X. First March

Sonic and I were, somewhat late, to our briefing. We made our way through the halls where Maia and the rest would be waiting for us. I opened a door, leading us into a small room with a large table in the middle, and tall windows with a view of a distant lake. Maia and the other two stopped speaking to one another, and stood up.

"At ease," I said to them. "Apologies for the wait."

Sonic followed me in, closing the door behind us. The two were surprised at his presence once he took a seat at the table.

Maia explained, "He is with us. He'll be joining our journey."

"That is right," I agreed. "This is Sonic. A great ally who is very 'well-acquainted' with the doctor."

Sonic and Maia shook hands and greeted each other. Then he walked towards one of the knights; a jackal, large in size, who didn't seem to be much pleased. Sonic extended his hand, but all he received was a stare…

"Hey, pleasure…"

"...Hmm."

"Sonic, that would be Chiron," said Maia. "One of my field masters for the training grounds. A highly skilled warrior, whose words are... few."

"I, see…"

The other, a crow, walked over and shook his hand instead.

"Greetings, Sonic."

"And that would be Aquilo. Kingdom's sharpest hunter. Nothing gets away, or around him."

"Hey there, Aquilo."

"Please, just call me Quil... So, you know the doctor?" Aquilo asked with arms crossed.

"Unfortunately, this isn't my first encounter with him."

"Is it, true? That you travel, from another world? From all that I've heard, I am not sure what to believe in anymore," Aquilo chuckled.

"World traveler sounds about right."

"Fascinating…"

Afterward, we began our assembly. It was short and simple, but not on good terms.

Maia spoke, "Well then. Lady Blaze?"

"Right… First of all, I wish to thank you all for being part of this endeavor. I am sure you all know the risks, and what is at stake."

"We understand," Aquilo replied, Chiron agreeing with a low grunt. "We would be honored to fight alongside you."

I nodded, acknowledging their devotion…

"We all know this wasn't an attack on the empire. More of an attempt at the Sol Emeralds," I began as I reached for an inside pocket in my coat.

I placed the silver emerald on the table for the knights to see, letting it levitate gently away from my hand.

"Luckily, I managed to keep one of them safe. Now, their nature is simple. They can empower anything and anyone if all of them are used at once. If you only have a handful, they can still pose a threat in the wrong hands. Which, is our issue at hand. Fortunately, they call one another. We'll use that to our advantage, at least to broaden our search… I understand that the doctor's war machine took off for the skies?"

"Correct, Lady Blaze," Maia said, in disappointment. "There was no possible way we could've followed it."

"However," said Aquilo, while bringing a map onto the table. "We can follow its heading… And as I recall, he was headed southeast… There is nothing but the forest in that direction, of course. Afterward, the fields. Which extends for miles, toward the coast."

"But that is where things get strange, Princess," continued Maia. "We've scouted those areas before. Many times. And there has not been a single sign of the doctor, at all."

Sonic spoke, "Well. That machine flew off when he left. Do you think Nega might be holding something up there?"

"Let's hope not," I responded. "Right now, we don't have the means for flight. Marine's on reconnaissance duty outside of the islands."

"…There could be a base… Far off into the ocean," Aquilo added as he pondered.

I sighed, "You may be right… At least we have many places to investigate. We'll start by surveying the forest, then head towards the fields to the south."

Maia asked, "...What if we are left with nothing?"

To our surprise, Chiron moved. He stood up from his seat and pointed at something on the map. We all took a closer look to see what he was referring to.

"High ground…"

He was pointing to a mountain, near the south coast.

"I see…" Aquilo said while him and Maia took a closer look. "Good thinking. We could use this mountain as a survey point. With that height, we will surely have plenty of visibility to overlook most of the lands."

"...Very well then," I agreed. "We'll head through these spots, one by one. If we don't find anything, we'll head for the mountain."

"Either way, I am sure Doctor Nega will return for the last emerald," said Maia. "We best prepare."

