Standing on a cloud, thirty-five-thousand feet above the world, was nothing new to Silver. This was the height that he would, on occasion, retreat to for privacy whenever the world beneath grew too chaotic. Usually, this space was beautiful and safe, a sanctuary just a half step closer to the warmth of the sun or the sparkling night sky. On this occasion however, his skyward territory became home to a monster.

Sprawled beneath him, stretching to the horizon in all directions, black-grey clouds convulsed like some kind of foreign sea. Above him though, the same blue sky he knew so well gleamed like a pool of pristine water with some manner of strange glowing treasure sailing aimlessly across its body. Despite the world he knew lay beneath him, despite the chaotic force that had so thoroughly scarred the planet's crust this past two-hundred years, with this blue sky above, Silver knew that things could be made right. Things would be made right.

Unfortunately, he wasn't hanging up here for some simple moral boost- the wind was chilling him far too much for that to be the case. He was watching the clouds to the east with an intensity harnessed for only one task; the task that was his life's work. To his back was a vehicle he'd stolen from the world bellow; a lengthy black eight-wheeler and its trailer that had gone somewhat undamaged, secured in an underground parking lot. Though the vehicle wasn't yet straining his psychic grip, he'd begin to feel its weight if he had to hold it for much longer. A beast would soon arrive from the east, he'd heard and seen it pass overhead thirty times a day at least. Though he knew that patience was key to this plan, a concoction of the cold, time and his own anticipation was gouging his resilience.

In an effort to forget what he felt, the psychic hedgehog shifted to a more meditative position, crossing his legs as he hovered and reflecting on the world bellow. It had surely been dark for generations now; the clouds had refused to part no matter the energy he put into his palms in an attempt to splay them. The ground, the buildings, the earth, the trees; nothing was exempt from the ferocious cracks and scars left by the titanic monster that soared at thirty-thousand feet. Though he was yet to see the monster's true form, only the glimpse of a talon or the wavering of a wing, Silver had seen the devastation that travelled alongside it. Lightning would rain from the sky as though it was mere rain or hail but arrive with a combined force comparable to a meteor strike.

He'd walked a ground so crudely uneven, splattered and corrupted by constant melting, and watched as bolts of energy tore stone from buildings in terrifying blasts. It was no wonder that life in this world had been snuffed out, just as no one walked the streets, no plants grew on the surface. Even in searching catacombs and subway systems, the only pieces of infrastructure that remained relatively intact, they hadn't found so much as a body. Nothing could survive here, not as long as this monster lingered in the air. Before their arrival, this world had surely gone untravelled since mere months or years after that creature appeared.

His partner was awaiting him on the surface, preparing for his success. The longer they lingered here with this thing tearing across the sky, laying siege to the land, the more danger they were in. The more danger she was in. This was their first time working one of these jobs together since they'd been separated, it'd been a lifetime ago, but their spent struggles still felt so fresh. If she got hurt doing this then he wasn't sure what he'd-

A thundercrack tore Silver's eyes open and threw his attention back to the horizon. Light had begun to spew from the clouds, dancing out of them in the form of countless blinding energy waves. The beast was approaching, the terrifying creature they'd watched and researched during their brief stay here- the bird of lightning was almost upon them. With each flap of its wing, with every squawk and flit, the bird dispensed a torrent of electricity that blasted and melted the ground bellow. Every pockmark and demolished building in the city could be traced back to this terrifying beast, it was the cause of this world's calamity; it was responsible for billions of lives destroyed.

As it grew closer still, the count between the emergence of lighting and its thunderous caws was growing shorter and shorter. Silver began to mumble a stanza they'd come across in their research, "For the bird of lightning doth only shine… whilst it lingers amongst the clouds. It never nests nor roosts, not for the slightest moment …" He his teeth clench, he struggled to recall what came next, "For as long as it flies, it will survive. Heed its crackling caw and fear the flitting of it feathers, that armour that grants it permanence."

With little data about the bird either existing or remaining, they had been forced to utilise ancient texts. He just hoped they were correct. As far as he and his partner understood, they had to knock down this bird to stand any chance of defeating it. He had to push this thing towards the earth, this monster that had flown uninterrupted for so very long. Silver finally began to move, the great vehicle hung just behind his head as he raced towards the cloud barrier with the intent to intercept. From up here, just as bellow, he couldn't see the monster, but he could perfectly tell where it lay by the ferocious crack of thunder and the bright light that pierced even those grey clouds. Their trajectories were set to align.

Suddenly, the dancing bolts of white and blue light began to lurch towards him, bouncing off his psychic glow, but it soon became clear that he wasn't their target. Though his glowing grasp was strong, it was now enduring a hail of lightning bolts the likes of which he'd never experienced. The truck was acting as a lightning rod. Silver grimaced mid-flight, if his grip slackened then this would all be for naught. The moment was here. He had to act!

His arms swung forward, bringing the great vehicle over his head and pushing it in front of him as a meteoric battering ram. The cloud layer was breached, a mighty thud briefly silenced the thunder. The bird of lightning was struck! But a single blow was not enough.

