Currently, Sonic and his friends are in the Novo Reino dos Sol as guests of Blaze, the queen and living deity. After splitting up to gather information, Sonic stumbled upon a factory run by a Tails with blackened eyes. Before he could approach the fox, the hedgehog was stopped by Lupe the Wolf, the leader of the wolf pack, who took him to Blaze for dinner as previously arranged.
A solitary candle cast a soft glow in the small room. Surrounding it on the table were several small plates of sweet and savory snacks: shortbread, a half-finished charcuterie board, profiteroles, and apple slices. Standing out above it all was a teapot perched on hot coals. Blaze reached for the teapot to pour some chamomile tea into her and Sonic's cups, and when she placed the teapot back down, with a soft snap of her fingers, she fanned the embers even more.
"I've always been fascinated by your sense of good taste," Sonic joked as he took a sip from his cup.
"It is expected for royalty to maintain etiquette."
"You haven't been in a meeting with Acorn, and it shows" he replied, suppressing a small laugh. The hedgehog took one of the chorizo slices from the deli, rolled it up, and put it in his mouth like a cigarette as he ate it. "By the way, isn't Silver joining us for this lovely evening?"
"It's not necessary, I told him to rest for today. I had a good, long sleep. The tea and the dim light are enough to keep my nerves calm and Feist's voice away."
"Oh, so that's why I haven't heard him all this time. When I tell Amy she'll probably start doing somersaults. She loves talking about tea and doing anything to keep Fesit away from me."
"I'm glad to see that their attention keeps you fit and sane. You look like you always have, age aside, of course."
"Don't let your eyes deceive you, my friend," Sonic swallowed the last of his chorizo and leaned back in his chair, partially obscuring his dimly lit face with his cup. "What you see... is nothing more than a shadow of what I once was," despite a half-smile, something, perhaps the lack of light, perhaps something more ethereal, made Sonic look desolate.
Blaze looked his guest up and down curiously, trying to deduce a riddle.
"Can't you run anymore?"
"That's the cruelest part: I can. I think I'm even faster than I've ever been," Sonic approached the table, placing the cup to one side, his elbows on the counter, his hands clasped in front of his snout, avoiding eye contact. "But... I can't keep up with my own speed anymore, you know what a mean? I get tired immediately. I run at top speed for a couple of seconds and my body starts begging me, pleading with me, to stop... or else I'll die. It takes me days to recover, and every time I try again, it gets worse."
The embers crackled softly, tiny sparks leaping gracefully into the shadows. The dim candlelight made the hedgehog appear as someone else, someone entirely different from the creature he was supposed to be. The mere thought sent a pang through Blaze's chest; for the first time since she'd known him, she felt pity for him, and that unsettled her.
"Knowing you..." the cat managed to say after clearing her throat a little. "You must be suffering a lot."
Suddenly Sonic reacted as if he had woken up from a dream, and stared slightly puzzled at his friend.
"Suffer? Me? Nah, I got over that stage a couple of years ago," the hedgehog winked, grabbed one of the cookies, and tossed it in the air, catching it mid-flight with a bite. "You know them, right? The stages of grief and all?. I breezed through all five in one fell swoop, I'm not just fast running. Now, all I feel is..." Sonic looked away, his gaze lost in the shadows.
Blaze only saw him in profile, but for a moment the hedgehog's expression sent a shiver down her spine, a bad feeling.
"Ehm... I imagine Amy's assistance has been helpful," the cat tried to change the subject.
"Hm? Ah, Amy! Well, to call what she's done for me 'assistance' would be an infinitely small understatement. I owe her my life... and at least three-quarters of my soul."
"Only three-quarters?".
"Have to left room for the chilidogs".
Blaze chuckled, "Ok. From what I've been told, you both been finally honest about your feelings. I'm happy for you."
"Oh, sure. Thanks... Hey, you didn't bet on whether we'd end up together, did you?"
