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.
Extinguish 11.5
Tails fired another charger bolt into the trees, not surprised as he heard the cry of pain. "Seriously, you nymphs again!?" he yelled out as the plant vines started to constrict against his foot. There was a young green goat that had come out of another tree, laughing at his faulty attempts at getting them to be silent.
"Last time I way way too tired to think about how creepy you all are, but you know, I think you do know!" Tails yelled out as he sped past them. His tails were spinning quickly, far quicker than they had originally when he was here.
He had felt them try to get them inside his head again, just as they had the last time he was here. And just as quickly as he had then, he had shrugged it off, only for them to, once again, try to kill him.
It was almost as if this was a repeat of everything else that had already happened. Just a bit shorter, because he already knew the answers to everything. Maybe that's what this place was doing; making sure they did everything properly by giving them the chances to do what the other had done.
But that would also require far more sapient thought than he had given the Blooming Tides had the capacity for. He was expecting basic sentience, because there was no way strange time loops could be the result of anything but. And now he was being forced to realize that may not have been the case.
He was going to enjoy destroying the Tides. If only to make up for the hundreds of times it tried to have him killed by putting him in these situations that he was most assuredly uncomfortable with! Another naked woman came out, green as all the others, this one a fox. "Come with us, be with us..."
"Tried that last time, didn't work then, won't work now!" Tails yelled as vaulted over a large tree root. He was fortunately going quick enough that even as it tried to reach up and grab him, he was already gone.
"Let's see, last time the only reason we got out was because we burned the forest down. But I don't have Blaze, and I only have two charges left on the Charger, and the sun isn't capable of charging the Miles Electric," Tails said to himself. He could use another charge and try to light a forest fire that way, but they had quickly put out the other ones that he had lit up while trying to force the nymphs to go away. Or at least put some leaves on.
"So I need a constant source of fire. Like a torch or something. Something that I can use that would probably light this place up like a firework. Or I can try to overload them again," Tails concluded.
His ears dropped over him as the lightning storm not too far in front of him let out another natural tempest. "Darn lightning...just stop already."
"Join us, and you will never fear the lightning again-"
Tails picked up a stick and whacked whatever nymph had told him that. He was barely even paying attention now as they threatened to come out of every corner. He took a deep breath as he took off again, hoping to find a better braining stick than the random one he grabbed off the ground. He spun his tails and took to the air again, hoping that the tree branches would be a bit slower than their roots, or that the nymphs wouldn't realize that he could fly. That was his big trick...although actually, now that he thought about it, he didn't need to use the Charger to make a spark, did he?
He'd done it back in Ikan'Thoa. When they had questioned his ability to use electrokinesis on the ground. It had been sleight of hand back then, but he could still make a spark with static electricity. And that's all he needed; a single spark.
What he wouldn't give to have Spark's dry commentary either. She'd probably have some epic myth or story about these things, and so while he was dragging her along, she'd be telling him a story, his mind distracted into the storytelling-
He found himself face first into the dirt, as he heard more laughing from the nymphs around him. Of course, while he was distracted, one of the branches must have finally got a good hit on the back of his head. "That was a dirty shot," he commented.
"It worked, didn't it? Care to join us yet, Exception?" the nymph from earlier, the vixen, said slowly as she rose from another tree.
Tails sighed. "No, I'm not. I'm not going to join you, because I'm not going to die here!"
"You think you can outwit the Blooming Tides?"
"I am the Bringer of Chaos, supposedly," Tails said, looking all over the small space for another branch or stick. He found a few that were decent sized, but they were both still wet. He needed a dry branch, preferably with some leaves.
Leaves were much easier to catch on fire than sticks.
"You? A small little boy, running away and screaming for his brother?" the vixen said, fully forming out of the roots. "You, who holds no love for this world, would seek to destroy it?"
"Considering how many times this place has tried to kill me, yeah, kinda," Tails answered jovially. He found a perfect stick, nearly three feet long and about as big as his wrist. And at the end, were four perfectly placed leaves.
"Why? Why do you think this world hates you so?" the vixen asked, sitting down carefully in front of him. Her eyes were stuck on the branch and stick in his hand, and Tails noticed that a few more of the nymphs started to come out of the closer trees. Their eyes were glued on the branch on his hand.
Tails wasn't sure. Were they asking why he thought the world was trying to kill him, or were they asking him why the world was trying to kill them? "I mean, that's just the nature of the world, isn't it?" he tried.
The vixen shook her head. "It is not. This world was once kind, and even we lost druids once sought only peace with the elementalists. And yet...we keep seeing the same thing, over and over. Hundreds of the same sacrifices, hundreds of the same games being done, again, and again, and again."
