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 8.8

Blaze was elated beyond belief. Despite the rocking and the rolling of the boat, occasionally pushing Spark's wet fur directly into her own, or feeling the sloshing of the water as it covered her feet and legs, she had done it. She had a proof of concept. She had at least a little sliver of her fires back. It was small, and tiresome, and she could only hold a tiny fireball for around two hours before she felt she had to relax and let it regenerate, but she was still her.

She was still a pyrokinetic. She was still Blaze the Cat. She wanted to dance, to throw up her arms and spin around with anyone that wanted to dance with her.

But Spark had a broken leg, which while the vixen was sleeping Blaze had taken the moment to find the healing paste from Flora and pad it down during a particularly long lull between waves on her leg, and Tails was out cold sleeping. Not that Blaze blamed them. Trying to get through a storm when only touch could be used...sight, sound, and smell did nothing. And it was a tiring affair. She'd slept the latest, but her sight was still mostly gone.

Granted, being in the darkness like this was a calming experience to her. She was just as blind as the others, now, and had to rely on sound and touch to move around. The water was cold on her feet, making the metal even worse.

She heard the small drip of water come from where she thought was the break in the top part. She ran her hands alongside the bottom, feeling out for the sharp edge before she hurt herself. They had only a small amount of the paste left, and it wouldn't do to waste it on injuries that could be avoided.

They had done good work, she noted as she touched the conjoined metal. Given they only had a few minutes, she worked out later, from where they saw the storm to when they were in it. Katia's sheets were stretched out, trying to let them dry.

She felt the boat stop, then be picked back up by the waves, before being pushed forward, and stopping. Had they run into something? In all of her time sailing, she knew what that type of movement meant; they had run aground of something.

Blaze reached for the front, cautiously stepping over the numerous metal plates that they hadn't used yet. It was nearly a miracle they hadn't sunk, based on how much water was near the front. She reached up, gripping the grooved metal gently as she pushed it off and back.

It screeched against the top, roaring against her ears and would probably wake up both Spark and Tails. She paused for a moment before realizing they were both still asleep, their breathing rhythmic and the same.

The top part wasn't dry, but it was dry enough. There was an overcast sky, although she could only tell by way of the dulled golden of the sun. She pulled herself up gently, keeping her hisses of pain as her hands rejected her usage of them onto the cold metal. She could still make out decent shapes; a bunch of rocks, a small bar of what she thought was sand, small hills, and a few trees. Probably another island that they'd hit while the storm was crashing them around.

She forced herself up, taking a moment to listen to the sounds and to smell the air. It was definitely the sea, the scent of salt water and dead fish was unmistakable. But there was a gentle chilled wind, one that promised rain in the near future. The storm may not have let up permanently, but instead was simply waiting for the next chance to strike. The waves crashing against the sand were soft and gentle, and didn't sound like storm waves.

She tried to hear farther away, farther out. If the waves here were quiet and small, then out there...there it was. The larger waves were crashing against another sandbar much farther out. That was good, that meant this place was safer. She took a moment to dive out into the water, and she enjoyed the feel of the water as it caressed her. It wasn't cold, it was rather warm actually, but it still felt great against her still-burned skin and fur.

The sand was soft as Blaze forced herself out of the water. It didn't hold her up nearly as much as the desert sand did, but instead cradled her feet. Still dripping wet, she walked until she felt the grass underneath her, feeling it carefully. It wasn't true grass, if she had to be honest. It was more small flowers or clover, naturally dispersed over dozens of years. The trees echoed through her vision as she ran her hand down one, feeling the small segments that denoted a tropical tree of some kind. A coconut tree, maybe?

"What are you doing out here?" Spark's voice called out from behind her. The vixen was alarmingly quiet, her footfalls silent against the ground. "Can you see, now?" she asked. There was a scent of hunger and pain...and the scent of Flora's paste. Blaze wished she had gotten the recipe for it, as she had a feeling they would need it. Knowing Flora though, it was probably some Ikan'Thoan herbs that only grew there or something.

"No, just basic shapes. I needed to get out. I'm used to feeling the wind against me, when I'm sailing," Blaze answered quietly. "I miss it, honestly. Hopefully Tails or you can pull it together soon, and my eyes heal."

"I think your body needs to heal more than anything," Spark said gently. "You're the one that put the paste on my leg, aren't you? I don't think Tails has that kind of bravery in him yet," she noted. She trailed off for a moment, and Blaze got the scent of uncertainty. "Thank you," she finished after a few seconds.

"Mine will heal, in time. I'm more worried about my fires, truthfully. It's good to have a bit back, but I know most of it's still locked in the time trap. Each day, I'll just have to call more," Blaze said. She ran her hand down the tree again, "Is this a coconut tree?" she asked.