Blaze blinked twice.
"What...? Of course not. Who would be so vile as to bet on the lives of their friends?"
"That's what I'm saying..."
Blaze picked up the teapot again to pour some tea for Sonic. As she poured the liquid into the hedgehog's cup, the crackling of the embers distracted her, causing her to pour too much and spill the tea all over the table. Realizing this, she became agitated; the candle flame began to sputter erratically, and the embers spat sparks everywhere. Sonic tried to extend his hand to calm her, but Blaze pushed him away, letting out a small spark of fire. Blaze moved away from the table and did breathing exercises, inhaling and exhaling slowly and deeply. The candle flame gradually subsided, and the embers almost went out completely. Blaze then took a long drink from her teacup and collapsed, exhausted, into her seat.
"Is it really that bad?" the hedgehog asked as he cleaned the tea off the table.
"You have no idea..." Blaze lowered her gaze, focusing on her empty cup as she sighed in frustration. "Do you know how much it cost me to master my power? How much time, how much effort? Can you even imagine what it takes to tame the untamable?"
Blaze extended her arm, and on the palm of her hand, like a flower in spring, a small flame emerged, bluish at its base and reddish at its tip. Although it remained under control, several sparks flew randomly. After a few seconds, the sparks increased in size and number, the flame lost its shape, and at the same time, the fire in the candle and the embers moved wildly. Blaze tried to maintain control, tensing the fingers of the hand and holding her wrist with the other, trying to calm the flames, but they continued to grow, like a small fire beast that had rebelled against its master and was hungry for violence. Sonic placed his hand on Blaze's shoulder and, with a look, indicated that it was enough. Blaze closed her hand, and all the fire went out: the flame flower, the candle, the embers, and the entire room was plunged into darkness.
"All my life..." the queen's voice trembled in the gloom. "From the day I was born, I've been fighting against myself, against my own nature. Only after meeting you all... Cream, Amy, you... was I able to stop seeing what I am as a curse and see it for what it is: my gift. But..." With a snap of her fingers, Blaze relit the candle, the light revealing her face buried in her hands. "They've taken it all from me."
The hedgehog tensed his jaw and frowned.
"Not all," he finally said, holding his friend's shoulders tightly. "You're still alive." Sonic looked directly into Blaze's eyes, seeing his reflection in them. "Maybe you're back to square one, that stinks on a galactic level, I know. But you're still in the game, you can still try again, win again. You only lose everything when you give up playing."
The candlelight flickered, its light seeming to mimic the beating of their hearts. All traces of desolation vanished from their faces, and they realized they were not only still alive, but also not alone in their grief, and the light returned to their eyes.
Blaze let out a small laugh.
"'Stinks on a galactic level?' I doubt the bad smell spreads in a vacuum."
"You haven't fought Eggman in space, Yuck!"
Blaze laughed even harder and Sonic laughed along with her, their laughter echoing in the stillness of the night.
With the candle half-burned, the friends had talked about everything, catching up on each other's lives. The cookies had vanished, the deli was empty, and the only tea left was what was in their cups. Sonic swirled the liquid in his cup while Blaze watched him intently. She looked hesitant before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"Lupe informed me that you saw-."
"What? Tails or the huge factory shaped like his head?" Sonic glanced sideways at Blaze, a half-smile defiant.
Blaze sighed, took the last sip of her tea, and then straightened her posture, her gaze hardening. Sonic's smile widened; another déjà vu. His friend had entered royal mode.
"Out of respect for you, I'll spare you the excuses and get straight to the point: For security reasons, we cannot allow any of you to approach the factory or Miles."
"Sure. After seven years apart, we're all strangers. You think we could work for Acorn, right?"
"Not necessarily. Even if you act on your own, you all are still a danger. If I remember correctly, you were allied with the thieves of the Gray Emerald not too long ago."