"All of you are lost in the Tides, too..." Tails realized. "They control everything in the world, don't they?"
The vixen shook her head. "They control nothing. Instead, they simply seek to be. But to be requires them to repeat, again, and again. They seek to exist, but in turn, we cannot cease while it does." In other words, while the Tides continue, the nymphs can't die. Which meant they probably felt the pain of being burned hundreds of times by Blaze, or however many times he and Blaze went through here.
A small feline nymph came out of another tree, and Tails held his breath as he recognized the vague shape. Asides from being green, the hair was there, the gem was there. Blaze. "...How..."
"The second time we found you both. She accepted her place among our tribe, her rightful place among others. And now, as all the others, she was cursed with eternity."
"Will you let me out of here, then? If I promise to do my best to destroy the Tides?" Tails tried. He kept his grip on the stick, just in case something was about to start. But seeing a nymph version of Blaze...it wasn't her, but it was close to her, and maybe he'd-
"Tails. Don't try your best," Blaze's voice came out from the copy. "Because that would admit failure is a possibility."
"There is only do or do not...there is no try," Tails quoted as he smirked. The nymphs slowly walked backwards into their trees, leaving him alone with only the nymph of Blaze and the original vixen.
"Do you think you are strong enough, Bringer of Chaos? To end the thing that cannot end? A cycle of cycles, always enduring. And when time runs out...it all loops once more," Blaze and the vixen said at the same time.
"I don't think I am, no. But I have to be. I'm the one that's made it the farthest, and it can't be that far now. We've passed every other test this world as thrown at us. There's nothing left for us, except to end the Blooming Tides," Tails said, trying to fill his voice with determination. Hopefully that would inspire some confidence in him.
"There are plenty of things left," the nymph of Blaze said. "We were close, before I accepted the offer. Closer than you and yours were. They were...going to make you suffer. But I pushed you forward, and you got as far as the river on your own."
"I didn't make it across, did I?"
"Katia killed you on the other side, yes. And then the loop restarted a few months later. And yet I was here still."
"How come you didn't come out sooner?"
"Many of us have lost everything to the Tides, including our sanity. It is only luck that Katia was here, the most capable of retaining her thoughts. When you went through, she was asleep," the nymph of Blaze explained. She motioned to the vixen, who nodded solemnly.
Another loop, Katia must have found her way to the Lost Jungle, where she was taken in by the nymphs and killed. Become one of them.
"Just...let me out. We don't have much time left," Tails said quietly. His ears drooped as the lightning storm roared overhead.
"No, we don't. The loop will end in six hours. This area saps time like sand does water," the nymph of Katia said. Now that Tails knew that was her name, he saw only her last moments, of the surprise on her face as Strike ran his claws through her chest.
Her heart's blood on his hands, of him pulling her back into the water. The face was the same, the body was the same, but...the light behind it wasn't. The Katia that he knew wasn't this one, but another one similar. She stood up, a haven of trees slowly popping up with her. The nymph of Blaze went back into the trees, and Tails stared at the pathway. Hundreds of trees created a path overhead, dimming the blue light of the sun.
Hundreds, if not thousands of the nymphs stared at him as he sped past. This place was bigger than he thought. The forest floor started to disappear, and he expected to see another patch of white fog to suggest the next biome.
Instead he found only a long golden plain, fields of wheat and rye coasting over the soft rolling hills. There was no sudden transition, as he'd been used to, instead a rather gentle transition, similar to a more natural world.
He turned around, only to see the row of trees close up behind him, creating an infinite jungle of wood and darkness. No going back, now.
But on the other hand, the gentle transition...did that mean he was almost there? There was a single tall mountain, with the absolute largest thunderstorm he'd ever seen swirling above it, hundreds of lightning bolts being shoved down every moment.
His fear threatened to eat him, but he stomped it down as best he could. That was probably the place. He was close, now. Closer than he had any right to be. It was right there, he could almost taste it.
He felt a sense of relief, yet a sense of tension in his shoulders. The air was clean, not smelling of blood or any other unusual scent. There was no scent of a time loop, or the same sense that he'd had in Reveniah.
"Almost there! Wait there Sonic, we're coming home!" he shouted, spinning his tails into the field of gold.
-Side B-
Blaze stared at the ocean for a lot longer than she thought she had. Her mind was lost in her memories, of who she was.
Or maybe who she was had never changed, and it was solely how she felt about it that changed. Combine that with her...feral side suddenly coming out...she had a lot on her mind.
She forced herself up from the beach's sand, brushing off her tail and and legs. She was still on the hunt for the Tides, and that meant she had to keep moving forward, no matter the realizations or the powers that be kept her back.