The vehicle's rear now in front of him. Pushing with all his might, the hedgehog intended to make full use of his makeshift weapon. He roared as psychic power flew from him, aided only by gravity as he pushed both of them towards the ground. Lightning bolt after lightning bolt chased along and off of the lorry, bounding up against him and fizzling against his aura. With each passing second, each push and bead of sweat, they were approaching terminal velocity and the burnt earth bellow.

One of a dozen lightning bolts pierced through his barrier, catching his right shoulder. Seconds later, another one of fifty cut through again and scored the centre of his right palm. Every blast, every skyward surge of voltage, came with a wailing cacophony of thunder that echoed endlessly in Silver's ears. With each passing moment, he could feel his own energy being sapped by his endeavour. Yet there was still every chance that his job was far from done.

He broke through the cloud layer, pushing the bird down ahead of him!

Now able to see the devastated ground below, the hedgehog shut his eyes and grit his teeth, "It makes no nest of iron, for that would ground its power," He felt another shock course through his system, only half muted by his aura, "It secures no roost, for that would leave it exposed…" It was like the monster was fighting back, attempting to peel away his psychic grasp, "To all that dwell on the surface!"

His voice gave way to a scream as he felt tracing electricity continue to ricochet along metal, bouncing until it inevitably crashed into him. He could feel it now, the pain was gathering in one place; the voltage was dancing into the heavy metal bangles that were meant to protect his wrists from the kickback of his own power. His fur was surely being scorched, just as his power was being burnt up. Bit by bit and step by step, he was losing both his physical and mental might. He could see the flash on the underside of his eyelids, the coursing of ampers forced spasms from his arms and brought his grasp to weaken. He could feel it slipping, all of it, the truck from his grasp, the strength of his body and the consciousness from his mind.

That was until, in an instant, fresh pain vanished from Silver's body; an anomaly accompanied by the sound of a cataclysmic smash.

In less than a moment, light faded from his surroundings. He felt a force like his palms slamming into the dirt after a million-mile fall and felt the associated tremor. For a moment, above the whining of his ears, Silver could only hear the crinkling of metal as he blindly forced the truck further downward. The noise was however quickly corrupted by the hoarse screaming of the beast beneath it. His eyes cracked open only to be filled with dust. By the time he'd blinked through it; Silver could see a skeletal bird, faintly crackling with light blue energy. Its wings were longer than those of any plane and its was beak looked sharper than any sword. Beneath his psychic might and the weight of the now mishappen truck however, the lightning bird had been pinned!

"Do it, Blaze! Do it now!" He screamed, feeling his grip begin to slacken as the creature shook in an attempted to rise.

From a set of stairs to the underground, like a pirouetting firework, Blaze shot free and lit their soot-covered surroundings. Immediately, she set upon the bird with all here flaming might, rushing in a circle around its form and throwing punch after kick after punch. The sound of thunderclaps resumed as the beast writhed, undoubtedly experiencing true pain for the first time in almost two hundred years. The soot from the world it had long burned with javelins of lightning was now cast into the air, higher than it.

Silver didn't have so much as a moment to smile though. In the wake of the pain, the creature managed to force itself back onto its feet. Loosing another roar, the hedgehog reupped his psychic might and continued to push the burnt metal mass into the bird's spine. He could see Blaze throwing attack after attack out, bones would crack and char, but they refused to full break. The monster began to shift and swivel, lashing at her whilst simultaneously trying to slide the weight off of its back and onto the ground.

Roaring again, welling psychic charge in his aching hands, Silver pushed with all his will. It was like attempting to halt a greased earthquake with a single finger, any of the lightning bird's countless movements could have been the one to send the eight-wheeler up and into his frame. Rather than move and attempt to alleviate that chance, Silver knew what he had to do; he was wasting energy by spanning the air between himself and the vehicle.

Silver flew down even further, forcing his shielded hands against the truck's rear door and channelling every ounce of both mental and physical energy into it. His effort was rewarded immediately, he felt the creature buckle beneath his power. It didn't last for more than a moment, almost immediately the creature was pushing back. Silver felt his arms buckle, but his psychokinetic might was holding strong.

He couldn't see her now, his vision was too filled, but every half second a burst of heat and the sight of orange light told him that Blaze was still battling the beast. Surely, she was injuring it? Time was becoming difficult to process under the strain of his effort, whether minutes or seconds were passing quickly became a blur.

He tried to call out, "Blaze! Is it-

A lurch from beneath forced his chest against the truck's doors, he felt the monster's shear strength rebuke him. Despite the pain and sudden shock, a familiar shout pulled him free from hesitation, "It's working! Don't give up, just a little more!"

As his eyes cracked open again, he found himself face to face with the latch of the truck's freight. A plan formed in his mind; there was a way to gain more control of this gigantic mass, but it came at the cost of visibility. It took another lurch, one that almost threw him back into the air, for the hedgehog to act.

Only hesitating for a second longer, he undid the latch and fell into the depths of the truck's empty cargo hold. He hit the back wall, immediately pushing his hands against it and maintaining his psychic strenth. Again, he felt the mass beneath him buckle and shift in response to the increased pressure. This time though, it didn't manage to kick back!

Now closer, Silver could hear every strike Blaze made against the creature and its floundering attempts to rebuke her. He quickly picked up on a rhythm, Blaze would make two lighter attacks followed by a heavier one. With his power running dry, he knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer. He probably only had the strength to handle one more big push or a handful of minutes; the former seemed far more appealing.