"Ok, yeah, I understand that. I don't really care about the factory that much. It's not even close to the worst thing I've seen in the wasteland. My problem is Tails," Sonic leaned across the table, staring intently into Blaze's eyes. "Why does he have black eyes?"
Blaze shifted uncomfortably; the candlelight flickered for a moment.
"Please believe me when I say that if I knew, I would have told you. It seems that what causes the darkening of his eyes and mine is related, but..."
"Oh, I know they're related. What's more,** I know what's causing it**," Blaze stared at the hedgehog in surprise, while Sonic maintained his composure. "What I don't understand is why your eyes returned to normal and his are still like that."
Blaze's left ear twitched slightly, and her tail began to swish from side to side. Sonic remembered seeing domestic cats do the same thing when they were annoyed too much and about to pounce. He stood his ground, but discreetly swallowed, keeping a watchful eye on the candle flame.
"We tried using the same method on him as we did on me, but for some reason it's not enough," Blaze replied calmly, though her tail continued to swish. "It's not a matter of power, because even using the Sol Emeralds, Silver is unable to purge whatever is affecting Miles and..."
"Why does everyone keep calling him Miles?" Sonic's smile faded for a moment. "It's starting to irritate me."
"That's what he wants to be called since Cosmo disappeared."
"And who the hell is Cosmo?"
"His lover".
Sonic froze mid-sentence, his eyes wide, mouth agape, jaw hanging open. After a couple of seconds, Blaze had to snap her fingers in front of his face to get him to respond.
"Uh... S-sorry, it's just... Thinking that Tails has... Had... a lover, it's...".
"I understand, it took me by surprise too. A lot has happened in these years."
"But... how? When?"
"In broad strokes: Miles... (You know what? I'm uncomfortable calling him that too, and we're in private anyway...) Tails and Kitsunami met Marine and Cosmo as slaves when they were captured by the Zeti. I imagine you know them."
"Unfortunately. Are they still causing problems?"
"They were, I took care of them," Blaze said coldly, making Sonic's quills stand on end. "After I freed Tails and the others, he and Cosmo went off on their own to find you. A year later... only Tails returned, his eyes blackened and completely changed. Since then, he demands to be called Miles. Otherwise, he reacts violently."
"Of course he was looking for me..." Sonic stepped back and leaned back in his chair, head down.
"Don't feel guilty about something beyond your control. You didn't do anything to Tails."
"That's the problem: I didn't do anything."
Blaze approached the nearly burned-out candle and blew it out completely. In the darkness, the only sounds were the rustling of things on the table. Then, with a snap, a new candle was lit.
"You said you know the origin of what happens to our eyes..." Blaze leaned across the table.
"Yeah, sort of," Sonic said, also approaching. "I'd say that, rather than knowing, I have an idea of what it might be... And I don't like it one bit."
Then... 1 year and 2 months before The Union
Life seemed forbidden in that desolate, frozen wasteland. The sun shone brightly in the blank afternoon sky, so clear it appeared in pale hues, but its radiance couldn't penetrate the dense Arctic mist of deep Holoska. The glacial wind rolled icy pebbles across the wasteland, the only moving thing on the ground for miles around. The ice, more impenetrable than the purest diamond, stretched to infinity, swallowing the horizon and merging with the white of the sky. Within all that clarity and overwhelming white, hidden in plain sight somewhere beneath the icy glare of the sun, lay the Freedom Fighters' next objective.
Princess Sally surveyed the landscape with a mixture of revulsion and unwavering resolve, hugging herself and rubbing the sleeves of her thick coat. She stood on the edge of what was supposed to be the shore of a vast frozen lake, though beneath the ice and snow, solid ground and the watery void were one and the same. Sally pulled Nicole's phone from her coat, the fifth time in less than ten minutes, still no new information. The scan of the territory that Tails and Rotor were conducting was not yet complete. The squirrel sighed, and a thick cloud billowed out of her mouth like steam from a locomotive.