"It is. Doesn't have any fruit though. Most of it must have fallen down during the storm. Be careful when you're walking around, the fallen ones can be rather sharp at times," Spark warned as she went around the tree, occasionally picking up something before throwing it out to sea. Blaze stared at a moment, before she tilted her head quizzically. "I'm getting rid of the bad ones. Easiest way to make sure they don't hurt any of us is to throw them out," Spark answered the unasked question.

"Why are you so different, now? Not in front of Tails?" Blaze asked. She walked ahead, memorizing the small hills and gaps that she knew would've taken her out if she was truly blind. Getting better day by day...just like a small flame, having fallen to embers.

"What do you mean?"

"The way you act now is far different than you do when Tails is around. He's going to pick up on it. And when he does, you should have an excuse ready."

"Oh. That. I...I'm not sure, honestly," Spark said, sitting down on the grass. Or the rocks, Blaze changed it to as she walked over. These ones weren't jagged and patchy like the others she could identify as rocks, but rather flattened as if pounded by the ocean over eons. "I...I want him to like me. I may be free from Ikan'Thoa, but there's a part of me that still loves it. And I want to honor those customs. He Chose me...Blaze. He chose me."

Blaze stayed silent for a moment. Did...the Choosing actually still matter to her? It was true that Tails had chosen Spark, but that was just for the Tempest. Did the vixen think that still meant that Tails wanted her? When put into words, Blaze knew it would be a mistake voicing them. "As I told Katia, long ago. It's best to be his friend, first."

"I'm trying. But a part of me is calling it, wanting it to be sooner. I know why, though. All the time that Lightning was using the brainshifting on me... I want to be his friend, first. Mates can wait, if ever. I know he still likes you, a lot. I can smell it on him, even though he's doing his best to ensure he protects your...modesty?" Spark said, calling the last word in common. She was getting better quickly, a sure sign that somehow their tutelage was going quite well. "I didn't want to assume the feeling was mutual since Ikan'Thoa law says it can't happen...but yet, here you are."

Blaze sighed. "It is true that he harbors a flame for me, but he also harbors one for you and Katia. He's just confused right now, as young as he is. Give him time. He'll come around. Try to go a bit easier on the teasing though. He can only take so much."

"It is a surprising amount of fun though. I like seeing how his fur turns colors. No one in Ikan'Thoa was ever like this. Even you do it, too, if I manage to get you too. Why is that?"

"That's called embarrassment. I know you have it too."

"I know what it is. I'm asking why it's so much more fun to do it to you two than to anyone else. I even got Thief to go red a couple of times, but those times were few and far between."

"Now that, I can't help you," Blaze said. She raised her hand, feeling a small raindrop hit it. "We should fill up what rain stores we can. Water is a luxury, and I know we're running out," Blaze said quietly. She hoped that Spark was listening. "We can also take some of the water that got into the boat and throw it out. Have you or Tails make a bucket of some kind."

"Last I checked, Tails was shoveling water out. He saw you out here and sent me to see what you were doing. He was taking care of the boat," Spark said. "We should really come up with a name for it."

"Don't tell me you have the same myth that going out to sea on an unnamed boat is bad luck."

"No. I've never heard that, at least. No, it's because it deserves a better name than simply 'the boat'," Spark reasoned. "Maybe something to do with the sea, or perhaps lightning? Or elementalists?"

"I've got one," Tails announced from the bow of the boat. Blaze held her hand to her face as she let out a groan. Spark's scent turned confused, but Tails' remained steadfastly smug. "Boaty McBoatface!" Tails called out, obviously grinning.

"That is a terrible name, and you should feel ashamed. That's as bad as Drillers!" Blaze argued.

"Yeah, I was joking," Tails said. "I was thinking Streak. Or Ember of Dreams," he continued. "My names aren't that bad, are they?"

"No, they're bad," Blaze reassured. "Ember of Dreams though...about Dreamer?" she suggested. It was a boat of dreams, made real, an impossibility given chance to exist. The last dying wish of..."Or perhaps...how about Katia?" she asked quietly.

Both of the foxes ears turned to her. Tails's voice became quiet, as if he was looking around more than paying attention to her. "The Katia? Spark, what about you? What do you think?"

"I think you're both crazy," Spark said simply. "Drillers? A story like that has to be told. As for the boat name though...I'm not sure Katia would appreciate her name being just given over. So how about 'Fox's Grace', seeing as that was her name's meaning."

"Wait, what?" Tails asked for Blaze. The cat blinked. She supposed that made sense, as most of the others followed the same general naming scheme. Except for Katia. Which would make sense if it was a nickname...

"Katia was her given name, but like many of us, our given names have additional meanings. Katia is Kat, or Fox, and Ia, or Grace. Literally, Fox's Grace. Most of us change our names somewhere around our eighth winter to something that describes us, but Katia preferred her original name," Spark explained. "My given name was Imuldo. Ears of the Sun," she shrugged. "Kind of like how you're both Tails, and Miles."

