A/N: I really really wanted to post something for Blaze's anniversary, but I can't post the fic I'm working on yet, so I dug up this unfinished one from my drafts. I wrote most of it last year before SXSG was announced, but it's nice that the timing works out.

Ch. 1: Long time no see

Guardian's journal, May 15, XXXX.

I have been continuing my studies of Sol Shift. I am improving, as I was able to transport myself multiple times across Guardian's Isle in quick succession without tiring much. I plan to challenge myself by traveling between Guardian's Isle and Plant Kingdom next. I have completed this distance before, but the single trip wore me out, and I could not make the return journey again for a few hours. But that was last month; my stamina has greatly improved since then, so I believe I could do a round trip without trouble, if not more.

Of course, if it were just about getting there, it would not be difficult to make the journey on boat or on foot. This is about learning new skills that may prove useful in the future. I am grateful that previous Guardians and their councils made the deliberate choice to build unstructured time into the Guardian's duties. Gardon frequently tells me I err too far on the side of training and self-improvement and too little on the side of rest. But in truth, I am not purely motivated by the thought of self-improvement; in this particular case, it's also just... fun. I can see why Sonic spends so much time this way, chasing adventure. In another life, one without all of these duties, perhaps I, too, would-

No, I forget myself. There's no use in chasing what could be.

The sky is clear today, good for sailing. That's not Blaze's intent now, but it does make things easier in the event that something goes awry and she has to return to the Palace in a more conventional way.

She reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out the blue Sol Emerald. It catches the sunlight, glinting like surface of the sea. Then, she closes her eyes and imagines Plant Kingdom-enormous flora reaching towards the same blue sky.

"Sol Shift!"

The world bends around her and everything becomes muffled, like she's folding herself into a cotton ball. Her energy stretches and twists, reaching across land and sea to that node spot in her memory-

She lands, perched on an enormous mushroom.

She allows herself a moment to catch her breath and assess her condition. Easier than last time, as expected. She also landed somewhere safe, acrophobia aside-the previous time, she'd landed in the grasp of a flinging branch and been unceremoniously launched. Good, good. She's getting used to this, like learning to twist her body midair to land on her feet.

Just then, her comms chime. The caller ID reads "MARINE." Luckily Blaze just landed-would the call have gone through if she had been mid-Shift?

"What is it," she says by way of greeting.

"Hi, Marine, nice to hear from you!" Marine pipes back, using a squeaky voice that sounds more like Cream than Blaze herself. In her regular voice, Marine adds, "I got huge news, mate." She pauses.

"Are you going to tell me, or-"

"I was pausing for dramatic effect!" Marine harrumphs. "Anyways, you got to get to Southern Island quick as you can, you hear?"

"What-"

Marine hangs up.

"Quick as I can, you say?" Blaze pulls out the Emerald once more with a smirk. She imagines the little island house, with Marine inside. "Sol Shift!"

The world warps once more, tunneling her across waves. Just for a little extra flair, she arrives in a flash of flame.

Marine, who was sitting at the computer in the main room, jumps about a foot in the air and lets out a string of expletives.

Blaze raises a brow. "Apologies. I was aiming for the dock outside. It appears my aim could use some work."

Marine gives her a stinkeye as if evaluating the truth of Blaze's words. "Right, well, I did say to come quick as you could, and you're here, so." She beckons for Blaze to come over to the computer.

On the screen, there appears to be some kind of communication, with a twin-tailed insignia at the top of the window. The first message reads:

Yellow Sky: Marine, are you there?

"Just started downloading itself while I was working on blueprints," Marine explains. "Gave me a fright. Thought it was a ghost robot or something."

YellowSky: Marine, it's Tails. If you're reading this, I've managed to reach you from my home in the Chaos Dimension.

SeaCap: For real?! You're a fair dinkum genius, Tails.

What follows is a set of instructions from Tails to confirm that he has indeed reached the intended place and time, followed by Marine's replies. The conversation then shifts to briefly catching up on the past few months-Blaze makes a mental note to ask later about the planet splitting into pieces. Tails then asks about Blaze, to which Marine replies, "I'll call her." Now, Marine types again.

SeaCap: Got her right here.

In a moment, a reply appears.

YellowSky: Wow, that was quick! Hi Blaze!

The next message appears in a different color, instructing her to type in a username. Marine moves aside so that Blaze can type.

Blaze: Hello, Tails. It's nice to hear from you.

YellowSky: Heh, I should have guessed you would just put your name. I assume you've read back my conversation with Marine?

Blaze: Yes.

YellowSky: Ok, great! If you hadn't, the chat should have saved so you could read it back later. It's pretty bare bones right now, but I'm just really glad it worked!

He goes on, talking about how he wants to build out this program and then upgrade to audio, then video, and then eventually sending physical items. He also has plans to get this tech installed on personal devices, so that they can be away from the main tower. Marine's going to help him, of course, especially now that she has more experience building stuff on her end. He figures he can send her instructions and have her try them out, instead of having to build everything and attempt to send it over himself. Marine, for her part, is very pleased with the prospect of providing more hands-on assistance this time around.

Blaze checks the time. Tails types very quickly, but Blaze has already been here longer than she expected, and she'll have to leave soon if she wants to be on time for her meeting.

Blaze: I'm sorry to interrupt, but I do have prior commitments this afternoon.

Will you and Marine keep me updated on your progress?

YellowSky: Oh, man! Sorry, I totally forgot you probably had stuff to do today.

YellowSky: Before you go, do you want to talk to Sonic? He's downstairs, he asked me to let him know when I got you online, oops.

It feels as though something has been lifted from Blaze's shoulders that she wasn't aware of until now. He wants to talk to her.

Blaze: Yes, thank you.

Another minute passes before a new message pops up.

blueblur23: heya blaze! long time no see :)

It's just words on a screen, but she can hear it in his voice. I'll see you again. That first time, she'd thought of it as a refusal to say goodbye, not a promise. But he came back, and they said goodbye, and now they're here. Again.

Blaze: It's good to hear from you.

blueblur23: likewise

Eight months ago, they're on a beach together, sunset orange on the horizon ahead.

"Promise me you'll come back," Blaze says, eyes on the water lapping at their toes.

She senses Sonic's eyes on her, and when she looks back, his gaze is soft. He smiles at her with that smile of his, that one she has come to cherish.

"Promise."

A/N: The sunset bit at the end here refers to "To be loved like the ocean," a ficlet my partner dunkalfredo wrote for me back in 2018. It lives in my brain rent-free, but you can find it on AO3 lol.

There will be two more chapters after this. I did write more than that, but it needs to be reworked and overlaps with my current fic anyway so it might just stay buried on my computer, lol. We'll see.

Thanks for reading!