The sand was orange, as if the sun was in constant sunset. It wasn't though, and the blue sun continued overhead. How much time did they have left, before she'd suddenly find herself back in the forest when they'd come in?
Did they have any time left? Was she only minutes away from losing everything, and being reborn as the woman that had come out of the Special Zone for one of the first times? There was no treeline, and the beach seemed to last forever in one side. On the other, the ocean lay next to the fog. There were mountains around the beach side, and she could vaguely hear the thunderstorm that had been raging this entire time going off.
Poor Tails must be scared to death by all that thunder and lightning. Not that she blamed him. She was scared just as much by heights, and by the constant falling down them she had been forced to do. She sighed as her feet fell into the sand only a few inches, sinking in. It made it harder to walk in, but it was making much more sense to her. This was how sand ought to behave, how it ought to act. Very different than the sand in the desert, when it swallowed their shoes but not their bare feet.
The salt in the air was starting to get to her, too. She felt grungy, the fur on her arms and torso feeling as if the salt water had invited itself in. She hadn't gone so far as to dive into the ocean, but the waves had misted her. The dunes of the beach rolled up and downwards, creating vast hills of the sand. If she hadn't had to cross it, it would've looked quite nice. As it stood though, she had to cross it, and started a jog.
The sand was much softer, and she sunk much deeper this far out from the ocean. Now it was up to her ankles at points, and sometimes all the way to her knees. Fortunately the sand wasn't baking the way she knew sand often was.
Not that she'd get hurt by it, but it was still uncomfortable at times.
At the top of the most recent sand dune, she stopped and tried to get a good view around. The mountains were off in the distance, and the ocean seemed to run off to the side of it. Maybe the ocean became a cliffside? The white fog was lifted from that corner, so maybe she'd crossed the biomes directly already. There was no forest around, nor was there any sign of anything other than endless sand. The temperature was still good though, and it wasn't the high of the desert nor the cold of the mountains.
She slid down the other side of the dune, feeling the sand beneath her move. She had never tried to grind on sand, for obvious reasons, nor had she ever tried sand-boarding, but now it seemed...not fun, but amusing nonetheless. As Blaze went further into the sand dunes, she found that they held their shape better than most. Small grasses and greens popped out of the ground this far out from the ocean, with some what looked like a cactus weed. She didn't dare touch it, but it reminded her of the thirst in her throat.
She drank the rest of her water, not wanting to waste it in case their time was up without her knowing. Had she given up hope, already? Would the next loop be the final one that would turn her feral for good? Lost in her own mind, unknown to death or life, only eating and sleeping.
She shut her eyes, pulling away all of her stray thoughts. She was Blaze the Cat, not Blaze the feral cat! She had promises to keep. She was going to get Tails out of this world, come Flames of Disaster or time wipe. Whether this loop, the next one or the one after.
She went over another dune, not surprised as she saw the greenery suddenly start. It wasn't a forest, but rather plant life in general. Large, fluffy fronds from every which way. The world was making sense, for the most part. The fronds were a whitish green, the sand was orange, and she was annoyed from the way the cactus fruit crunched underneath her feet.
But on the other hand, it made travel much faster. She bounced from one section of the plants to another, using them instead of the sand dunes to navigate towards the far mountains. Her ears perked up as she heard the sound of crashing waves again. But she'd gone in an almost straight line, so how did the ocean come back?
The sand dunes started getting smaller as she crossed the last one, seeing a large expanse of the sand, followed by the gentle lapping waves of the ocean. But the ocean was on the other side, and she hadn't turned. Was this a bay, or a peninsula?
Not for the first time, she wished she had Tails with her. Tails could fly, give a bird's eye view of the area. Maybe she had just gone onto a peninsula, and the actual way out of the dunes was another path. But her instincts said otherwise. There was no white fog anymore, just endless beach on all sides. The mountains were separated by the ocean, the waves getting bigger the further out she looked.
Her ears perked as she stopped. There was another sound; the sound of crunching sand. Something else was nearby. Another copy? Doppelganger? Tails?
"Spark?" she asked as the sound turned a corner into the dunes. It looked like the vixen, but her clothes had seen far better days. Barely hanging on, mostly held on by the metal she now carried. Swords on her belt, knives on her waist and connected to her top.
"Blaze?" Sparks' voice cried out. Blaze found herself in a deep hug a moment later, some of the knives poking in areas where they shouldn't be. "Finally! I was worried I was lost forever!"
"Don't worry, we can be lost together then," Blaze answered with a gentle smile. Spark pulled back, and blushed hard a moment later.
"Sorry. About the uh...knives."
"Sound's like a story. Care to tell how you found them?" Blaze asked. What had Spark been up to since they separated on the sky road?