Blaze felt another raindrop hit her face. "Fascinating as this is, we should hurry in and get the cover on. We don't want more water to drip in than necessary," she interrupted.

—Side T—

The storm wasn't subsiding anytime soon, Tails could tell. They had huddled down in the newly named Fox's Grace, as the ship got tossed to and fro in the stormy waves. More than once Tails heard the waves crash into the top of the ship, only a small amount of water making it through the crack.

He had taken the time when Blaze and Spark were off talking at the last island to fix things up a bit. He made a small shelf at the back, capable of holding most of their supplies, and remade the top cover so it fit a lot better over the remaining hole.

What they ended up with was not so much just a ship, so much as a metal coffin that looked relatively boat-like. In the hull as they were, there was little light except for the small cracks and imperfections the welds let in. Blaze slept most of the time, huddled in the small blanket. Spark was using the Miles Electric to learn how to read common, and how to speak it. She was getting better at pronunciations, and Tails would have to correct her only a bit.

It was strange, he knew, that she wanted to learn. It was a final 'screw you' to Ikan'Thoa, to learn a barbarian language. And yet, Spark was learning at a rapid pace, more so than just if she was learning as a middle finger to her old village. Something else was motivating her, Tails could tell, but he wasn't sure what. He knew what she'd say if he asked, 'That would be you'. But he felt there was something more there.

He had just managed to nod off again, something that he was doing a lot of recently, when there was a loud screeching sound outside the boat. It hurt Tails ears immediately, and he crouched low holding his hands over his ears. Blaze woke up with a loud hiss as she did the same, and Spark wasn't much better off. The stormy waves were still going on, but there wasn't any more water leaking through the top, so Tails took the time to open up the hull, popping his head out as another loud screech echoed around.

"Rocks," Tails announced as he flew up, kicking the sharp rock away from the Grace. "Sharp pointed rocks, facing towards us. I really wish I had made that engine now," Tails finished.

Spark popped her head up too just in time for another wave to drench the deck, a good bit of hitting her directly. "Still large waves, though," she said.

Tails grinned at her. "I couldn't tell," he teased. The water wasn't lukewarm anymore, but it wasn't freezing cold either. It was simply cold. "Pass the sheets, it looks clear, relatively," he said.

Blaze must have thrown them to Spark, as the vixen gave a small 'ooph' as she caught them, before she handed them up.

The sky wasn't clear, but it was the white clouds of a storm in its death throes rather than the cold dark grey of a growing storm. It took only minutes for Tails to get the sail set back up, and he breathed a small sigh of relief as the wind picked back up.

"I'll stay up here, make sure that things don't get worse again," Tails said. Spark nodded and ducked back down below, before she came back up and pulled herself up. "You don't need to. You can stay down below if you want," Tails said.

The waves pushed them around again, and he grabbed her hand as she reached out for the wall that she thought was there. "And that's why."

"I can swim well, you know that. As fast as the wind is making us go I can keep up," Spark glared. Tails shrugged. He probably should argue more, but even with all the exposure he's had recently to the vixen, a part of him was glad to have some company on the deck. Though he knew she was also trying to get him to...

He wasn't going to finish that thought. He looked over the deck, keeping his balance easily as the waves pushed the Grace around. The horizon wasn't blue, nor grey, but an ominous white, as if someone had taken fog and decided to say 'this area is foggy'.

And he needed to move how the wind moved them forward to avoid the rocks. Despite their shape, they wouldn't penetrate into the hull, so there was little danger of it sinking them. One of the biggest reasons he was glad they decided to make the Fox's Grace out of metal.

They sailed on easily, gliding over the waves as if they didn't exist. The wind was strong, and howling behind them. "Next up should be whirlpools," Spark murmured under her breath. Tails' ears flicked as he heard her. That's how she was guiding them. Using the story has a guide. If it was right, it would take them right to the Blooming Tides.

Hopefully it was right, because otherwise Tails wouldn't even know where to begin. But something like that...it had to be like the Chaos Emeralds. There were dozens, if not hundreds of stories of those. Even Sonic, when he'd first found one on South Island, had known exactly what he'd found.

Any powerful artifact will always have stories told about it. That's just the nature of artifacts. Tails was sure that there was some occult reason for it; Sonic wouldn't hesitate to spread something, even if it was fake and he was just making it up as he went. The waves pushed them up and over, down and under, as they got bigger. The rocks had gotten passed, now far behind them. Almost as if it was a layer of rock, with only one entrance into the area.

Whirlpools he wouldn't have much defense against. A splatter of rain on his cheek, and he looked up to see the grey clouds of another storm starting to prep itself overhead. "What is with all the storms in the area?" he asked.