Silver shut his eyes and held his breath, trying to get an exact feel for the force and sound of Blaze's blows. Consistently yet inconsistently the creature would wobble following its shift to attack her, likely strained by the weight pushing down on it. That was the moment to strike, that momentary waver was when the monster was at its weakest.

"Blaze! I've got one push left! Give it your all!" He shouted, almost certain that she couldn't even hear him.

All of a sudden, rather than another attack, Silver felt the blows cease. The only sound was that of the lightning bird, screaming and thundering against the ground. He strained as he felt it successfully rise, managing to push back against him. A low buzz began to sound, static began to rumble beneath his fingers, what had happened to Bla-

The sound of roaring flames snuffed all other noise, save for the immediate screech of the bird beneath him. Silver felt a wave of heat immediately rise, shrouding his entire frame and threatening to destroy his power on its lonesome. Without a moment to spare, before his power could be fully stripped away, Silver heaved all the psychic weight he could muster downward.

Something beneath him, the be it the eight-wheeler's engine or the beast, immediately crumpled. Regardless of what it was, the hedgehog continued to push, shunting his very soul against the wall in front of him. Mental brawn continued to prevail, despite the rising heat. Even as the walls on both sides of him caught alight, he pushed forward without an ounce of hesitation.

It took a second impact to make him to stop; that of his force finally meeting something truly immovable. Though he could not discern the cause of this collision but, still face down in the now burning cargo hold, he knew it would be the last. Though he tried to send one last shunt through the mass, the glow of his psychic powers refused to manifest. It was in the wake of that proof of his energy's end that the truck itself tumbled. The shift of its landing sending him briefly into the air before tumbling to the floor. He landed on his back, staring now at a ceiling that he wasn't sure was intended to be the ceiling.

It was only once his head had stopped spinning (though his ears were still ringing deaf), that Silver noticed the fire had vanished from his surroundings. Before he could even piece together what that change meant, a figure stepped into his vision. With a still inaudible snap of her fingers, firelight filled Blaze the cat's hand. In contrast to how he surely appeared, the now princess of the Sol dimension was pristine and proper as ever as she knelt down next to him.

Struggling, he tried to speak, "So, we did it?"

He saw her lips move but, ears still ringing, he couldn't make out a word. The princess looked as serious as ever, and she was saying a lot, but, beneath that veneer, Silver could still pick up on her small mannerism. The slightest smile on her lips, the softness of her ears and the time she was taking to clearly lecture him; those were a sign enough.

Regardless of how tired the hedgehog was, he felt a grin manifest on his face, "Wonderful, we did it… the future is saved again…"

Her hand extended in his direction. She was talking again; he could hear that much now, but the words were entirely unclear. The hedgehog was too tired to properly hear right now, let alone listen.

Silver winced as he raised his arm, catching sight of the presently dulled symbol on his hand. Though he successfully reached out, she did the entirety of the grasping. Pulled up by his wrist, the hedgehog managed to land on his soles but could not stand for long on them. He stumbled forward, ploughing directly into the feline and pushing her against the trailer's wall. His head came to contact still-warm metal, positioned less than an inch from hers.

Awkwardly, he tried to stumble back but couldn't shift his own feet, "S-Sorry, I'm a bit worn out…"

The psychic didn't have to see her lips or hear her voice to know she'd called him naïve. He felt her grasp leave his as she shifted, wrapping an arm around his side before, so very casually, heaving him up by the legs. She'd held him like this on a handful of occasions, usually after fights like this, but the lithe feline's strength never ceased to astonish him. Even after what had surely been a hard fight, she could manage this much while he was exhausted.

"Thank you," He managed to mumble, feeling warmth radiate from her.

As she began to move, due mostly to his position, the hedgehog's eyes locked upon her face. She was just as untouched as he first thought, her white muzzle entirely uninjured. The main change in her form was a thin layer of soot, marking both her fur and the deep purple overcoat she wore. Outside that, Silver could only see one thing of note; through the conflict, her ponytail had surely slackened. A single lock of her air had slipped free from the binding, cascading down to arrive just outside the gaze of her right eye. Had he the strength, he'd have adored reaching up to brush back that hanging strand.

Sunlight hailed down on them as they stepped free from the trailer. The black clouds seemed to have vanished, that or they'd transmogrified into mush smaller white ones. Blue sky hung above them, so perfectly regular, but Silver couldn't bring himself to move his head and get a clearer view. Instead, he could see that the sun was perfectly framing the princess, granting her a halo and causing her shadow to cast over him. From that frame of reference, despite the soot, it was as though things had never been destroyed and the bird had never existed; it was as if they were already back in the past or her dimension.

"What a lovely view…" He hummed, unwilling to let himself so much as blink despite the weight of his eyelids.

A moment now passed, the ringing beginning to fade, Silver managed to pick up the end of her sentence, "…and you should have seen the sky clear; it was beautiful."

"Maybe next time," He rolled his head back against her shoulder, trying to find a comfortable position, "Can we go sleep now?"

"In a while, I need to patch you up first," Her amber eyes flickered down to him, seriousness had lightly reclaimed her face, "You can hear me now then? If I didn't know you better, I'd have thought you were dying."

"But you do know me," he mumbled, too tired to really think.

