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.

Expression 9.2

Tails would be the first to admit he was lost. Not that he was particularly worried about it; he was more worried that Spark had wandered off on her own.

Then again, that's what happens when one falls down into a pit down into a small cave, and their partner happens to be picking at some berries. Although Tails couldn't really fault her for picking them, but he did hope they were at least edible. The roof had caved in quickly after he had slid down, the rocks and gravel rough yet soft underneath his feet. And that had been...two hours ago? According to the Miles Electric, at least.

After he and Spark had left Blaze, they had gone into one of the valleys up the beach. The sand had turned to a quick dark grey, had firmed up underneath them. Spark had grabbed his shoulder, and pointed out a small bush of glowing red berries.

Actually glowing. They looked kind of familiar, and Tails took a few steps closer while Spark ignored any kind of caution and ran forward. Tails had joined her a second later, his hands running over one of the berries. He didn't need to take a bite. He thought he knew these ones, but that would be...startling. He needed to find another bush to see if they were also doing the glowing thing, and he took off into the bushes.

Where his feet had slipped, and the ground had opened up underneath him, promptly trapping him underground. He wasn't worried though.

He had promptly hit his Charger once, giving him a hefty electric charge before he made sure to grab only a small bit, holding it above his hand like a small halo. It was fortunately rather quiet, but the light it gave off was constant and un-fluctuating.

The walls were a dark grey, and the dirt seemed a relatively normal blackish brown. It had a few white quartz veins dotting around it, and he felt a pang for the missing electrite, from before he'd gone to Ikan'Thoa. He probably should have been more worried, but there was almost a calming reassurance around. He could face the planet almost being destroyed on a yearly basis. He could handle getting lost in a labyrinth. It wasn't even the first one he'd been in since fighting Eggman that last time.

He walked on, trying to keep the electric charge above his hands up like some kind of looping battery. It was a lot harder than he thought it'd be, seeing as how Blaze made it look effortless. Although that was also Blaze, who'd grown up using her pyrokinesis, and he'd just found out about it...two months ago? Maybe a bit more. Time was hard to tell sometimes.

The labyrinth went every which way, dozens of natural passageways that broke off at unusual corners, and more than once he'd come to a dead end, before he looked back and saw there was a passageway in the far back, hidden by the stone.

It seemed to almost mirror the original labyrinth he'd found, back at the ruins near the Elemental Mountain. The pathways were similar size, and that one was obviously made by something, this one wasn't. The walls weren't smooth and gentle, but rough and coarse, uneven and bumpy.

The floor, too, was far different. That one had been stone and dirt. This was more dirt than it was stone, but he saw veins of other metals and stones embedded into it. More than once he saw the blinding orange of what he thought was gold, only to see copper instead.

He set the Miles Electric to take a scan of everything, and made a mark on the map for the copper deposits. Steelworking was one thing, but anything that he needed to use actual finesse in metalworking required a softer metal.

The tunnels twisted and turned, more than once dropping suddenly. Stalactites and stalagmites slowly became more common as he went, until he came to a large cavern in the middle. It was large enough that the edges appeared dark, even when using the electric halo above his hand. In the middle sat a dark black lake.

He dipped a finger in, only to pull it only instantly. It was far below freezing, almost so cold that it was starting to burn. That meant it was saltwater, as most freshwater would start to ice once it got sufficiently below freezing, even if it was a giant lake like this one. Saltwater meant there was an exit to the ocean. He twisted his tails, once again smirking at the idea of being limited to having to swim, before he flew over it. In the light, there were dark shadows just under the surface, interested in him but fleeing from the light.

The walls started to close in it seemed, and at first Tails thought that meant he'd have to turn around or swim. But when he went around the wall, just barely turning a sharp corner, he saw it opened back up again. And on the far side...

A teleportal ring.

Something was bouncing in his head about how this was reckless, he shouldn't be doing this. He pushed the thoughts back as he surged forward, hoping to catch it before it closed. Would it be a rainbow road to Ikan'Thoa? Or just another Special Zone entrance?

It lit up in a brilliant white, shooting off small sparks of electricity and lightning before it spun rapidly in place. Right before he could get there, it closed, leaving him reaching for empty space. He was so close to getting out of here! Just a minute later, or even six more seconds, and he would have been there, and then he could've gone home.

Home?

He wouldn't be able to use it to get home. He knew that. The Special Zone rings wouldn't take him home, they'd take him elsewhere or drop him in the same place. So why was his mind telling him that he had been close to home, as if he was thinking it was the first time he'd seen one?