"Went up a mountain, didn't see anything, fell off the mountain, fell into some plains, went underground, found this stuff and a bunch of other things, and then I was in a desert. And now I'm here."
Blaze let out a quiet chuckle. "Desert, huh? I was hoping that Tails nor I would have to go through there again. Sorry that you did though. Was hard enough the first time around."
"I'm surprised you both did as much as you said you did. Most others would just say they did to get recognition."
"We don't need to exaggerate. We just need to tell the truth, our skills show all the difference," Blaze explained. "Do you even know how to use any of those?" she asked, pointing to the variety of swords on her companion's waist.
"No, not really. I had a bigger one on my back, but I ended up throwing it at one of the many things in the desert trying to kill me. What places you have been through?"
"Let's see...after I left the forest, I ended up in the swamp, then in a field of flowers. Then the mountain again, and now here," Blaze summarized. Spark nodded. "The forest where we first came in, the swamp that Tails and you went through, Reveniah, and the mountain."
"It almost seems like the Lost Hexes are designed to test you on your knowledge of the world. But that seems weird, because how would it have set it up?"
"Lost Hexes?"
"Sorry, just my name for it."
Poor Spark. "Lost Hex is already the term of a place in Tails' world. Sorry Spark," Blaze smiled. With someone around, her mood had done a one eighty. Before, she was moody and sour, but now...now she was traveling with a friend again.
Was this why Sonic preferred adventuring with Tails? Even without his abilities, Tails had been...a fun adventuring companion. He was able to take her deadpan and her moodiness with equal opportunity, and took the time to dish it right back. Spark, too, had been fun, back in Vianex. Although back then they had a lot more to worry about then simply being time looped back.
And now that she thought about it, that was the worst that could happen, wasn't it? Yes, it would suck having to be put through the same stuff over and over again, and it was horrifying to think about. But on the other hand, that was also six more months that another copy of her would get to adventure around with Tails, and Spark, and Katia.
Would that really be so bad? Only if they couldn't remember it. Maybe that was the part that ate at her so much.
"Really? Alright, I'll have to think of a new one. Still, better than most of Tails' names, right?"
"Yeah. Poor kid has no ability to name things. Drillers, sand worms...the rocs were a good one," Blaze murmured. "Do you know how much longer we have?"
"No. I've been lost out here for a while. And the sun set and came back up while I was in the desert, trying to avoid the showal," Spark explained. Blaze tilted her head quizzically, "the giant sand worm."
"Of course there's a name for that. What about the small mite things that it eats? We came up with grubs, because they were about as annoying as," Blaze asked.
"I've never even seen them, and as far as I know there isn't a name for them. But grubs work. You haven't had luck getting out of here?"
"No. I've been searching, but every time I head one way I just hit the ocean. I was about to go into the sand dunes again, try another direction. With enough luck, maybe we'll get to those mountains," Blaze said, pointing off into the distance.
"That's a plan, then," Spark said, jumping from one foot to another. "I...also found another thing, in that treasure trove. And I think it's something you should know about, but I don't know how..."
"Could you describe it?"
"It's...hmm...hold on, I did it before, but," Spark started, raising one palm up. She closed her eyes, seemingly concentrating hard on something. The sparks that were constantly around her arms and legs seemed to die out a bit, as if she was actively channeling them, but there was no where for the lightning to go.
Then Blaze saw it. In the palm of the vixen's hand, shining a brilliant gold. A single, golden ring. Blaze raised on hand on, feeling it's familiar warmth under her hand.
It was more than just similar to the one that Tails had brought. It was the exact same one. The same one she'd lost in the forest when they'd first arrived, the one that bounced away, and then was never found again.
After nearly six months, here it was again. "I...you should keep it, Spark. We're...probably going to be needing it."
"So it is something that's like what you mentioned?" she asked.
"It is exactly like what we've been talking about," Blaze said, feeling a large grin eager to escape. They had a single ring. Any injury, could be healed with its help.
Finally, they were whole again.
-Side S-
Spark let the ring travel back into her hand, feeling its energy go through her body once more. It was an odd feeling, it always was, but it was one that she knew she could grow to enjoy. Was that why Tails and Blaze were always going on about them?
And Blaze! The instant Spark showed her the one ring, it was as if a switch had been flipped. Suddenly, she was bursting with fire, going from one side to another with little care for her own safety.
But Spark knew that they were still far from done. She wasn't sure how long they had left, but the sun remained high. And no matter how far or fast Blaze went, it seemed they were on an island of sand surrounded by ocean every which way. Even the way the fog had originally let them come in had gone, leaving only more ocean and sand in its wake.