The look she gave him served to rouse him a little more, but it softened back to a mild stern glare as spoke again, "Regardless, I'm happy to see you in one piece, even if it's a battered and fried one," She resumed walking, a tutting tone still hanging in her voice, "It'll be days before you can stand to use chaos control."

"No, I'll be fine tomorrow, I promise," He insisted, eyelids still so very heavy.

"Oh, hush. You need rest," She insisted, her tone again softening, "We'll only attempt it when you're fully healed, we don't want to end up misplacing ourselves."

That had happened a handful of times and was in fact the reason they'd reunited, "If you're sure… it's just that I promised Marine that we'd be back as soon as possible."

That drew a snort from her, seeing the slightest smile on her lips put him even further at ease, "Well, we will be. As soon as possible is after you're back at one hundred percent."

He felt her turn and stop; reflexively, he followed her stare to the space ahead of them. The devastation caused by their fight with the creature was clear. Before them lay a giant bird skeleton, the front two thirds of a truck's cab melted into its cracked and splayed ribs. A combination of his final push and her flaming endeavour had seemingly split the creature in two; its spine had been crushed just above the hips, that seemed to be the cause of its death.

The cause of its life however was plain to see, the orange insignia of moustached face with a grinning maw has weathered Blaze's charring. They didn't know all the details, though newspapers found in subways had informed them of the rough date of the occurrence. The lightning bird was a long dead creature that Eggman had revived, likely through the power of the chaos emeralds, and probably thought he could control. That seemed in line with the way things typically went for the evil doctor; taking advantage of something he didn't truly understand and causing untold havoc in the process.

Flanking the skeleton was the devastation it had wreaked upon civilisation. They were near the heart of station square, but, due to the devastation, identifying it as such was virtually impossible. Two hundred years of lightning strikes had reduced much of the concrete and exposed infrastructure into a black sand desert, what little remained of the skyline appearing as little more than crumbling ziggurats. What appeared to the eye as simple soot from a fire was the pulverised remains of civilisation and life. This was Eggman's fault, rather than the beast. The damage was the simple result of the creature's existence, something out with its control.

Despite the depth of his sleepy thoughts, a far simpler sentence trailed from Silver's mouth, "It really was just a big bird skeleton."

"It certainly looks that way now, just like the cave paintings," Blaze mused, "Once we're reunited with the others, we should be more than able to either stop its revival or kill it soon after."

"We know when it shows up, we just need to figure out where Eggman's newest base is," He hummed, turning back to her, "The others should have some idea, that or Tails will be able to figure it out."

Blaze turned from the wreckage, turning him with her, "That and, before the devastation, researching where its remains were should be a whole lot easier."

He nodded in agreement, finding his tongue was growing too heavy. The hedgehog was in a peculiar and uncomfortable state. Luckily, he couldn't feel many of his injuries due to the numbness that came with overusing his powers. He was in that awkward position of being too exhausted to fall asleep in the feline's arms; a fact exemplified as he yawned only to get stuck halfway in an annoyingly unsatisfying way. As his eyes reopened, Silver started to look past Blaze as she brought them down the very stairs she'd hid beneath before racing out to strike the beast.

While the land of the surface had been devastated, underground tunnels and subway systems had relatively endured the two-hundred-year assault. Station square's own subway loop had become their base of operations over the two and a half weeks they'd spent in this future. They'd lit the subway space using braziers constructed from old buckets and barrels but, with the sky now clear, there was no need to light them. Cracks created by the lightning bird's attacks were now letting in sunbeams, lighting their way as she alighted the stairs.

Silver turned from her face to watch the tiled walls pass as the feline jumped over a turnstile and began to walk down what was once escalator, heading towards the subway station they'd come to primarily utilise. They'd chosen this station in particular as it was where the train had stopped, leaving somewhat of a building to call home and the rough yet plush interior of the carts to use as beds. Seeing it now, lightly lit by the cracks in the ceiling, was astonishing. The subway train looked so picturesque; it'd been claimed by fungus and heartier plants long before they arrived, but it couldn't have received much light at all until now. This place had become their tether to the past, being the originator of unsold and abandoned newspapers as well as general evidence of people's lives just before the end times.

"Home sweet home," He managed to softly sigh, being carried up and over the hearth by the feline.

This cart, the one primarily used for resting, was uniquely laid out. Rather than rows of seats, long benches spanned the entire length of the walls, only breaking at the room's parallel doors. Blaze rather took him to the bench on the immediate right, not setting him to lie under his covers but to sit atop them. This was his bedspace, hers was on the bench parallel.

He began to slump over, wanting to send his head to his pillow, but Blaze caught him by the muzzle, "No, not yet. No sleeping till I've properly patched you up."

"Fine," He leant into her grasp, feeling the warmth of her palm and staring up at her, "Can you lean down here first though?"

He saw misplaced concern in her gaze as she took her hand back before bending down to eye level with him, "What is it?"

His right hand had started to hurt, there was a seething pain near the centre of his palm, so he was forced to reach across with his left. Rather clumsily, Silver brushed the stray lock of hair up and back behind her ear, "That's all. It looked like it'd get in your way."

