Fire coursed through Blaze's veins, each heartbeat sending fresh waves of agony through her body. The cold concrete beneath her offered no relief as she twisted and writhed. Colors blurred and swirled, voices becoming distant echoes. Shadow's desperate shouts faded into a dull roar, Rouge's struggle with Scourge nothing more than shadows dancing at the edge of her vision.
The burning intensified, worse than any flame she'd ever conjured. Was she screaming? She couldn't tell anymore. The pain consumed everything, dragging her deeper into a spiral of memories.
A tiny lavender kitten stood in the palace garden, flowers bursting into flames around her as she cried. But her father didn't yell. Didn't scold. He knelt beside her, his warm hands steady on her trembling shoulders.
"The fire inside you can never hurt you, Blaze," he whispered, wiping her tears. "It's part of who you are."
Back then, her flames had been wild, unpredictable - but never painful. Even as she set curtains ablaze and melted palace sculptures, the fire felt like an extension of herself. Her father spent countless hours teaching her control, his patience never wavering despite the destruction she caused.
The memory fractured as another spasm racked her body. The serum burned hotter than any natural flame, consuming her from within. This wasn't the comforting warmth of her pyrokinesis. This was wrong. Foreign. Her father's words echoed mockingly through her mind as darkness crept at the edges of her vision.
The fire wasn't supposed to hurt.
But it did.
It burned and burned and burned.
Through the haze of pain, another memory surfaced. Blaze at fourteen, standing in the palace courtyard. The setting sun painted the sky in shades of amber and gold, matching the flames that danced around her fingertips.
"Stop trying to control it," her combat instructor had said. "The fire isn't your enemy."
She'd closed her eyes, exhausted from hours of failed attempts at precision flame control. Her shoulders dropped, tension melting away as she exhaled. The flames didn't vanish - they grew, spiraling up her arms in brilliant ribbons of light.
But for the first time, they didn't feel like a force to be contained. They were an extension of herself, as natural as breathing.
The memory sparked something in her present agony. The serum burning through her veins wasn't foreign at all - it was awakening something that had always been there, something that had been temporarily suppressed.
Blaze stopped fighting. Stopped trying to push back against the fire consuming her from within. Instead, she welcomed it, embraced it like greeting an old friend.
Yes, her father's experiments had shaped her birth. But the fire was hers. Had always been hers. The flames weren't a curse or a weapon - they were part of her very being.
The burning sensation shifted, transformed. What had been agony became warmth, spreading through her body like sunlight breaking through storm clouds. Her powers weren't returning - they'd never truly left. They'd just been waiting for her to remember who she was.
She was Blaze the Cat, guardian of the Sol Emeralds. And she was fire itself.
—-
Scourge hoisted Rouge over his shoulder, her kicks and struggles having no effect on his iron grip. "Time to cage the bat. We've got more scientists to visit, right Shadow?"
Shadow's fists clenched at his sides, crimson eyes fixed on Blaze's crumpled form on the floor. The princess had stopped moving, her body eerily still.
"Don't worry about her." Scourge yanked open a cell door with his free hand. "That serum was meant to-"
An explosion of heat and light cut him off. The temperature in the corridor spiked, concrete walls cracking from the sudden thermal shock. Both hedgehogs spun around.
Blaze stood in the center of a maelstrom of flames, her fur rippling with waves of fire that cast dancing shadows across the walls. Though she favored one leg, her stance radiated power. Her golden eyes blazed with renewed intensity, pupils narrowed to slits.
"Put. Her. Down." Each word dripped with barely contained fury as flames spiraled up her arms.
Scourge's grip on Rouge loosened. "That's impossible. The serum should have-"
"Should have what?" Blaze took a step forward, the concrete beneath her feet glowing cherry-red. "Killed me?" A smile curved her lips, sharp and dangerous. "You can't fight fire with fire."
Shadow burst into motion the instant Scourge's grip slackened. His hand locked around Rouge's wrist, yanking her free in one fluid movement. The bat tumbled into his arms as he leapt back, putting distance between them and Scourge.
Blaze didn't waste a second. The moment Rouge cleared her line of sight, she thrust her palm forward. A concentrated beam of white-hot flame slammed into Scourge's chest, sending him crashing through the cell bars behind him.
Shadow raced down the corridor, Rouge cradled against his chest. Her wings were singed, and bruises darkened her arms where Scourge had gripped her.
"Can you stand?" Shadow set her down around the corner, well away from the heat of Blaze's flames.
Rouge steadied herself against the wall. "I'm fine. Just knocked around a bit." She brushed ash from her suit. "Your princess has quite the temper."
The sounds of combat echoed through the halls - metal screeching, concrete cracking, and Scourge's pained growls mixing with the roar of Blaze's flames.
"She's not my-" Shadow caught himself, shaking his head. "Stay here. I need to-"
"Go." Rouge waved him off. "Help her fry that bastard."
Shadow flashed Rouge a rare half-smile before racing back toward the sounds of combat. The corridor ahead glowed with alternating flashes of green and orange as chaos energy clashed with Blaze's flames.