There was plenty of cactus fruit in the center, but Spark noticed that Blaze didn't bother to touch it. That was fair, if someone didn't know anything about it, but a survivalist like Blaze ought to know they were edible. Not the best, but edible. Spark wasn't sure how long they talked along the beach. Blaze had asked for a demonstration of the swords, once it became clear that the only way off the island was through or over the water. And while Blaze could run on water, Spark couldn't.
They were essentially trapped.
But still, Spark showed her the swords. She started with the longer one, nearly as long as one of her legs. Blaze identified it as a 'longsword', which was...kind of obvious. But apparently it was an actual type of sword that was known for being easy to use and fairly simple.
Another was a 'cutlass', a curved sword that, according to Blaze, was mostly used by pirates or other seafaring folk. It had a longer slashing edge, and could be used for a variety of other tasks other than just slashing through other sapients.
The last was, according to Blaze, a 'rapier'. The thin sword with a longer edge that was surprisingly bouncy, with a small handle. That one, Blaze was apparently trained with, and in mere moments that cat found herself with a new sword as Spark hurriedly pushed it into her hands.
Then she'd asked what type of sword Tails preferred, and Blaze had just laughed. Apparently Tails never used a blade, and his only major weapon in his world was his technology, his tails, or a wrench, whatever that was. Blaze tried to show her using her flames, but that honestly just made Spark more confused. Was it a bludgeoning weapon, like a mace or something?
Seriously. It was smooth all over the place, except for the ends, which had holes in them. Or partial holes. Either way, it was a strange thing to be used as a weapon!
There was nothing else to do on the little island, other than attempt to get off, so Spark sat on the ground, watching as Blaze went through a few motions with the rapier. It was obvious she'd been trained somehow, the moves were too natural for them not to be.
Spark had long since lost track of time, or even if time was a valid thing to keep track of here, as she watched Blaze go through the motions. The cat seemed reluctant to leave her side from something, but every time Spark brought it up Blaze shot it down just as fast. The vixen wasn't too worried though. If there was a loop, there would be another loop, and that would be the end of that. They'd get other opportunities, even if they don't remember that they did.
"Feels strange to have one of these again. It's been a long time. Would have been handy to have in the temple," Blaze noted absently.
Spark's ears perked up. "Temple? You mean the old Orthroan one that Lightning liked to use as punishment? You had to go through that thing?"
"Yes. Have you ever been to it?"
"Once, when Lightning wanted to show me what would happen if I failed. He brought in a few others. Only a few of us made it out, and even then they didn't get very far into it," Spark said. Her mind relived the screams of the dead as they fell into the molten rock, or fell to the flames.
"Katia said as much. Lightning was big on death as a punishment, wasn't he?"
"He had no reason not to be. Even without him knowing about the loops, it wasn't as if there weren't plenty of other lightning channelers," Spark said, drawing her legs up. Blaze walked over and sat down next to her. "What other obstacles were there? That I never saw?"
"Hmm...there was a cylinder that was full of ice. Both Katia and I fell down that one, similar to one of the ones in the mountain here. A lot of rock. Water streams that held living things that wanted to eat us. A lot of rails, skeletons, the things most would expect from an ancient temple," Blaze answered.
"Rails? What was the even the point of going there, asides from Lightning using it to throw others away?"
"There was an...idol? A stone."
"A Terra Stone!" Spark identified, as her eyes lit up. "Legends and myths abound about them-"
"Let me guess," Blaze said, holding up a hand, "seven of them, infinite power to whomever holds all seven, etc?"
"...That sounds strangely common, in hindsight."
"Not surprised. The Chaos Emeralds and the Sol Emeralds are the same way. I'm surprised that it's not based on some other gem."
"I wouldn't know," Spark answered. "But supposedly they give the user the ability to teleport. The second Fire, the one that went insane from the time loops, had been said to find six of...them."
"But could never find the seventh?"
"But could never find the seventh," Spark clarified. "And you found it for Lightning."
"In all honesty, how badly is Ikan'Thoa screwed?" Blaze asked suddenly. "It's been a while since I thought about it, but we didn't leave it in the best of hands, did we?"
"We didn't have much choice," Spark answered. "But I don't think we left it any worse off. Probably better. Fern would have been a good Fire. Probably more so when Flare finally passed-"
"Wait, what?" Blaze blinked. "Fire had a name?"
"To those old enough to remember it, sure. Or, for those eager to know the stories," Spark said, her eyes lighting up. "Lightning's was Storm. Fire was Flare. Earth was Terracotta, and Water was named River."
Blaze nodded, her eyes looking out over the distance. "It's strange to think they had normal lives before becoming elders." There was a tone to her voice, as if she wasn't telling everything she was thinking.