A wave of heat exuded from the feline as she shot up to stand at her full height, seriousness had furrowed her brow, but a strange phenomenon had claimed her muzzle. Though her expression was fittingly serious, it looked so incredibly forced; a truth made certain by the manifestation of the strange pinkness he'd seen on her cheeks a handful on times. None of it was new to him, but the sight still made him smile. It was strange to think, but the only word he could use to describe it was cute.

She turned for the door, her tail lashing, "You're clearly exhausted. I'll be back in a moment. Don't fall asleep."

"I'll try," He promised, managing another failed yawn as she yanked open the door separating the cars.

Their primary storage space was in there, they'd filled it to bursting with all the supplies they'd brought from her dimension and what little they'd managed to gather from their surroundings. It had however been scarce pickings, due to the lack of lingering infrastructure. When they'd found the truck they'd gone through all the cars and managed to salvage material for burning but little more. Despite how short their stay had been here, besting the beast with relative ease, it was more than obvious why the presence of the lightning bird had been enough to end the world. Electronics couldn't face the monster in an airborne battle and those on the surface had been bombarded much too quickly.

Silver turned to the room he was in, taking stock of it. Pending how much he was actually hurt, he recognised that today might be the last day he slept here. At the room's centre was a large garbage bin, one they'd used to light fires and keep warm; above it was a hole they'd cut out of the ceiling to vent the smoke. The benches left of the entryway had unique purposes. The one on his side was effectively acted as their kitchen. They had brought trunks with cold storage compartments with them, filled with various vegetables and fruits, but also dehydrated food that they'd recently started to use. Blaze would start a fire at the room's centre, he would handle the cooking; they shared in it as they did all tasks.

Odds were that he probably should eat something, but he doubted he could manage that in his current state; despite his shouting during the fight, he wasn't even aware enough to feel parched. They'd successfully gathered water from the black cloud's storms and purified it using her pyrokinesis. For drinking, he'd catch the rainwater using his power, convening trickled rivers from the several holes in the ceiling, and she would perform contained evaporation. Recently, the feline had been expanding her use of her powers; trying new things and practicing them in new ways. She'd once been so afraid to use them; the simple thought of her so casually lighting their cooker never failed to make him smile. She always wanted to do more, to help in even the smallest ways. Others might have thought that tendency was a result of her royal upbringing, but Silver new better; regardless of her birth, she had always been this way.

The additional bench on her side had become their makeshift library, stocked with the various newspapers and tabloids they'd found in the tunnels as well as their brought literature. For Blaze that meant a small collection of poetry books, a few of which he had read but failed to absorb, while his pile was focused on the nature and history of her world. He reached out with his left hand, trying to wield his psychic power and tug a book over, but his symbol couldn't even manage a full cyan glow. He was fully tapped, entirely drained.

It took the sound of footsteps, signalling the pyrokinetic's arrival, to remount his attention. Blaze had returned to him with a small box of medical supplies in one hand, still covered in soot. From behind her back, she produced a small metal mug filled with water.

"Drink," She commanded, "It'll make your head feel better."

The guardian knew better than him, she'd delt with him in states like this a dozen times over, "Thank you," He manged to respond.

Just as he had almost finished sipping, she had knelt down in front of him and flipped the box open. It was only as he looked down to her, still feeling heat radiate, that he noticed the bloody state of his knees. Evidently, he'd gone down hard on them during his various landings.

"Can you get your boots off?" She asked, using her teeth to tear an alcohol wipe free from its pouch.

Slowly and awkwardly, the hedgehog manged to raise his right leg and tug the shoe off, but the left was far less cooperative. Now that he'd seen the state of his knees, it was as though they were constantly reminding him of their damage. He didn't even have to speak for Blaze to notice his struggle though. Setting the wipe aside, she gingerly managed to pull the shoe off and set it aside. Thankfully, it didn't look like he'd crushed his feet during the fight.

"You know this is going to sting," She reminded him, retaking the swab. Her brows were hard, she was focused on this task, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, it's not like it's our first time doing this," He leant back and gave her a smile. Though he put all his will and truth behind it, the gesture was surely meek, "I trust you, Blaze. It'll be fine."

Having said that, his toes did curl, and his canines did grit, at the first contact. Blaze was working diligently, clearly swabbing as gently as she could but making sure to be thorough, "Try to get your gloves off too, you're bleeding on your right."

Again, he hadn't even noticed. Glancing down, the gloved hand he'd been struggling to move was indeed more red than white currently. He could still move his fingers, but it did feel incredibly raw. He opted to try the left first, biting the glove's forefinger between his canines and tugging it free. There was some bruising at the bottom of his palm, and some small scorch marks around his wrist, but nothing too dramatic. When he tried to more regularly pull off his right glove though, move of an issue became immediately apparent. As he tugged at the fingers, a tearing pain brought him to cringe.

His gaze flickered to Blaze, she'd already wiped the worst of the blood from his knees and begun to scavenge for bandages and dressings. Though she looked unscathed, the confrontation had undoubtedly drained her too. He had to handle at least this much, take at least a little pressure off of her.

He grabbed the glove again, gently taking it the wrist-hole, and began to turn it inside out. The primary issue immediately became clear. Where electricity had been conducted to his right bangle, there was a sizable gouge running across the top of his wrist. Beyond there, he came across another issue; it seems as though the lightning had blackened a small patch of glove near the centre of his palm in particu-

"Silver," She cut off his efforts, he felt her hand on his thigh. As he looked down to her, he found that his right knee was already bandaged and she was partway through treating the left, "If you're struggling then just let me do it. I'm fine, I promise."