After our meeting, we began to gear up for our journey, gathering supplies and equipment. Gardon did me the favor of packing up for me since I did not have much, so I remained outside the armory, waiting for the rest. Maia's armor, designed by herself and Marine, had a blade on her arm attached to chains that could be launched, allowing her to pierce many surfaces and slingshot in any direction with speed and dominance over the battlefield. Chiron was the biggest of all of us, carrying fine armor and two thick steel rods on his back, suggesting a more aggressive approach. Aquilo, wearing nothing but light armor, relied on agility. He kept a long and beautiful bow at hand, a long and sharp knife at his side, and even sharper senses. Lastly, there was… Sonic? His armor was composed of nothing more than a simple pair of gauntlets. What surprised me the most was that he was wearing a belt with a sword hanging from it.

"Hey... Ready?" he grinned, walking over to me.

"Yes... You, intend to use a sword? I did not know you knew how to duel."

"Hey, I wasn't kidding about the whole knight of the wind thing. Besides, I have to look the part. What do you think?"

I, had to admit... He did look, quite…

"Knight of the wind?" Maia asked curiously, followed by looks from Aquilo and Chiron.

"Just an old title," he responded.

"Princess, I did not know this."

We started making our way outside the barracks and into the gates.

"Yes, well. You'll be surprised when you know he has a more exciting life than the four of us put together."

Walking through the path, the five of us managed to reach the edge of the woods, where that giant took off with the rest of the gems. And so, we began our trek by following Aquilo's lead. As we traveled further along the forest trail, the sky began to darken. Soon, the sun disappeared completely from sight. The winds of that morning would turn colder by the hour, and gray clouds seemed to come from ahead of us, bringing the lingering smell of rain. The three went on ahead, scanning for anything that could lead us in the right direction. The air around us was tense, yet quiet... All we could do was hope that we could find the doctor before he could find us. Or even worse, before he could finish whatever he had started.

"…Blaze?" Sonic spoke, walking beside me.

"Mmm?"

"You're alright? You're, a bit quiet."

"I'm fine, just, thinking…"

He suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me to the side of the path…

"...What's going on?" he whispered.

"...It's been so long… What do you think Nega has planned this time?"

He lightly chuckled, "You're worried about that?"

"And you're not?"

"I mean. He's probably scheming some sort of plan or, building some of his machines to take over the kingdom... And this world, if he doesn't get complacent. But are we going to let him get away with it-?"

"Of course not."

"Exactly," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"…We have to work on your thinking, silly."

"That smile of yours says otherwise," he said as I silently chuckled, looking down at the grass. "…Hey. None of this was your fault. No one could've seen that coming, not even me."

Gently, he lifted my chin, our eyes interlocking on their own…

"I know, it feels like you're to blame for everything that has happened. But you're not. If anything, everyone's counting on you, and waiting for you to make it back. Whatever Nega has planned, I know you'll put a stop to him. And besides, you have us. You won't be alone in this. We'll find a way to make things right, together… All right, Lady Blaze?"

As his reassurance enveloped me, the sincerity he held in his eyes slowly melted away my doubts. I softly nodded, looking down as he held my hands in his.

"...Thank you, Sonic. And you won't either. Whatever happens, I'll keep you safe."

"Not if I beat you to it first," he replied, placing a loving kiss on my forehead, conveying a promise against the challenges resting ahead of us.

"...Permission to scout ahead, Princess?"

"...Granted… On one condition… Be careful, all right?"

He nodded in response, and as our hands parted, he glanced at me one last time before making his way. The group up ahead had turned to the noise of him speeding through the forest, only to catch leaves falling in his absence.

"Princess Blaze…? What's, funny?" Aquilo asked.

"O-Oh. I-"

Maia inquired, "Wait, where is Sonic?"

"Away…" Chiron softly spoke while looking around. "...Coward."

"He is not gone," I tried to explain, chuckling. "As you can all see…"

We waited a few moments.

"...See… what, exactly?" Aquilo asked, looking around him.

"...Any moment now… Ah, there you are."

The sound of rustling rapidly approached us, followed by Sonic passing between us at a blinding speed. Leaving us with nothing but gusts of wind and dust.

"He is investigating the area for us," I answered as we looked at the fading streaks of blue.

"...H-How…"

All they could do was stare at him appearing in and out, going deeper into the forest.

"...Come. We should keep moving."

Time had passed by as we continued our way through the woods while Sonic continued his observations, searching for anything that could lead us in the right direction.