Spark ignored that feeling. "They've always been the elders while I've been around. But the stories have made their rounds. Terracotta, for one, was known to create the pathways that led to the different districts. He created a movement style that let him move the rocks while he was on them, creating a kind of 'rock surf'. River once made the entirety of the Fire district flood to put out a massive fire that no one could control."
"So...heroes, then?"
"Mostly. The previous elders use these examples of elementalism at their finest, massive acts of power that show their ability, showcase thinking outside the box, and the power to see it through. Storm's was during a rare lightning storm, forcing all of the lightning away from Ikan'Thoa."
It didn't use much thinking outside the box, but it was apparently what Storm did with it that did; the lightning struck the bricks in the Lightning District, causing them to maintain a charge long enough that when the next village attacked he could use that stored energy and unleash it on them.
"What was Flare's?" Blaze asked after a long moment.
"Fire's? Hers was creating a light ball in the sky, allowing the crops to grow after a bad famine wiped most of them out. By giving them light all day, they grew faster, just in time for harvest season. Supposedly if she hadn't, Ikan'Thoa would've starved that year," Spark explained.
Blaze nodded. "Is something wrong? You've been acting strange since I mentioned Flare," Spark asked after she realized that the cat wasn't going to say anything.
"Flare...flare was my mom's name."
"I'm pretty sure that you're a cat, not a fox. If Tails was a fire caller, I'd say there's a chance but-"
"Not what I mean, Spark. I know she's not. My mom is dead. She's the reason I'm the guardian of the Sol Emeralds. Her teachings are what allowed me to survive here. Her teachings are what unlocked my ability of pyrokinesis. She's always been a hunter, on both worlds."
"Both?" How was that possible? Obviously, Blaze and Tails had to have been able to be on two worlds, so maybe it was something like that?
"My...my history is weird. I have...two sets of memories. One from Tails' world, far in the future, and one from the Sol Empire. Two childhoods. Two sets of parents. And in both I was always a pyrokinetic."
Spark tilted her head. Two sets of memories? Sounded weird, but Blaze was...not doing well, obviously, she was here...but was doing well enough. "Is that...strange?" she asked hesitantly.
"Very," Blaze answered. "You only have one childhood, for what little of it there was. Tails only had one. All others only had one. And yet...I had two."
"If anything, I think that just means you got spend more time with your parents than you think," Spark answered easily enough. "They were the same in both worlds, right? Just different occurrences, different histories? In those cases, I say you just had more time with them."
"I...never really thought about it. I guess I did. From the burning buildings to the forest. How I was taught was always the same, just different instances."
Spark looked out into the distance. "I think I'd liked to have more time with mine," she said quietly. She remembered their last moments more than well enough, almost word for word in her nightmares, but the memories? The ones that most children treasured beyond?
She didn't have many of those. And the ones that she did have were bloodied with how they were ended.
"If there's another loop, Spark...I don't know how, I don't even think I'd remember, but I'd want to do something. To help."
"It was a time ago, Blaze. Long before you showed up here. I don't think there's anything that any of us could do, except move on. Like the tides themselves, always rising and falling, no matter the rises and falls of the previous day."
Spark remained in silence for a while, as Blaze did the same, probably lost in her memories. She'd gotten the look often enough on the boat ride over to the continent. Spark wasn't going to try and puncture that thought river, though.
As little as Spark knew that Blaze could do, it was the thought that counted. Blaze was no stranger, now, but even in Vianex Spark knew that Blaze would have helped the instant she could have.
But time goes in only one line...or did it?
Spark got up, looking backwards for a moment. "What's wrong?" Blaze asked, looking in the same direction. Spark didn't see anything other than the sand dunes, but her eyes weren't looking at them.
"Time doesn't only go in one way," Spark murmured. She took a step backward, hoping to find something other than ocean in where her feet would land.
She was not expecting to have her back slam against a well armored front. Blaze's eyes widened as she shot up, flames immediately on her hands. Spark felt her own arms being squeezed as a single well muscled arm rounded its way onto her.
"Now, now...you're not going anywhere," Lightning's extremely unpleasant voice whispered into her ear.
-Extinguish: Interlude-
Sonic stared as the machine started to warm up. He could feel the chaos emeralds nearby, whispering power to him, which he ignored with the ease of someone who'd been using their power for most of his life. Eggman had been chased off, saying how he would find them again, and he'd never let them get any rest. Sonic wasn't worried.
It had taken him nearly three months to track him down, and that was with Shadow and GUN's assistance. He wished he could do it more often, but it was the pull of saving Tails that made it happen.
He wasn't excited to let Eggman go. But he knew he had to let it happen, especially as Tails was probably counting on him. But it had been nearly four months since they'd last received a message from him. Even sending stuff as a direct reply didn't seem to go anywhere, and Sonic felt hopeless more than once as he saw the 'address not deliverable' line pop up.