His hands placed against the wall as he landed on the soft dirt, and blinked as the wall lit up. Veins of quartz created spiderweb like cracks throughout it as the entire wall lit up, highlighting a mural painted behind the wall, hidden by the cracks of quartz of stone.

Some of the veins coagulated a bit close to him, in an odd shape that a part of him recognized. A septagonal crystalline shape, a unique one that he'd never seen in nature before. His hands reached out for the electrite, and he felt a surge of relief come up his arms as they broke off just as easily as the original pair had.

The mural only stayed lit when he was touching the wall, and he realized why; it wasn't quartz he was looking at. It was electrite. It was an electrite vein, buried deep under the earth.

He flew out to the center of the dark lake, and used his Charger to give him a small boost before he tried to bolt the wall, hopefully causing the electrite to brighten up and allow him to see it.

The walls lit up, and Tails was almost taken aback by the painting. It was almost as fresh as the day it had been painted, with small specks of paint still not fully dry.

It showed the Grace. It showed Blaze, looking out to sea from the ship. It showed Spark, sitting down on the ground next to her. It showed Katia, off in the distance but still recognizable. It showed Tails, running back with the Miles Electric still in his hands.

And below each one was a red cross mark, similar to an X. Sometimes multiple on one, and other times with only one. Blaze had only one. Tails had three. Katia had four, and Spark had nearly six underneath her.

There was something about it that was giving him the creeps. It was obviously an ominous message of some kind. Except...that Katia had died. Spark hadn't, and Tails would know if he had. At least, he hoped he would.

He hit the Charger again and shot another bolt as the image disappeared, the charge running out. The image brightened up again, but this time it had changed. Whereas before it had shown them all at the beach, now it showed them in the witch's hut in Ikan'Thoa, Flora the hedgehog nowhere to be seen. Katia was noticeably pregnant in this one, with only three X's underneath her. Blaze had two, and both Spark and Tails had nearly five.

There was something wrong here, Tails knew. Something was wrong, and it was eating away at him. He shut his eyes and tried to shut the image out, only to be cast into darkness again. Wildly he cast another bolt at the wall.

This time Blaze and Spark were there, with the coyote that had first spoke up during their Choosing. Tails and Katia were off to the side, multiple's X's underneath.

This was wrong. This was wrong. This was wrong. This was wrong. This was wrong. This was wrong.

His mind kept yelling at him to get out of there, but still he flew...stood. He was standing on the water, and he wasn't sure when. It wasn't wet, but able to keep him up just the same. Everything was wrong. This was wrong. This was wrong. This was wrong.

The images were wrong. They were of things that didn't happen, couldn't happen, wouldn't happen, shouldn't happen-

He used the rest of the charges, focusing everything he had on destroying the wall. The electrite reacted to him electrifying himself, and started to make a small humming sound.

The image reappeared on its own this time, seemingly in response to the humming of the electrite. This one showed the Grace, again, but also Captain Monsoon's ship, close to each other, almost overlapping. In the far distance, Tails knew without a doubt what he was seeing. Silver liquid that erupted in patterns, plants that bloomed and died as quick as they came, in a pattern he didn't know.

This one showed the Blooming Tides.

He shot the bolt, finally unable to control it anymore. It struck the wall, hounding it with thunder and lightning. Tails couldn't hear anything anymore, the sound roaring against his ears, the small humming of the electrite goading him forward-

The wall lit up, and in an explosion that Tails would claim to be right out of the Death Egg explosion itself, tossed him out of the room. It carried him on the wave of compression, slamming him into the wall on the far side. His back cracked instantly, and his tails showed their displeasure as he was sure he'd broken more than a few tail bones with that move. His shoulders hurt as well, but he looked up nonetheless.

There was blue sky above him, a dull color that reminded him of home. It turned a dull red near instantly, but he saw the small dots that represented the stars. He looked up and smelled fresh air for the first time since he'd come down here, and he suddenly felt...tired.

The electrite was still humming in his hands. But it wasn't a threatening sound, or a goading sound. It was a gentle sound, a quiet and reassuring sound, that told him that everything was going to be alright. It hummed into his ears, and hummed into his bones and skull and brain and soul.

He relaxed into the wall, feeling the washes of pain from around him as he did. He could smell fresh air, and he could see the tops of mountains. It must be near midnight or somewhere close, he thought. He didn't see a moon or sun anywhere nearby, only the twinkle of the stars above him.

He was so tired, now. He would just...he would make it back. Just maybe after a quick...small...nap...

-Side B-

Blaze stared over the mountainous valley. She had run there from the heart-shaped lake, a casual run that didn't go anywhere near as fast as she could. The hills were gentle and sloping, with small pinpricks that she ignored.