From her left side, near her face, a mug of steaming hot chocolate appeared, taking her slightly by surprise. Sally glanced behind her and was met with Amy's warm smile. Her mere presence made the princess feel less the desolate, icy atmosphere of the moor. In the months she had known her, Sally had learned that this was the pink hedgehog's innate ability. Sally took the mug, feeling her fingers awaken from their numbness and return to life. She closed her eyes as she tilted her head slightly toward the steam from the mug to savor the warmth and the aroma. It contained hazelnuts; the anticipation made the fur on the back of her neck bristle. She took a small sip, as a test, and nearly collapsed, her knees weak from the impact of the flavor.
"Amy~", Sally had to correct her tone when she noticed she sounded drunk. "How much do I have to pay you to become the official royal cook?"
The pink hedgehog stepped forward and stood beside the princess, a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. Her clothing was strangely lighter than Sally's, yet she maintained her cheerful demeanor, as if it didn't bother her in the slightest. Was she more accustomed to it? Or was the warmth emanating from her smile genuine and not just an illusion?. Amy took a sip from her cup and looked at Sally, now with a more mischievous grin.
"First, as far as I know, your little brother Eli is the one who handles the money, and you still owe him for our last shopping trip (Sally: Ugh, don't remind me...). Second, you don't have to pay me anything, silly! I'd be delighted to use the castle's super kitchen."
"Done. You start work tomorrow at 6 am. We only give two days off a month, you can choose them as you like, but they can't be consecutive." The princess's tone was disturbingly serious as she sipped her hot chocolate nonchalantly.
"W-w-wait a minute, are you serious? C-can't we renegotiate? (Only two days a month? What are you? Some kind of clandestine sweatshop?)"
"Too late, my royal authority has spoken," Sally glanced sideways at the hedgehog and, seeing her expression, burst out laughing. "I must give you a few negotiation lessons, you're terrible at it," and Amy joined in the laughter.
"The Arctic..." Amy said listlessly. "The damn Arctic. When are we going to find an Eggman base on some paradise island?" Amy rested her head on Sally's shoulder.
"You don't look too bad despite the cold."
"Habit," doubt cleared up, Sally noted mentally. "It's not unusual to end up in a freezing place when we go on an adventure, but that doesn't mean I like it. Even worse if we're just standing here doing nothing."
"If this is how you and I are, I don't want to imagine how the hedgehog is feeling."
"Funny enough, Sonic has been calmly playing with Nicole."
Sally almost choked on the chocolate, she turned to look at Amy in disbelief.
"Still?!" The princess immediately turned around and headed into the observation camp, closely followed by Amy.
The two girls walked past Antoine and Bunnie, who were sharing the warmth and marshmallow snacks; then they passed Tails and Rotor, intently studying their computer screens and performing arcane calculations that only they and Nicole could understand. Everyone waved to the girls as they passed, but only Amy waved back; Sally was too focused on getting to where the hedgehog and the lynx were.
At the far end of the camp, the girls found them. On a large boulder of ice lay a chessboard with the pieces halfway through the game, in favor of Sonic's black team. Sonic sat on a rock, as relaxed as ever, wearing only his trusty sneakers (or boots, as he insisted on calling them (though Sally was convinced he was just teasing her)) and a simple red scarf made by Amy (Sally had long since given up trying to understand how Sonic defied the laws of thermodynamics). Nicole, on the other hand, wore only her ordinary clothes, since, after her transition into a holographic lynx, she was unable of feeling heat or cold unless she chose to. She sat tensely on a bench, her eyes fixed on the few white pieces and her claws digging into the edge of the seat. She looked as if she were fighting for her life and, somehow inexplicably, was drenched in sweat. The sight disturbed the princess, while Amy didn't seem to impress her in the slightest.
"Nicole... You've been playing for over two hours. How many games have you played?" Sally asked, approaching them.