That usually meant that something had happened to Tails and Blaze. But were they dead? He...his stomach threatened to heave everything he'd eaten in the last two days preparing for this as he thought about it. If Tails was dead, then he'd...
He'd probably be broken for a bit. Eggman would take advantage of that, and Sonic would then do some stupid mistake that would get others even more hurt.
"Alright, the Sol Emeralds are in. The machine is officially ready, Sonic," Knuckles pointed out. The inter-dimensional gateway hummed to life, before sputtering out quickly. "We won't have long, the world that they're on doesn't like opening up.
"You'll have maybe fifteen minutes to an hour to get them back. We just don't know for sure, and even that's using Eggman's equations. GUN's no help here," Amy continued.
"Just find 'em quick as ye can, and head back right where ya get in," Marine piped in from the corner. She had not taken too well to being used by Eggman, although Sonic had been quick to tell her it wasn't her fault. Eggman was known for doing that kind of thing, and worming his way into the victim's mind. Honestly, Sonic had more than half a thought that he'd done the same to him. It wasn't a pretty thought, and it made him wish for Tails to come back faster than before.
The machine hummed to life again. Around the edges, specially modified inputs showed the seven Sol Emeralds, their power minor and glowing dull, as if being drained of their energy. Sonic wasn't worried; being worried about the gems was Knuckles' and Blaze's business. He had his thoughts about it; he'd studied too much into the depths of chaos power to not have them.
The Chaos Emeralds were alien. That much was known. But what wasn't known to many except him was that they held back another power. The Master Emerald, built far before the Chaos Emeralds were, attuned itself to them, realigning whatever being was held back to assist whomever used the emeralds.
The Sol Emeralds, on the other hand, were also alien, but Sonic knew exactly where they were from; a small village on the outskirts of the Sol Empire. Blaze had commented on it last time he'd seen her, nearly ten months ago.
He'd been the only one, then. She was still fighting pirates, and sailing the seas around the Sol Empire, trying to find other mysteries that needed to be unlocked, to make things safer for the people of the Empire. Apparently she'd also taken up sailing as a hobby, not helped by her closeness to Marine, who was probably one of the better captains he'd met.
That was, at least, long after he'd met her the first time. The first time Sonic had met Marine she couldn't sail her way out of a paper bag in the water. Now apparently she did stunts in her spare time.
Reminded him a lot of Tails, actually.
"Sonic, are you listening?" Amy asked, her hands suddenly in front of his face. "How many fingers am I holding up, and how many rings do you have?" she asked. She held no fingers up in front of his eyes.
"None, and plenty. You know I got this!" Sonic tried to portray his nonchalance. Amy rolled her eyes. She must have seen right through him. Admittedly his body was humming with frustrating amounts of energy. Still, she could at least pretend to not see through him.
"GUN's called Shadow away, otherwise he'd be here too," Rouge said from another corner. "I'd feel much safer if it was both of you going in. One for Blaze, and one for Tails."
"You don't think I can't carry both of them while flying? Come on, I'll be Super. I got this!"
"Sure hope you do, Sonic. It's not so simple as trying to save the world. Heck, based on what Eggman said, so grain of salt everyone, I don't think anyone would be against you if you decided to go Starfall on them," Knuckles said.
Sonic shuddered instantly. Even now, years later, talk of what he'd seen was...he was still trying to understand it. The perfect end of all things, a being simply called 'The End'. It was one of those fairy tales, where the reader then says the line 'and everyone lived happy ever after. The End.'.
As if The End then came and eliminated everything. Sonic slowed his heartbeat as he took a deep breath. He was just going into another world, saving Blaze and Tails, and then coming back. He was the fastest thing alive, no matter how much Shadow wants him to admit that title belongs to the black hedgehog instead. Even Blaze gave a pretty good race for it, but in the end decided to wear high heels. It cost her the race, but only by a second or two.
That was also two years ago. Shadow was right behind him, and Blaze right behind him. And after they'd crossed the finish line twice for good measure did every one else come in.
When Sonic had asked why Tails had gone so slow, the fox had simply grinned, 'It was a no contest for the rest of us. I just like the area!'
Of course the fox had. They had raced in Spagonia, and the fox had gone off to talk with his friend of several years, Professor Pickle, regarding some strange chaos signs.
"Alright, so fifth try. One of these has got to work. Sonic, no matter what happens, when it works, you have to go through. I don't know how long the converter's will go from the Sol Emeralds to chaos energy," Knuckles said. "I wonder if sometimes Tails is just as much of a crazy as Eggman is, trying some of this stuff."
