wet his pants as he left."
"You didn't tell me that part."
"I didn't want you to repeat it!" Blaze said as if speaking the obvious. "Although if I had known you were going to repeat it anyways, I would have said much more of the full story."
"No, I think I get it," Spark said, her voice telling her grin for her. "But how do you have such control over your fire? I have been attempt to ask."
Tails stared at her for a moment. "I think you mean 'I have been wanting to ask'."
"What he said," Spark said, tilting her head in Tails' direction. "And shouldn't you be asleep? Your shift isn't for another quarter turn."
Tails pulled himself up. He seemed much more relaxed around them now, Blaze noticed, even with her clothes in complete tatters. That thought still made her uncomfortable, but until she could see fine details and wasn't going to stab her hands with a needle...
"Couldn't really sleep, and the Miles Electric is still charging. So I thought I'd come up and see what you're both talking about. I don't have many other projects going on."
"You could always use the other bags and take up sewing," Blaze deadpanned. "I'd do it myself but, well...I don't trust myself with a needle."
"I'd need to know the measurements."
"Like you don't already?" Blaze asked. "You've been around us for a couple of weeks."
"I'm not...do you really think so low of me?" Tails asked, his voice hurt.
Blaze sighed. That was mean of her, she had to admit. "No, I don't. Sorry, full moon," she said, looking up at the large round circle hanging high in the sky. Spark tilted her head, as if she didn't understand, but Tails seemed to as he let the matter drop.
"It's okay. I get it, it's stress," Tails said, popping down below again. He made sure to make some extra noise as he grabbed the tablet, making sure it was in the moonlight to charge.
"What does the moon do?" Spark asked as Tails went to shuffle to the back, "And why would he know?"
"It's just a signal. That's all. We've been out here for a while, haven't we?" Blaze said.
"We have. Have you used the rimweed, recently?" Spark asked.
"No. Wanted to save it for if it gets bad. Why?"
"Because now time is..."Spark struggled for a moment to find the right words, before she gave up and spoke native again, "time is screwing up. The full moon was not that long ago. We have not been out here for a full cycle."
"You think something's gone wrong?"
"No, I think we are officially in the Blooming Tides area of effect. If we were not already," Spark answered. "From here on, we should not get used to timing anything. Look up," she suggested. Blaze gave it a quick look. Instead of the dark blue or black she was expecting, it was almost a light pink, as if from sunset.
Blaze had wondered why her body hadn't told her what was going on, like it usually did.
A wave hit the side of the boat suddenly, forcing it off course. Spark grabbed onto the mast, holding it down as Blaze extended her claws and grabbed into the metal of the deck. "Rogue wave?" she asked.
"No, storm wave!" Tails' voice called out. He held the tablet out carefully so Spark could see it. "I added a feature into the scanner to determine pressure waves, for weather planning. Hold on!" he yelled.
Blaze ducked to the deck as she felt another wave hit them on the side, tossing them around. She reached out as Spark lost her grip on the mast, grabbing her by the tail. There was an instant shock that made Blaze almost drop her, but the cat held on before the vixen grabbed onto the side. "Thank you!" she yelled as she pulled herself up.
"Take the mast down, go below deck!" Blaze shouted as the wind started to roar around them. It had been peaceful almost a few seconds ago, and now the wind was screaming in their ears, and the waves were getting larger and larger. Even now they were almost half the size of the boat, pushing and pulling them with a vigor that made Blaze rethink how sturdy the Grace was.
"We can make it!" Spark yelled as she forced the mast forward to catch the wind. Blaze dove down into the area below deck, where Tails was working by the light of the tablet.
"Rope, right!?" he asked, as he threw a coil towards Blaze. She caught it, feeling the same material that they had used for their makeshift hut, way back when. Three months ago? No, less. Two and a half months. Had they really been here that long? No, less. Two months. She couldn't keep track of time anymore, could she?
"Spark, tie this around yourself then!" Blaze said, tossing the coil up. Spark's headshape tilted, but she quickly started to tie herself up as another wave hit them. She tossed down the other half.
Blaze tossed it back to Tails. "You tying her to you, or to the Grace?" Blaze asked. Tails didn't say anything, immediately heading back up, and Blaze nodded. Tying her to the Grace. "I'll stay down here, make sure that the water in here goes away," she shouted.
"Perfect!" Tails yelled back as he finished the knot on the mast, and dove back down to Blaze's side. "Spark, there's only enough for one safety harness. If you get flung off, both Blaze and I are right here, and we can help."
"That's what this is!?" Spark replied in her native language. "Bizarre, but alright," she finished quietly as she forced another turn. Blaze slid to the side, feeling her shoulder crash into the wall as Spark abruptly reoriented them.
"Careful, rocks ahead!" Tails shouted. Blaze's eyes widened as she looked up, seeing the large brown pointed things sticking up out of the water. "Think it's another island?"
"No, it should be the kraken!" Spark shouted as the mast spun her around. She caught herself at the aft, pulling herself up using the safety harness. "I am never doubting this again," she murmured.