Aquilo walked beside me and spoke, "Your Highness, if I may... I see you have made, a powerful ally…"

"I have made, something greater than that…"

"Have you ever traveled to his world?"

"Actually, yes... I had the blessing to meet people I miss dearly."

"Is, everyone like him over there?"

"How so?"

"Princess Blaze, I am sorry, but he is traveling at a, godlike speed around us like a morning stroll. Are you not astounded one bit?"

"Well," I chuckled, "I was. The first time I met him... And to answer your question, actually. There is one who manages to reach his level of ability. He has told me of him, here and there. But I haven't gotten the luxury yet of learning more about his world or people."

"…I do hope to travel there one day."

"Likewise."

Our path towards the coast would take about the whole afternoon. But we couldn't tell at first with the sun hidden behind the dark clouds. This walk was filled with nothing but trees and dirt. And after what seemed to be hours, we rested on the ground alongside a small river. For we were halfway to our destination: the fields.

"Blaze," Maia spoke. "It's been a while… Did Sonic perhaps get lost?"

"One moment."

I pointed my finger straight to the sky and shot a flare through the leaves and clouds up above. Rustling from deep within the trees would soon approach us. The three jumped and readied themselves, weapons in hand.

Sonic, followed by wind and leaves, appeared in front of us out of thin air.

"Thanks for that. Lost you guys for a bit," he said as he walked up to us.

"Only Sonic the Hedgehog would get lost in my kingdom," I jested while walking over to him. "How was your search?"

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing out there. I'm sure... Do you think maybe underground?"

"An underground base…? We're, not sure. He would've attacked us by now…"

"Hmm…"

Maia walked beside us, "We will be approaching the fields soon. With everything cleared up, perhaps we could get some answers there."

We continued deeper into the forest as the grass would slowly turn a lighter green. Finally, we reached the fields. The winds had become a bit stronger than before, and could even be seen passing through the tall grass. Clouds remained right above, threatening us with heavy rain.

"Here they are," said Aquilo as we began our way through them. "We are almost to the coast."

"We should hurry," Sonic said. "The sky is not looking too good."

"Right," I agreed.

"I've heard many stories but… How exactly, did you meet our Princess?" asked Aquilo while walking through the grass.

Both Sonic and I looked at each other and smiled. The rest attentively listened.

"Believe it or not, this world is kind of like a mirror to mine," Sonic began.

"A, mirror?"

"Yes, more of a 'reflection'," I added. "There is a 'Doctor Eggman' in their world. And while we have seven Sol Emeralds, they have seven 'Chaos' Emeralds... His doctor took away ours, years ago. And through my search, I was led into his world. Our paths would cross, later on, and together, we'd manage to retrieve our respective gems, and restore order once more."

"Interesting…" said the archer. "So, that would mean that Sonic is practically your counterpart."

"That is right... Although, I believe I prove to be the better of the two of us-"

"W-Woah, hold on," Sonic interrupted. "I'm pretty sure we haven't even finished that match of ours."

"No need... I am certain the outcomes favored me," I asserted, clasping my hands behind my back.

"You, fought Princess Blaze?" Aquilo questioned him.

"It was a, misunderstanding, on my part, I'll admit," I affirmed. "Rest assured, we stand on good terms."

We continued through the glade and soon noticed that the air was slowly starting to get cool and salty; we were close. Hurrying, we finally made it to a coastal cliff. The water violently rushed between rocks down below, while seagulls gently flew above us. We all agreed to get to higher ground to the right of us, where the edge would continue to rise. Walking alongside it, we reached the peak that showed us nothing but an endless blue.

"Well, this is new," Maia admitted. "And, there's our home."

There it was, standing at a distance, still somewhat visible above the forest.

Aquilo faltered, "There's… nothing. The horizon is clear…"

"As I feared," I worried.

I grew utterly frustrated by the second, while a hand on my shoulder would get me back to my senses…

"It's fine," reassured Sonic. "We'll find him."

"...I just wish, the gems could reveal themselves to me again..."

While looking down at the grass, thunder began to roll in the distance...

"Well, if we are headed for the mountain, we better move now," Maia said. "A storm approaches."