"I don't think he ever meant to make any of it. It was more of a thought experiment, it seemed like. If Eggman hadn't started using it, it would have never been built," Marine piped up. "Come on already, work ya hunk of junk!" she said, kicking the side.
"Don't do that!" Knuckles shouted. "Darn it, now I have to go and reset the parameters," he murmured.
Sonic felt the chaos emeralds hovering right below him. He had hundreds of rings, ever since Knuckles had started to get the machine to work with the Sol Emeralds instead of the chaos emeralds, he'd been going out and collecting them. There was a maximum, he knew, but it wouldn't hurt to grab as many as he could. He'd definitely give them up straight to Tails and Blaze. They'd probably need it, given how long they were in a death world.
There was a loud crash suddenly behind him, and Knuckles cursed again, hitting the machine with his fists this time. "Rouge, Amy, go see what that was!" he commanded.
"Sure thing commander!" Amy joked as she ran, grabbing her hammer as she went. Rouge rolled her eyes, flying out as silent as she could.
"Not the commander anymore!" Knuckles roared. "Stupid machine doesn't want to work," he said, pushing seemingly random buttons. "How did Tails expect this to work?"
"Probably from that tablet of his. It can practically run this place on its own," Sonic said absently. The Miles Electric, a tiny tablet that Tails kept with him everywhere. It was one of the only inventions the two tailed fox had that he hadn't patented, or started to mass produce.
Others included most other dangerous things. That weird shock thing he'd used when Metal Sonic became Metal Overlord, or the fake ring bombs. The fox still had a collection of bombs, too, from his time on Cocoa Island, not that Sonic was allowed in that room anymore.
Seriously, blow up two bombs and suddenly the bomb maker doesn't want him anywhere near the others. What the heck, Tails? Everyone likes explosions!
"Sonic, we've got a problem," Amy's voice said. "And...it's a big one."
"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Sonic yelled back.
"It's Eggman! He's attacking! Right now!" Rouge's voice called out. Sonic's eyes widened. Of course the madman would attack right now. It was the closest they'd ever be to being able to get Tails back, and the genius would never want someone with Tails' genius getting back into the world. This was the perfect chance to ensure that Tails would never come back. Sonic's legs trembled as he had to make up his mind. Save Tails, or drive Eggman off?
There was no third option. No clear goal that would work with everything. Nothing that would allow him to get Tails back and nothing that would drive Eggman off in the same time.
"I'm going then! Knuckles, drive Eggman off, keep him away from here! Marine, you know how to operate that thing?" Sonic said, pointing to the machine.
"No, but I can try!" the tanuki exclaimed, running to where Knuckles was. The echidna had barely taken the time to nod his acceptance before he ran out, intent on doing everything in his power to keep Eggman away. If he got his hands on the chaos emeralds now, then everything they'd done was for nothing!
There was another loud crash as Marine started to press buttons randomly. Sonic kept his eyes on the door, torn between running for the machine and making sure it would work or running to deal with Eggman.
Which was stronger? Although if Eggman was attacking Tails' lab directly, it also meant he probably wasn't dealing with innocent civilians elsewhere.
That thought, more than anything, calmed Sonic down. If Eggman was attacking him, he wasn't attacking elsewhere. He could handle Eggman, and he knew the others could too. But civilians, especially those like in Station Square or the Islands, they couldn't. "Take your time, Marine. Be efficient, but calm. They got this. Believe in them," he said.
"Aye, hope you're right there," Marine said, pushing another flashing red button. The machine hummed to life before dying again, as it had always done when Knuckles was there. "Well, thas a sign I'm not doing worse than Knuckles!"
Sonic chuckled, eager to get going. The Sol Emeralds were using their power, and Sonic looked gently over at the power gauge. It was set to maximum, set to full. There was no way there wasn't enough power. Which means that something, on the other side, was probably keeping it closed.
Sonic wasn't sure what he felt first, but he felt a small shift in the air. Suddenly it became hot, and he gave a glance over at the Sol Emeralds. He'd expected them to be dying, but instead they were glowing far, far brighter than he'd seen. "Marine, now!" he shouted.
The tanuki barely gave him a glance as she slammed the button down again, and this time the machine hummed to life...and stayed on.
Sonic ran his hands over the chaos emeralds, forcing their energy to him as he ascended to his Super form. "Alright, give me fifteen minutes! I'll be right back with Tails and Blaze!" he shouted as he went through the inter-dimensional gateway.
Time is a funny thing. It doesn't always go one way.
And with that, Extinguish comes to a close. Blaze and Spark have come across Lightning, while Tails still has to climb the mountain. The stage is set. The actors are in position. All that's left is the final curtain call...for them to be Exalted.
Arc 12. The final arc of Blooming Tides. Exalt.
Until Next Time.