On one side she could see an endless valley of plains, reaching out for miles upon miles. On the other, more mountains that led inwards, probably with some kind of special lake or something, judging by how cold it was and the snow-capped tops. The third side was the ocean, vast and infinite.

The plains she and Tails could pass through in about a day or two, judging on how vast they actually were. But...really, did they need to? They had escaped Ikan'Thoa, and now the only thing left to do was survive. They had found their 'others' the Elemental Mountain had spoken of, and didn't want anything to do with them.

It depends on what kind of food they found. They could eat fish out of the ocean or lake, but she did prefer a bit more variety in her diet. If they needed to move again, they would. They'd leave the Grace here, and just move onwards.

It wouldn't be the first time. And it probably wouldn't be the last.

She stood overlooking the three, when a small flash caught her eye. She turned around, seeing what looked like a small bolt reach into the sky from where the Grace was. It was tiny in comparison to her original fireball, but...she'd only been out an hour or two.

Spark, maybe? But it was too small to be both Tails and her.

But why would she be back? Blaze narrowed her eyes. And what was she doing without Tails? They had specifically gone off together to stick together. Probably to prevent this exact scenario. She called her fires forth, and quickly accelerated to the speed of sound. She was getting faster, she noticed. Usually it would have taken a few seconds to get up to mach one, and now it was only a moment or two. Could be with all the practice she was getting.

She slowed down just enough to let gravity aid her in falling before she took to running down the cliff. She was running on instinct as she ran from outcropping to outcropping, her feet barely staying on before they found the air again. She ignored the height as best she could; she'd survived higher.

The ground was coming up quick; she hadn't realized how high up she'd been. Probably for the best, she thought to herself, but at least now she was in control, and not in free fall. Free fall would be bad.

She cut off the flames, letting the air suddenly push her back and slow her down. She waited only a moment or two, just enough to be around twenty or thirty feet up from the ground; landable, but it might hurt, if she wasn't planning on landing on sand. She jumped, pushing herself just up lightly, creating an arc to land on the sand.

The air was still pushing her to slow down, and she waited until five feet from the sand before she called the flames again, surging forward. There was no hard landing, as her speed took care of it for her.

It still took nearly a few hundred feet for her to slow down enough to see the Grace, and Spark watching her with a serious look on the vixen's face. "What's wrong?" Blaze asked instantly. "Where's Tails?" There was no time for anything but the necessary questions. If Tails was hurt or in danger, they should be moving out.

"I don't know," Spark answered just as quick. "I was picking some berries in a valley, and then I heard a landslide. It swallowed him up."

"Show me."

Spark nodded, a small jolt coming from her feet into the sand. She sped off into one of the valleys two mountains away from the Grace. Blaze followed, keeping pace easily; as fast as Spark was, both Blaze and Tails were on different levels altogether.

"I was over here," Spark pointed out to a half-picked berry bush. Nostalgia pricked at Blaze's mind. Those were the same kinds of berries they had found at the Elemental Mountain. The ones that were sweeter the younger they were, and the best time to plant them was after they'd grown bitter. It also only took them a week or two to start growing.

Blaze sniffed the air. She smelled Tails around, and she smelled Spark and the controlled ozone she was constantly emitting, even if the vixen didn't know it. There was no blood, and even if he'd gotten crushed there would be blood around.

There was a hint of stale air around, she noticed. That usually only meant a cave of some kind, one without much ventilation. She glanced up, seeing the moon starting to rise on the horizon. The sun hadn't quite set yet.

She looked down, staring at the grass as if it had done something to offend her. The opening had been right below her. Which meant..."He's still alive, I think. Get back to the Grace once the moon reaches its apex, with or without him," Blaze instructed. Spark nodded, and darted off into the woods, small lights emitting from her fur.

Blaze reached down and gently cupped a small blade of grass. It wasn't green, but rather some off shade of purple and burgundy mixed together. It wasn't blood, nor was it dirt or brown. She charged a small flame, watching it burn gently.

The grass was perfectly alright once the flame washed away. She could try it on the bushes, but saw no reason to. The grass and the bushes would probably be fine even if she wanted to burn it all to the ground.

She was tempted to follow Spark, as she had been the last one to see him, but there was something else that was keeping her from it. Some odd feeling, deep in her chest, leading her to a different path. Through the bushes, through the grasses, she narrowed her eyes as she felt its pull.

This wasn't like the nymphs, or the dryads. There was nothing to control her mind except her at the moment. She was making quite sure of that particular feat.