The air started to whirl around them, and Blaze had the sudden feeling of being caught in a tornado again. Tails took a deep breath. "Get ready, everyone," he murmured.
"Why?" Blaze asked. She was hesitant to, but at the same time she knew that something was coming.
"Because this feeling is just like Sonic's boost. We're being dragged in, now," Tails said. Blaze slid back as the sudden acceleration caught her.
—Side T—
Tails stood his ground near the bow of the Grace. Spark was still tied to the mast, although she was nearer to the aft than was probably wise. She must've lost her balance once the winds took them.
And the winds were starting to take them. The sheets they were using as their sail was puffed out as far as it could go, and if Tails didn't know better he'd have said they would be ripped. "Pull the sail down!" he yelled, the words being ripped out of his mouth.
"No! It's the only way to control it right now!" Spark answered. "We never got around to installing anything else!" she called out.
Right. He'd meant to do that next time they were at an island. Problem was they hadn't landed on another island, since then. He was still off his game considering...considering Katia's death.
Spark stayed on top, her fur being blown around as if there were tornadoes around. Blaze pushed herself up from the back of the deck, joining him up front. "We're going to have to be careful..." Blaze said loudly. She probably meant it as a whisper that he could hear, and he flicked one ear in her direction to tell her that he heard, although his eyes never left the horizon.
The wind continued to howl around them, and Tails could feel the currents starting to push and pull at the Fox's Grace. He was really glad they'd managed to make it out of durable metal now, because otherwise they would've broken apart in hundreds of pieces.
"Wave!" Spark yelled. Tails' eyes widened as he looked to the side, seeing a monster wave nearly three or four times the size of the Grace barreling over them. "Breathe!" she finished as she dove towards both him and Blaze. He grabbed onto her wrist with one hand, and grabbed onto Blaze's hand with his other.
The wave crashed onto them instantly, filling the majority of their hold with water. He could feel the salt from the water stick into his fur, but he climbed on top of the hull anyways as Blaze quickly started to shovel and bucket the water out.
"Once you get most of it out, close the top!" Tails said as he climbed to the top of the mast. The waves were massive now, towering over most of them. The wind howled at them, ripping into the sheets with ease. "Take those down, we'll just ride out the storm!" He called.
"We can't just ride it out!" Spark called. She darted out to the bow, narrowly dodging a shovel full of water from Blaze as she tried to take down their sail. Tails reached down and undid the knot from the top. The wind bit at them, roaring into their fur and skin.
"The Grace is sturdy enough to handle it! The only thing we need to worry about is the whirlpools!" Blaze shouted. "Everyone needs to get below the deck. If we capsize that's it!"
"I'm surprised we didn't already," Tails muttered. The waves tore at them, pushing them to and from, for the next few minutes until Tails pulled the cover closed. Spark was down below the deck too, now, against her wishes.
There was still a small amount of water under their feet, making every step echo with a splash as they got shoved around. The metal plates that they had used as building material were heavy enough to sink to the bottom, giving them a bit more grip on the slippery floor. The waves pushed them around, and more than once Tails had lost his balance and slammed into either Blaze or Spark. He couldn't even fly either, if he did than they would slam into him. Though he can't say he didn't appreciate how soft they made his landings...
Like a laundry machine on a constant spin cycle, they got pushed and shoved around. More than once Tails heard the side of the Grace slam into the rocks, causing them to bounce off just in time for another wave to come by and bring them higher, shoving them downwards as the wave receded under them.
"I don't think the Grace can take too much more," Tails said after nearly an hour. He had bruises all over from being flung around, and he knew that the other two weren't much better.
"I think it can handle a bit more. We haven't lost any supplies up here at least, not even the water," Blaze answered quietly.
"How are we to get out of it? The sails are ripped, and I don't think any of us want to be out there right now-" Spark said, before another wave pushed her straight onto Tails' stomach. "Like that. Normally I would like this a lot more," she murmured into his chest fur.
"I have an idea, I think. I have four more charges left on the Charger. I think we can push through if both Spark and I try to control it," Tails responded. "If we create the vacuum in front of us, exactly as we did at the whirlpools, we should be good to go. If there's two of us controlling it, it should be easier, right?"
"That is not how it works, at all," Spark shook her head. "Two controllers...it is possible, but it requires utmost trust. Especially with something like electricity," she finished. Tails was proud of her; she'd said the entire thing in common. Without any stutters, or hangups over the words. Although when did she learn 'utmost'?
"I've never worked with another pyrokineticist, so this is new ground for me too," Blaze answered. "What would happen?"
"It would not ease the use, but we would need less concentration on it. Assuming that it would work, that is," Spark answered.
"We can try to take turns then. But if we do nothing, we will probably die," Tails responded. "We don't have much of anything left to try, and as good as the Grace is I don't want to risk it."
"No, I can understand," Spark said. "Let us try it then," she said, hiding her eyes from view. Tails nodded and opened the top.