"Oh, hello, my distinguished ladies!" Sonic greeted, pretending to tip his hat. "Well, this is the fifth one. For now, 4-0 in my favor," the hedgehog added with a hint of malice. Nicole let out a small cry.
"Tails warned you not to play against him..." Amy remarked to Nicole.
"I know, don't remind me!!" demanded the lynx, although it sounded more like a plea than anything else.
"It's too late to repent now," Sally and Amy shivered at the hedgehog's sadistic smile. "Checkmate!" he shouted gleefully, while Nicole was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"Stop distracting me!! This time it's for real! T-the numbers are in my favor! It's statistically impossible for me to lose... again!!" The lynx moved her King all over the board looking for the right spot.
"You said the same thing the other 4 losses, Nic~."
"DO NOT CALL ME-"
Sally stepped forward, took the King from the lynx's hand and made her move. Sonic responded with a nonchalant move, and Sally moved again. Then the hedgehog stopped smiling and, looking at the board, straightened his posture. Sonic made a move, then Sally replied, Sonic moved again, and Sally made one last move.
"Checkmate," the princess declared.
Nicole stared at the pieces, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open. Sonic inspected the board, clicked his teeth, and nodded approvingly.
"Well played, Acorn. You read me like a book," the hedgehog extended his hand.
For a second, Sally hesitated to shake Sonic's hand, merely observing it as if she were eyeing an obvious trap. Amy noticed her friend's demeanor, and upon seeing Sonic, she too observed him strangely, slightly uncomfortable, as if he were trying hard to maintain a facade. In the end, Sally shook the hedgehog's hand, but quickly and impersonally.
"Thank you for saving me, Sal!" The lynx hugged the princess as if she had rescued her from the very depths of hell.
"Oh come on Nic. Are you sure you don't want to try to beat me by yourself just one more time?"
Nicole turned intending to refuse, but suddenly doubt possessed her, and she began to extend her hand towards the chessboard.
"Nicole, no! Don't listen to him!" Amy and Sally said at the same time as they hit her hand to make her stop.
A notification arrived on Nicole's phone in Sally's hands. Upon checking it, the princess saw the indication that the scan had finished.
"Glory to Gaia! We can get going!" Sally exclaimed.
"Finally!? Wooo!!" cheered the hedgehog before disappearing in the blink of an eye, leaving a cloud of glacial dust in its exact shape behind.
Sally, Amy, and Nicole went to meet Rotor and Tails in the center of the camp. Both genies were content, toasting with their respective mugs of hot chocolate.
"Are we ready?" Sally asked.
"More than ready, Sal," the walrus replied proudly. "The drone's data has already been filtered and analyzed. We have the exact location of the base and were able to generate a nanometrically accurate map of it. You'll be pleased to know it's not underground." Sally sighed with relief.
"That's all very cool and everything, but was it really necessary to wait two hours in this tundra?" questioned the blue hedgehog, who had arrived earlier, his foot tapping impatiently on the ground. "I could have scanned that in, like... 10 minutes or less."
"Well, since these are highly accurate, short-range reconnaissance drones, we couldn't send them from very far away, and gathering this much data takes time," the fox explained. "This scan is almost like seeing the base with ultra high definition X-rays. I hate to say it, bro, but your 10-minute scan would probably look like one of those badly drawn maps on kids' menus."
"Let's see..." Sally started checking the information on the unfolded phone. "It's about 5 minutes from here, in the middle of the frozen lake..." Sally looked at Rotor.
"Hey, I said I wasn't underground, not that it was ON ground."
"Perfect... There are no signs of mechanical activity; it must be abandoned like the previous ones. There are no signs of life... except for one."
Tails and Rotor looked at each other in puzzlement.
"Really?" asked the fox.
"Did you misread it?" Rotor questioned.
Sally turned the phone over and showed both technicians how an unusual heat source appeared at the top of the base.
"A bird?" Tails asked Rotor.