Vulnerability prompted action, he took the cup she'd brought him and held it out to her. Knowing his partner, she'd got him water without considering herself, "If you drink, I'll do whatever you want."

Blaze did take the cup from him, but she hesitated upon receiving it. He followed her eyes to the mug's lip and was about to question why she wasn't drinking, when she very quickly raised the container to her lips. She seemed to be sipping, but she sipped for quite a long time. By the time she'd lowered the mug again, that cute pinkness had returned to her face. Now that he considered it, he was fairly certain that change was known as a blush; but why was she blushing?

"Are you satisfied?" Her ears were pinned back, she was staring at his knees.

"Y-Yeah," Why was he stammering now? What was happening? "Are you okay?"

"I said I'm fine," She insisted. With the return of her strong tone, the feline began to work in a slightly faster manner, "You're the only one who's hurt."

"I guess," He could only respond, noticing that the pink wasn't fading from her face, "I meant to ask, how was it out there?

"Without its power and trapped beneath you, the creature was practically harmless," She relayed, drawing a safety pin from the box and starting to secure his bindings, "I was able to hit it time after time without it so much as touching me, I could have done it for hours."

"Sorry I couldn't hold up for that long," He conceded, his chest filling with pride in his partner, "That sounds incredible though, I wish I could have seen it. Watching you fight is always incredible Blaze!"

"It was nothing special," She insisted, finishing on his left leg before rising, "Right, now let's see to that hand."

"Oh, right," It'd already slipped his mind.

As she took up the bench to his right, bringing the first aid kit to sit on her lap, he quickly took a sip from the mug before setting it down on his left. When he turned back to her, the blush that had begun to fade was back on her cheeks. Her gaze was locked on the box, she was fiddling with some of the equipment, and heat was flagging from her.

"Are you sure you're okay Blaze," He questioned, shuffling a little closer, "You've been blushing a lot."

"It's just the exercise, it's been a while since I've fought properly. I'm a little flushed, just a little out of breath," She quickly insisted, even redder as she turned to face him, "Now, let me see your hands."

His head tilted as he reached out with both too her, "But you said it was an easy fight?"

The pyrokinetic didn't answer his confusion, instead tearing open another swab's pouch with her teeth and getting to work on his left hand. He tried not to cringe as she cleaned around his scorched wrist, but the pain brought one of his eyes to close. A simple bandage was easily cut to size and bound around the worst looking part of the injury. That had been pretty painful, but his right hand was undoubtedly going to be a whole lot worse.

He immediately winced as she began to shift the glove, folding it back from his wrist just as he had prior. Blaze leaned in to better look at the hand, seeming to identify the sudden tension across his body as she reached that point. He watched her brow furrow as she gingerly tried to raise the fabric, hearing him reflectively hiss. Before his eyes could cringe shut though, he'd recognised the issue; his flesh had indeed been fused with his glove in the wake of lightning's burn.

Blaze set his hand on her lap and drew a small set of scissors from the box, "This is going to hurt. I'll try to be as gentle as possible… but let me know if it gets too painful."

It took him nodding for her to proceed.

She started at the edge of his hand, away from his thumb, and cut along the white material. The guardian was working diligently and carefully, keeping her eyes to her work. That left him plenty of opportunity to grimace and roll his toes as he realised just how raw that flesh was, every snip and shift sent a not insignificant wave of pain through the hedgehog.

Reaching parallel with the bottom of his fingers, she turned the scissors inward and began to cut along the inner material at the top of his palm. The pain was always at its height just before the cut, when the tension was at its greatest. She reached the other side relatively quickly though, then slicing along the front of his thumb. The material on both sides of his hands immediately loosened and a sharp sigh slipped from his lips. She began to ease the back and fingers of the gloves free from his hand, prompting him to clench. Blaze glanced up, plainly noticing his strained expression.

She stopped, frowning up at him, "You're so naïve, I said to say if it was hurting too much."

"You'd still have to do it though, regardless of how much it's hurting, right?" He winced as she reached up, taking a small, wet, cloth to his brow.

"That doesn't mean we need to rush it," She tutted, dabbing his muzzle and cheeks, "We can do this little bit by little bit."

"I can handle it, it's okay," He insisted, watching as she pulled the cloth away, "And there's only really one bit left to deal with, right?"

She was the one to grimace this time, "I was saving the worst for last… but if you're sure…"

Again, she was looking to him for confirmation. He gave the best smile and nod his strength could muster, but he was certain the expression betrayed him. Despite that, his partner accepted the consent.

Deftly, the back and fingers of the glove were peeled off of his hand and left to tumble to the floor. Though it hurt, Blaze was right; the worst was yet to come. This wasn't the first time that they would be dealing with fabric fused to skin, living in a world dominated by Iblis and sparring with Blaze had been caused the hedgehog a multitude of burns, but it was the first time he'd be enduring that pain in this lifetime. At first, they'd simply cut the skin where such damage occurred, cauterising it when the damage was at its worst, but now they knew a little better.