Immediately he was hit by the rain and wind, the valley of waves around them. They were barely floating at this point, closer to standing on the basin of the sand before the water picked them back up, starting to throw them around again. The wind tore at their throats, and Tails hit the charger.
He felt his skin and fur electrify, and he tried to pull it into a circle in front of him. It was hard and nearly impossible to control. It wanted to go its own way, it wanted to do its own thing. He heard lightning and thunder crash against the waves, tearing the water apart with its light and force. His body instinctively froze at the sound of thunder, but steeled his heart and grit his teeth. He had to do this.
He could feel the lightning as it came down upon them. Spark grabbed his hand, forcing the lightning throughout his body to run into hers. Her own lightning was gentler, almost quiet against the force of his own. Did that mean he was stronger? Or did that mean that she simply had far more control?
Waves of her lightning clashed against the wrath of his, gently lapping at it, soaking it in. She wasn't forceful in her control anymore, as she had been beforehand. Now she flowed with it, using his own as the main battery. She ebbed and flowed like water, acting like a conductor of a raging symphony surrounded by storms.
He didn't try to copy her movements, somehow knowing that it wasn't going to happen if he did. Instead, he stopped trying to force control over the electricity through his body. Instead he guided it, a laser in front of a cat. He would give it a target, and the electricity would coagulate there, and given another moment, he would give it another target.
The circle appeared in front of them, and he knew that somehow they were managing it. Her lightning was calm and controlled, his was wrathful and violent, and yet together they formed a storm of electricity, slowly creating a vacuum in front of them. Ozone filled his nose as he felt the Grace begin to pull. Lightning danced around them, guided towards the ring in front of them. Blaze pushed her way through, hoisting the sail once more as it pushed and pulled against them.
Despite the rain, despite the waves, Tails felt it was working. Lightning would occasionally rain from the sky, striking their circle and sphere of electricity and charged electrons, adding to the cacophony of chaos that was in front of them.
"Rocks again, pull to the left!" Blaze shouted. As one, both Spark and Tails pulled their power a bit, lightly guiding them towards the left. The Grace lived up to its name, floating almost above and through the water.
With inches to spare, the rocks went against their hull. "We have whirlpools now!" Blaze yelled as she pointed again. Tails gripped Spark's hand a bit harder, and she gripped his, as their lightning became that much hotter, that much more vicious. It pulled them faster, faster and faster against the water. They weren't simply sailing now, they were flying, soaring above anything that wanted to keep them down.
The wind roared against them, not holding a candle to the united electrokineticist's channeling. The water did its best to keep the current forcing them back, only to be ignored as it wasn't the only thing holding them back anymore.
The storm raged onwards, lightning striking their sphere again and again. Each one added its energy to theirs, and Tails felt himself grin as the Grace continued forwards.
The wind howled around them, forming into tornadoes, actual waterspouts, around them. Chaos personified, they heralded them forwards. Even without the channeling, they were accelerating faster and faster. "Cut the power!" Blaze shouted. "We're going too fast!"
Tails enjoyed the single hypocritical moment when Blaze realized that she was the one saying that they were going too fast, and that she was yelling at Sonic's sidekick. "No such thing as too fast!" Tails yelled back. Spark let out a joyous laugh as they kept up the channeling anyways.
"Fine, but we're going to crash!" Blaze answered anyways. Tails gave her a small glance to see the large cheshire grin on her face, despite the inability to see perfectly she knew exactly how fast they were going, and she was feeling the same thing he was; the adrenaline of going so fast that even the world was going to start taking notice.
And taking notice the world started to do. The rain stopped, replacing itself with hail despite the warmth. The waves battered against their hull, parting and collapsing with them halfway through them. It was as if they were surfing the waves, the hail making it difficult to steer perfectly, not that it was stopping Blaze any.
The clouds parted, despite the hail still continuing. The tornadoes to the side disappeared, to be replaced a large single one behind them, trying to pull them back. The current pulled them back. The hail pulled them back, hitting their boat with enough force for Tails to hear the crash of the metal as it threatened to part. Rocks appeared in front of them suddenly, trying to hold them back.
And the moon appeared, full as it had ever been, a shocking green and violet, almost poison looking, guiding their way through the obstacles and impossibilities. Their boat ground to a halt as the elements hit them, keeping them out.
Then the lightning hit, hitting the bow of the Grace with a demeanor that suggested death and control. Tails felt it in his heart, striking against them, against what they could do, what they would do. He wasn't sure how he knew that's what it was doing, but he knew that's what it was.
He grabbed it, keeping his hold on the electric arc that was his and Spark's vacuum seal. "Let...us...through!" He yelled, pushing with all of his power on the bolts. It arced from the Grace to the rocks, destroying them instantly. The rocks and lightning arced into the tornado, tossing them around to crash into the hail, the lightning somehow stopping the tornado. With only the current left to stop them, they sailed onwards towards the poison moon.
Exile. When people are forced to leave their home behind.
Sometimes this can even mean all of normalcy and logic.
Until Next Time.