"No bird or Flicky is tough enough to withstand these temperatures, and the strong winds make it impossible to fly at those altitudes. Remember that's why we couldn't get any closer with the Sky Patrol or your Tornado."
"Looks like we have company," Sonic chimed in eagerly. "I'm sure it wants to welcome us."
"Then it would be rude not to reciprocate~", Amy added enthusiastically.
"Sal..." Nicole whispered in the princess's ear from behind her. "This wasn't part of the plan..."
"It's a minor setback. We must seize this opportunity."
"Sally, we have indications that Eggman was looking for Meta-Quartz. And at least three people on the team aren't prepared to face a potential enemy who uses Meta-Quartz."
Sally glanced sideways at where Sonic, Tails, and Amy were talking.
"That's what we're here for," the princess replied. "We have no proof that Eggman found Meta-Quartz. Whoever is rummaging through his things, if they're looking for Meta-Quartz, they're doing it inside empty boxes. But if that's the case, we'll act. We won't back down."
Nicole hesitated for a moment, but in the end she reluctantly agreed.
"Alright!" Sally called out loud to get everyone's attention. "Amy's right, it's impolite not to acknowledge a welcome. We'll approach the base in the X-Gears at low altitude, maximum speed; the wind and fog will serve as cover. Once we arrive at the base, Team Freedom, Rotor, Nicole, Tails, and me, will head to the computer room; while Team Fighters, Sonic, Amy, Bunnie, and Antoine, will take care of our host." Sally turned to Sonic. "Does that sound like a fun enough plan to you, hedgehog?"
"We'll see, Acorn."
"Okay, the die is cast! Let's do it to it!"
Weeks ago, inside his room in the Dream Castle, King Elias made a call...
"Hello, Sal?... Gaia bless you... No, nothing's happened. Well, something has happened, but... Are you busy? Will you be back from your mission for long?... Okay, listen: I was... I was checking the royal account... No, I mean, not the kingdom's account, but our account, the crown's account... Uh-huh, yes. I was checking it and I saw that, like, a lot of money was missing and... Strategic Expenses, uh-huh, yes, okay. But... Listen to me...! Are you going to let me speak...? Are you going to let me speak...? Are you going to let me speak...? Okay, you say they're 'strategic expenses,' fine. But it turns out, my dear little sister of my soul and my heart, that the financial state of the account says exactly where the money went and on what... Uh-huh, yes... Can you explain to me the 'strategic advantages' that twenty-five dresses from 'The Sweet Boutique' can give us?" Honey? Isn't that Honey the Cat's ultra-expensive clothing store?... Hello?... Can you hear me?... Are you still there-? Ah, OK. you are... Oh, now it's Miss Rose's fault!... What's Amy... Uh... Miss Rose, going to convince you of anything?... You're going to wear a skirt now?... What's a 'combat skirt'? Are you making fun of me?... OK, I'll believe it when I see it (A bulletproof skirt? Come On!)... Look, you know I have no problem with you using the crown's money for your things, but it would be nice if at least, if you're going to spend THAT MUCH MONEY all at once, you could at least justify it, OK?... Look, as retaliation, you won't have access to the account until you pay back at least half of the money you spent- Hey! No whining! No whining!... I'm not dad, no whining to me! If you want to cry, go to the 'crying store'! go on!... OK? OK... Good. And while you're at it, go and apologize to Miss Rose for trying to blame her... Don't give me that crap! What I think of Amy... Uh... Miss Rose is none of your business!... Cut that 'sister-in-law' nonsense! You're impossible to talk to! Bring the money, period!... Yes!... OK... I love you too, come back safe and sound. Bye."
I'm back! Just as I promised. And this time with a killer chapter, if I may say so myself. Let the extension make up for the absence. We're back to our usual schedule, a new chapter every two weeks.
Now, that "Things that could (or could not) have happened" thing is another another ANOTHER thing added at the end of some chapters so I can put in some funny scene that occurred to me but that I can't put in the main story because it would murder the rhythm.