Blaze flipped his hand around and allowed the excess fabric to naturally fall, taking an appearance that resembled a bundled curtain. The excess material, no more than half a centimetre away from the fused mass, was then cut and allowed to fall into the small space between them. He couldn't help but notice the symbol on the back of his hand, through his still stained fur. Though its light wasn't shining, the circle was still visible. His power would return, but again the feline had been right. It wouldn't be days rather than hours until he was back at full power. Before he was too tired to yawn; now pain had roused him, and a headache was forming.

Another glance from the feline seemed to identify that feeling, he watched as she set down the scissors and picked the towel back up. She gingerly began to clean his right hand, starting with his fingers and working his way down the back of his hand. Every at her contact, the slightest glimmer of light ebbed from his symbol before snuffing back to nought.

Their eyes met again, there was nothing left to delay them; Blaze gently flipped his hand back over. Stationed near the centre of his palm-side symbol, blackened and roughly an inch in diameter, remained an innocuous piece of fabric. Blaze raised the already bloodied cloth, the trepidation in her expression was as plain as day.

"I'll try to make it quick," She promised.

Silver couldn't help but hiss when the moment finally came, the flesh around the conjoining material was rubbed with the cloth and raw skin was gradually exposed. As he flinched and grit his teeth, the hedgehog's quills, no longer supported by his latent psychic power, fully tumbled into his vision. Abrasion was the best way to treat injuries like this, removing the burnt skin and material without damaging healthy mass, but every movement stung and set his teeth on edge. With his free hand, weak as it was, he gripped the edge of the bench.

It didn't take much more than a minute, Blaze worked as deftly as possible despite his shudders and tensing. Once it appeared the mass had been removed, she drew and opened a trio of alcoholic wipes and began to clean the wound more directly. The pain didn't vanish, if anything it was worse than before, but he was becoming more accustomed to it.

"Thank you," He managed to croak.

"We're not out of the woods yet," She responded, reaching back into the first aid box.

Soon after that, almost before he could comprehend, his right hand and its wrist alike were properly bandaged. A shudder of relief washed over him at the finality of it all, that was until Blaze was back upon him. She'd quickly risen, having taken off and balled her gloves before beginning to ply through his fur, seemingly to both take stock of both her handiwork and search for any remaining injuries. He felt her pass over a handful of bruises, or perhaps they were smaller burns, but nothing seemed to significantly hold her attention.

Her warm hand finally moved to arrive on his forehead and successfully eased back his quills, brushing up to the top of his head before gently lingering there, "You look exhausted."

"But you've been doing all the work," He heard himself moan. The gloves she'd been using were entirely soaked and her once merely soot covered overcoat was now stained at various points.

"And I'll continue to do so until you're back on your feet," She insisted, taking on the authoritative tone he'd often heard her use in her dimension, "Now lie down."

The hedgehog did as he was commanded, kicking his feet up onto the bench and setting his head against the pillow. As he went to pull the covers over him, he caught the princess' eye again, "No, the other way," He turned onto his side only for Blaze to roll her eyes, "On your stomach."

"Will this help me heal faster?" He asked face pressed flat into the pillow.

No answer came though, instead Blaze simply responded; "I'll be back in a moment, I'm just going to clean up a little. Don't move."

Evidently, she wasn't done. Silver heard the subway cart doors slide open then reclose. He shifted his head, putting his chin atop his pillow. In the wake of passed time and her efforts, the adrenaline had well and truly worn off. Outside his more obvious wounds, his entire body was beginning to ache with the echoes of his strenuous effort. His shoulders were still ridged, and his biceps ached. Harsh tension across his form was a regular occurrence that followed more intense psychic endeavours; though it was a power of the mind, full bodily effort was required to make full use of his psychokinesis.

He reached out ahead of himself, ignoring the whine of his left shoulder, and tried to simply push against the leaver on the nearby door. Not even the slightest glow dared to manifest on the leaver or his hand this time; he was totally drained. The likelihood was that he couldn't even stand at the moment, let alone walk. He was probably weaker now than the likes of Cream, perhaps even Cheese. The thought of the tiny chao mercilessly beating him like a punching bag was enough to make him snicker, but it served as a reminder of how exhausted he was. A more physical reminder came as he struggled to look back behind himself when the door separating the carts slid open again.

Blaze had shed her overcoat. She'd returned to him with that metal cup, assumedly refilled, and was now only garbed in her white leggings and tank top. She'd taken her brief hiatus to wipe much of the soot from herself, having likely disposed of her bloody gloves. Her change in look didn't hold his attention though; the pink that had reclaimed her cheeks and her averted gaze did that enough.

"Drink," She insisted again, the mug filled his view.

He rose to one elbow only to find it wasn't enough, weakness truly had claimed him. As he rose onto both, she held the edge close to him and tilted the vessel. As always, the water was room temperature, but he truly hadn't realised how parched he was. Even though he had drunk prior, perhaps just due to the numbness having faded, these mouthfuls felt far more refreshing.

"Thank you," He responded as he final finished, but no response came. The feline was looking away from him, still holding the cup as she had prior, "Blaze?"

His voice seemed to interrupt her train of thought, she pulled the mug back but didn't respond. Instead, the feline trailed off past him; he heard her set the cup down on the metal floor. She had hesitated just behind him, he felt her fingers drag through one of his longer quills.