He rounded the corner to find Blaze and Scourge locked in combat, the green hedgehog dodging her fire attacks with unnatural speed. Scourge's leather jacket smoldered from her earlier hit, but he remained standing.
"Two against one?" Scourge pulled out a familiar-looking gun. "Good thing I came prepared."
Shadow recognized the specialized ammunition - the same type that had torn through his chest a week ago. He dove forward, tackling Blaze out of the way as bullets punched holes in the wall behind them.
"Those rounds bypass chaos energy," Shadow warned, helping Blaze to her feet.
"Then we'll have to be smart about this." Blaze's flames condensed into tight spheres around her hands. "Cover me."
Shadow nodded, charging forward to engage Scourge in close combat. Each punch and kick forced Scourge to focus on defense, preventing him from taking aim with the gun. When Scourge attempted to create distance, Shadow used quick chaos control jumps to stay in his face.
Blaze circled around, timing her attacks carefully. Every opening Shadow created, she exploited with precise bursts of flame. The coordinated assault kept Scourge off balance, unable to properly utilize either his gun or chaos abilities.
"You've gotten soft, Shadow." Scourge blocked a kick but caught a fireball to his shoulder. "Working with others? That's not the Ultimate Lifeform I knew."
Shadow's response was a chaos-enhanced uppercut that sent Scourge stumbling back. Blaze immediately followed up, super-heating the floor beneath Scourge's feet. The green hedgehog leapt away with a curse, only to find Shadow waiting with another attack.
Their teamwork flowed naturally - Shadow's aggressive style complementing Blaze's calculated precision. When Scourge tried to counter one, the other was already moving to exploit the opening. Fire and chaos energy wove together in a deadly dance, gradually wearing down their opponent's defenses.
The rush of power from the serum began to fade, and reality crashed back into Blaze's body. Her muscles screamed in protest as bullet wounds and fresh injuries made themselves known. She sank to one knee, flames flickering around her hands.
Shadow didn't miss a beat. His attacks grew more savage, each blow carrying lethal intent. Scourge's cocky grin vanished as Shadow landed a crushing kick to his sternum. The green hedgehog slammed into the wall, coughing blood.
"Getting serious now?" Scourge wheezed.
Shadow's response was grabbing Scourge by the throat and slamming him repeatedly into the concrete. Each impact left cracks in the wall. Blood matted Scourge's quills, but Shadow didn't let up.
"Shadow, stop!" Blaze's voice cracked. "He needs to face justice!"
Shadow ignored her, pulling back his chaos-charged fist. The energy crackled dark red - not his usual gold. His expression had transformed into something cold and cruel that made Blaze's chest tighten.
"You don't have to kill him," Blaze pushed herself up, stumbling forward. "This isn't you!"
"Isn't it?" Shadow's grip tightened around Scourge's throat. "He hurt you. He deserves this."
Scourge choked out a laugh despite the blood trickling from his mouth. "See? Just... like... me. All it takes is the right push."
Shadow's chaos energy intensified, casting harsh shadows across his face. "I am nothing like you."
"Prove it," Scourge sneered. "Show everyone what the Ultimate Lifeform really is. A weapon. A killer. Just like they made us."
Shadow's fingers dug deeper into Scourge's throat, drawing blood where his claws broke skin. "You're a monster."
Scourge's manic laugh echoed through the corridor despite his crushed windpipe. "And what does that make you, Ultimate Lifeform? At least I never tried to drop a space colony on Earth."
Shadow's chaos energy pulsed darker, almost black. "I've changed."
"Have you?" Blood trickled from Scourge's split lip as he grinned. "The ARK, the Black Arms invasion - face it, destruction follows you everywhere. How many people died because of you? Hundreds? Thousands?"
Shadow slammed Scourge against the wall again. Concrete crumbled around the impact. "Shut up."
"You're just like me - a failed experiment, a weapon pointed at whatever target they choose." Scourge's words came out in a wet gurgle. "The only difference is I embrace what I am."
Shadow pulled back his fist, chaos energy crackling like black lightning. One punch would cave in Scourge's skull.
"Shadow, STOP!"
Sonic's voice cut through the haze of rage. The sound of heavy boots and weapons being readied echoed through the corridors.
"GUN's got this handled." Sonic's tone was firm but careful. "Let them take him in."
Shadow's grip tightened for a moment as tactical teams flooded the area, laser sights dancing across walls and floors. Dozens of armed soldiers moved into position, their weapons trained on both hedgehogs.
"Come on, Shadow." Sonic took a step closer. "You're better than this."
The chaos energy around Shadow's fist flickered, then faded. He released Scourge, letting the green hedgehog crumple to the floor. GUN operatives swarmed in immediately, securing Scourge with specialized restraints.
"You're still soft," Scourge spat blood as they dragged him away. "Both of you."
Shadow watched in silence as GUN teams secured the area, his expression unreadable behind a mask of cold indifference.