Her ears perked up as she felt an explosion soar through the land. It was like an earthquake, except far stronger and had only one actual shock-wave. A moment later she felt it pull through the air, and a moment later she heard the thundering roar as what sounded like a mountain collapsed on itself.

She looked up instantly, trying to find its source. After an explosion like that, there has to be a dust cloud; something like that simply doesn't just disappear.

She saw it; two mountains over. It was a tall dust cloud, as if a volcano had suddenly erupted from underground. Blaze immediately surged forward, calling forth the flames and darting forward. Plants came to try to arrest her ankles, keep her still, but by the time they would manage to touch her, she'd already be twenty feet ahead.

Spark was far behind her, she heard. The vixen was going as fast as she could, but that was no match for Blaze. Under brush, over small streams of water, up the cliffside that separated one valley from another.

Moonlight graced her eyes the instant she came over the top, the sun having fully set by now. It may have been too early for sunset, but her sense of time was made wrong by this place, so all she could tell was by where the moon and sun were. The pale green light washed over the dust cloud as Blaze landed softly on the top of the valley side. Other mountains were next to her, far higher, but this was the easiest way up and over to where the explosion had taken place. And it was obviously an actual explosion.

What had Tails said once? Wherever there is an explosion, he's generally there? Or some thing like that. A bomb kinetic? What even would be the word for that...an explosion kineticist...

Blaze shook her head out and turned around, seeing Spark as she climbed up the valley side. She was a strong warrior, and Blaze knew that meant she could fight, but she was climbing up the valley side as if it was nothing. Honestly, she thought there might have been a bit of tree fox in her.

She took a single step over the edge and let herself slide down the rest of the way. It was a lot like grinding on rails and such, only using the natural curves of the valley instead of steel rails. She leaned one way, and crouched down to slide with it. She gave a quick glance back to see Spark had reached the top, and was now staring at her with her mouth hanging open. Blaze turned forward again, knowing that Spark would find some way to follow.

She jumped from one slide to another. She was more than halfway down by now, she would've thought. It wasn't as high as it could be, but for some reason she wasn't bothered by it like she usually would have been. Had she actually overcome her fear? Or was it, more likely, that she was in actual control now? She had her flames back, she had her feet on some form of solid material, and it wasn't as high as it could be. More likely that.

Blaze slid down onto the ground with ease, her eyes kept on the dust cloud. It was still thick, and impossible to see through. What she wouldn't give for aerokinesis right now; Sonic could probably have this done in an instant. But that did give her an idea. She made a small circle of flame, slowly making it bigger and eating more of the air around it. The smoke started to blow out, clearing it out much faster than if it was on its own. She barely gave more than a glance as Spark landed softly next to her. "Where did you learn that?" she asked.

"Grinding? Just picked it up. Tails does it too, every once in a while," Blaze answered noncommittally. The stars were starting to shine on through, and the dust cloud was disappearing almost as quick as it had first appeared now. Blaze could start to see through it, seeing a small cave on the far side, probably where the explosion had originated. Caves don't just explode on their own.

The rock was a seemingly normal greyish brown, small hints of red easily visible in it. It wasn't a soft rock either, which Blaze was thankful for. Spark's body emanated more light, more sparks the closer they got to it, the sparks almost magnetically heading towards the rock. Was it magnetic then? Blaze wondered. She stepped carefully down into it, seeing what looked like a body of water, perfectly black and still. Veins of white crystal lit up the cavern as Spark's bolts accidentally hit them.

Her smell was still gone from the dust cloud, but her hearing was still intact despite the small bolts of thunder coming off of her friend. There was more sound here than just the sound of their feet on the rock. "I hear him," Spark muttered. Blaze focused a bit, her ears rotating on her head, before she nodded. A light breathing sound, as if in pain, was on the far side of the cavern. Even if it wasn't Tails, which she was mostly sure it was because that's just kind of their luck, it was someone who was probably hurt.

She boosted across the water, her feet barely touching the top of the water before she was past it. It gripped onto her, as if not wanting her to move forward. Her eyes sought through the darkness, and found the small orange or yellow fur that was Tails. He'd gone back to orange with the oncoming winter, just as she'd gone a bit more purple than before. He was crouched low, almost in a ball, his back against the wall. "Come on Tails, I got you," Blaze muttered as she picked him up. His back was bleeding, and his legs and tails weren't in the best of shapes, but at least now she could get him back to the Grace. "I got him! Meet back at the Grace!" she yelled, heading into a boost across the lake again. She didn't stop even when she barely heard Spark telling her she understood.

A spring arc doesn't mean no danger. It just means...different.

Until Next Time.