"I want to try something else to help you, but I'm not sure I'll be any good at it," She half explained, trepidation in her tone, "While I can light our surrounding and help with cooking, I've thought of something new I could so with my power. I've been trying to practice but…I rather…" He didn't need to see her to know that she was struggling with whatever this was, "You're already vulnerable, and if I failed then it would only make things wor-

Without hesitation, before she could talk herself out of it, he gave his answer, "I trust you, Blaze. Whatever it is, go for it."

Despite his words, she didn't act yet. Instead, she was prompted to be blunter, "I'm want to try to give you a massage."

"That's it? Of course you can give that a shot," He grinned, even though she couldn't see.

"I want to try use my powers as I do," She elaborated, the tension in here voice still very much present, "I've been doing some research, some reading, and people use hot stones and heat pads sometimes to relax their muscles. I was curious if I could do the same."

"Then let's found out," He forced himself up further and turned to her, their eyes met for the first time since she'd returned, "Blaze, I trust you. Let's try it."

"Just put your face against the pillow and lie flat," The seriousness in her voice was undiluted, but she had begun her approach before he turned, "And if this is uncomfortable, say. Don't try to act tough this time."

"I won't, I promise," He spoke back, half muffled as he assumed the instructed position.

The hedgehog heard her shift before he felt her physically; daintily straddling his back, right upon his hips.

A moment later, a wave of heat passed over the top of him, starting strong before quickly subduing itself. Her weight shifted closer to the base of his spine and heard her take a deep breath before, gingerly, the feline's fingertips contacted his shoulders. The princess' touch was always warm, but it was more of a background heat than her current concentrated effort.

She'd started at his upper back, just beneath his neck, and near his spine. The feline was being gentle, what little pressure she was exerting being derived from presses with her thumbs. Alike the contact, the heat she was generating was relatively minor. Despite what he'd said, Blaze was plainly holding back, starting small and light. He was more than willing to wait.

"You're doing great," He said, certain his words would be muddled by a combination of the pillow and his tiredness.

"You just focus on relaxing," She insisted, but the prior hesitation in her voice had vanished and a muted softness had taken its place, "Just close your eyes and try to rest."

Gradually, he felt her other fingers begin to work their way into the action. She grasped along his shoulders, rubbing in circles while simultaneously pushing heat into him. It was with that change that he hedgehog truly began to feel her efforts. She seemed to have reached a point she was comfortable with, both in terms of contact and body temperature. Gradually, she went from aimlessly squeezing around his shoulders to more focused endeavours, pushing the base of her palms against the more fully formed knots in his back. Just like while he was fighting, time had become a mystery to him. He came to fold his arms under his chin and close his eyes, fully focused on her firm contact.

"Are you still awake?" He eventually heard her ask.

The hedgehog managed a small hum, just loud enough to let her know.

"I'm going to move a little lower, remember to let me know if it's at all uncomfortable," She reminded him.

He was powerless when it came to her, regardless of the state he was actually in. Though fire was Blaze's most blatant power, it was far from the only thing at her disposal. She was strong, elegant and capable of enduring tasks far more gruelling than her title of princess would suggest. Beneath the surface though, it was her heart that harboured so many secret skills. Even though she feared the damage her power could do, she was giving her all to help him recover. It was endeavours like that which made him admire her more than anything.

Feeling tiredness finally catch up to him, the hedgehog began to mumble, "How lucky am I to have found you twice? What were the odds of that?" Silver felt a small spike in heat, but no response came from her, "Someone so strong and reliable. Willing to do so much, even when I'm not in this useless state…"

"Silver, you're delirious," Her heard her snort, muting the slightest chuckle, "I know you'd do the same for me."

"Of course I would," The moment he said that though, he had an idea, "Not could; I will. As soon as you finish, I'll look after you. I'll give you a massage too!"

"Don't be so naïve," He could practically her eyes rolling, but it was matched by the grin in her voice, "You'll be getting bedrest first. Maybe in a couple of days you'll be able to return the favour."

He tried to turn around but, but that attempt only caused her to strengthen her efforts and keep him pinned. It was as he'd thought before, Silver were powerless when it came to her, "I'll do it as soon as I can, whether that's in the next five minutes or the next five days," He promised.

"This is going to take a lot longer than five minutes," She tutted, "Let's focus on you for today. If you can stand by tomorrow, then you can consider pampering me."

As if to emphasize her point, Silver felt the feline's grasp tighten and the temperature rise. He supposed she was growing bolder as he was showing his comfort, "Deal. As soon as I'm able, I'll give you the best day possible in this place. I swear it."

"If you drain yourself doing that, it'll become an endless cycle. We'll never get home," She responded, soft snideness in her voice.

"Maybe so," He hummed, feeling her shift a little further down his back, "Guess we'll have to see who gives in first."

"I suppose you'll have to choose between that and your promise to Marine," She gently taunted, moving her heat between his spines.

Eventually, the hedgehog felt his eyes grow heavy and entire yawns broke beyond his lips. It wasn't long after that before he heard the same sounding from the pyrokinetic behind her, accompanied by the slight slowing of her movements. He didn't know what state he'd be in when they woke up, whether her efforts would have some miraculous impact or if he'd be bedridden for days, but he could rest easy with her watching over him.