"The winter storms this far south are always bad," Spark answered. "I'm not surprised that it's almost constant."

"Aren't you cold?" Tails asked, taking care to look directly at Spark's face rather than down below. He knew he was blushing; he could feel it in his head.

Spark gave him a teasing smirk. "Can you tell?" she asked. She waited a moment before she straightened back up. "Not particularly. I've always kept fairly warm."

Tails nodded as he kept his mind and eyes straight ahead. The storm waves were starting to pile on, larger than before. The Grace could still glide over them, but the wind was beginning to beat and eat at them. "Sure you don't want to head down below?" he asked after a heavy gust pushed them both forward an inch or two.

"No, I'm okay," Spark answered. She knelt down, both hands gripping the opening to the hull. Tails looked down, almost unhappy to see Blaze standing there, looking distinctly uncomfortable with the blanket tied over her shoulder. "Shouldn't you be asleep?" Spark asked.

"Probably. But the wind plus you two woke me up," Blaze answered. "I can start to see colors now, and the shapes are better. In case either of you two wanted an update."

"That's great!" Tails said. He would've gone on more, but the wind abruptly lurched the mast out of his hands, and he had to hurry to grab it to make sure they stayed on course. The wind pelted at them, drying off their fur. The rain had abated, for now.

Or they had simply outrun it. They'd done that before, too, and Tails could see how fast the Grace was cutting through the water.

"Whirlpools, Tails!" Spark interrupted. She pointed ahead, and Tails narrowed his eyes. Directly in front was a layer of the circling things, water in circles forming to a funnel going down.

"You don't need to worry. We're going more than fast enough," Blaze answered in his stead. "Did you need to sleep, Tails? Spark and I can handle it up here."

"No, I'm good," Tails answered. He narrowed his eyes, as he tried to see where Blaze's confidence was coming from. They were a small boat, and these whirlpools were rather large, the current rather furious closer to the center. But at the edges, if they did it right...they could go straight on through. Monsoon's boat wouldn't have that option, as it was so much bigger than there's. "Blaze, think you can form a fire in front of the sail? Create a vacuum?" Tails asked, smirking.

Spark hopped down below as Blaze nodded. "I see you figured out what I was going for. I have the strength enough for that, at least," Blaze said. "And it's almost dawn, according to the tablet, so I should be able to get a bit more power back."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Spark asked.

"Probably not," Blaze said as she focused. A small conglomeration of various color flames became a small circle in front of the sail. The wind pushed harder, and Tails grinned as he felt the speed of the Grace.

It didn't just cut through water, or glided through it, it was as if the boat had no resistance at all from the water. Tails knelt down, ready to grab the mast at any time to slow them down as they got closer to the whirling masses.

They were large, too, nearly six or eight times the size of their little ship. The current in the center was roaring, a waterfall of doom and death that Tails wanted no part of.

He reached for his Charger, ready to use it at a moment's notice if they didn't have enough speed once they entered the whirlpool. He tried to move it in such a way that they were in the center between two of the larger ones, having the smallest current out at the furthest edges. The Grace lurched as Tails felt them get grabbed in by one. It wasn't quick, and it would take a minute or two for them to get across. The current aided them at first, having them pick up speed. "Blaze, now!" he called.

The flames became much hotter, and Tails could feel it pulling the Grace forward. He hit the Charger once, feeling it flood his body as he kept it away from his feet, hopefully avoiding shocking the boat.

He raised his hand, urging the feeling on forward in front of him. It wanted out, and it wanted out now. He pushed it onwards, trying to keep it close into a circle of its own, close to Blaze's own circle.

The speed was instantaneous, and he lost control of the circle as it pulled them forward instantly, rushing out of the whirlpool far faster than they'd left it. "Now that's how it's done!" Tails yelled in exuberance. The wind stalled behind them, as if curious why they hadn't died to the whirlpools.

Their speed loss was just as instant, and he heard Spark being pushed into Blaze's back from the sudden acceleration. The waves started getting mellower, and Tails grinned wide as the small wind there was caught their sails and pulled them forward.

Blaze sat down with her back facing the bow. She was panting slightly, and she was shaking a bit. "You alright Blaze?" Tails asked from the top.

"I'll be fine. Got a bit more back at the same time. Another few days and I should be back to full. What was the next obstacle?" Blaze asked.

It didn't surprise Tails one bit that Blaze had come to the same conclusion that he had regarding the obstacles. First was rocks, then whirlpools, then next was...there was a kraken in there somewhere, wasn't there? Was that one next? "Next was the kraken. But it shouldn't be more than a few days yet. I think we have some time," Spark suggested.

Good, Tails thought, because he'd need it. While a metal boat could defeat the rocks, and their abilities combined could get past the whirlpools...how were they going to get past a kraken?

Not much to say.

Until Next Time.