Work Text:
"Mate, I've already said that I'm sorry, I promised I'd fix things, why are we doing this?" Marine whined, digging in her heels.
Gravel rumbled in protest beneath her feet as Gardon continued to wordlessly pull the young raccoon along. The old timer had taken by the wrist and refused to let go for the march all the way from the beach, through town, and now toward the palace. It had frankly been embarrassing, catching the stares of landlocked onlookers and fellow sailors, this wonderful week had taken a turn for the rotten!
Things had started so well, the moment Blaze and Silver had left to save the future again- she'd began to work on a brand new jet ski. For two days she'd slaved over that hunk of metal, trying to make it as aerodynamic as possible. In that regard she'd been successful, the craft has cut through water like a knife and raced faster than any craft she'd built before. Unfortunately, its breaking system (a large parachute the raccoon had strapped to her back) was less successful. Rather than hang on and slow the ride to a stop, she had been pulled into the air. Out of control, the personal watercraft had continued to wildly race forward and, like an axe through wood, cleaved through some of the dock's leg struts and sent it tumbling into the water.
"Strewth, you're really going all out with the silent treatment," When no response came, the youth threw her gaze skyward, "No one got hurt, and the longer you keep me away from working the longer it'll take me to fix the marina. Can't we have this talk later?"
His only reply was to tighten his hold on her wrist and march her through the front gate. With an overloud groan, she started to walk again- if she was to be put to the guillotine, then she'd go out standing tall. What would her punishment be this time? Polishing silverware or mopping marble floors most likely, that's what he'd had her do last time. Maybe, since Silver was away, there would be gardening to-
Gardon has stopped, he'd halted in front of the door. For the first time in half an hour Marine dared to look at the old timers face. Rather than catch a disappointed grimace, he was facing the door with his eyes shut tight. His grasp on her wrist had only grown tighter, she swore that he was shaking.
Wincing a little at his hold, she spoke up, "Gardon, mate. Are you-
"Marine," His tone carried a sternness she'd never heard before, not even when she'd melted down a three hundred year old suit of armour to make an icebreaker for a ship.
Despite him interrupting her, no follow up came, "Mate?"
He stopped shaking as his eyes opened, the old fella looked completely exhausted- as if he hadn't slept a wink in weeks. She hadn't noticed the stains on his blue coat; the koala usually took great pride in his royal uniform. It looked as though he'd fallen over carrying a tea tray or spilled coffee down himself.
"I..." He let go of her wrist, "This isn't about your boat."
"It's not?" Marine shook her hand to restore blood flow.
"No," He quickly responded, "Something strange has happened. I'm sorry that we couldn't tell you sooner, but time was needed to prepare," The elder was plainly struggling to find the right words, "I know you're young, but this is a serious situation. I'm going to ask you to be brave. Can you do that?"
A million thoughts burst into Marine's mind, "What's going on, what happened?"
"I promised I'd not tell you," He finally pushed the door open, "But I swear, you'll understand soon."
He stepped inside and the youngster followed, no longer pulled but practically hiding behind him. The palace was quiet... too quiet. When Blaze was away most of the staff were typically sent home, but a skeleton crew would stay on to ensure that all would be proper for the princess return. The stomps of fancy shoes weren't echoing down the hallways, nor were the sounds of maids gossiping.
Instead the space was quiet and dark, almost oppressive in its stillness. Her eyes caught on an abandoned bucket with a mop left stewing in a bucket and puddles on the ground; that sight told her that people had been ordered out of the palace in a rush. This must have been the emptiest the castle had ever been; she was surprised Gardon hadn't cleaned the space himself, he hated mess.
She bumped into the koala as he came to another sudden halt; he'd suddenly stiffened to stand at attention. The raccoon had been so lost in her own thoughts, she hadn't realised where they were heading. They'd arrived at the foot of the grand staircase, but three stairs up there was a figure sat with a book in hand. Someone had been waiting for them.
The individual set down the book, moving to step down to their level. Marine immediately recognised a set of white quills and cyan symbols, but a series of unfamiliar features stopped the raccoon from rushing toward the hedgehog. He was missing an eye- a black patch obscured much of the damage but the edge of four scars were slightly visible on the right side of his muzzle. Rather than tanned, his skin was almost as pale as the fur that surrounded it. Wrapped around his shoulders was a great black fur cloak, in fact; his gloves and boots looked to be made from the hide of the same type of beast, roughly stitched together. He wore gold bangles, but they looked older and more weathered than those Marine had seen before- just like his face. There was only one explanation.
"Strewth, you must be Silver's dad!" She beamed, bouncing on the spot, "He never said you were a viking... come to think of it, I don't think he's ever talked about you," Marine realised, "You've just missed him. He won't be back for weeks-
The big guy stretched an arm forward as he closed the distance between them, reaching for her head with an open hand. For a moment Gardon's concern reappeared into the sailor's mind, she flashed through all manner of imagined realities of Silver's dad as a rotten scoundrel, before his palm softly found the top of her head. He dropped to one knee and met her face to face; as he gently ruffled her ears, a familiar smile creased his pale muzzle.
"I missed you, Marine," It took no more than their gaze meeting for the youth to understand.
"M-Mate?" She squeaked in shock, "What happened to your eye!?"
"I knew that would be the first thing you'd notice. I'm still getting used to it," He so casually deflected, "Are you okay? I heard you had a crash..."
"I'm fine, totally fine," She promised, mind racing, "Where's Blaze?"
"She's upstairs, she's okay," He answered, "We can go and see her but, first, we need to talk."
"Why don't we all just talk together? Come on mate, let's go see her," She tried to push past and climb the stairs, but Silver blocked her path.
His arms wrapped around her, catching her in a hug. For a moment she wanted to push away, to force her way through and up the stairs to find the feline, but his embrace was much to sincere. Silver had held her before, he'd carried her back to her hammock and checked she was okay, but this was different. He was holding her tightly, but not so tight as to stop her escaping. He felt different, it all felt different, something had changed...
"She's asleep right now," Why? It was almost noon, "We were trapped in the future for a long time Marine. I know she's your best friend, so I want to make sure you understand and are ready before you two reunite," Seriousness had entered his tone, but Marine could tell that he wasn't telling her the whole truth, "Is that okay?"
"Trapped?" She'd thought he looked older, but then assumed that was just because of his scars, "For how long?"
"I know it's only been three days for you," His tone was soft as he released her; he gently lowered himself to sit back on the bottom of the stairs, "It's been at least ten years since she last saw you... since I last saw you too."
"T-Ten years!?" Marine threw a glance back to Gardon, he did not meet her gaze, "For both of them?"
"For both us," She turned back to him, regret was plain on muzzle, "We didn't have a choice. We were stranded without a way back and forced to fight for our lives," He tugged at his chest fur, "Just... if it's okay with you, sit with me and I'll explain everything. I promise that we will go and see her soon."
"You said she's okay," Marine felt her lip wobble, "Is Blaze actually okay? Is she dying? Don't lie to me mate."
"She's not dying Marine... but she is tired and injured," He gently answered, "A lot has changed and even more has happened, but I can promise that she is still the Blaze you knew. By the time I've finished explaining what happened, I'm certain that she'll be ready to see you," He patted the step next to him, "She asked me to explain everything to you, rather than risk surprising and upsetting you when the two of you reunite."
Silver wasn't a good liar, he never had been. Marine was certain he hadn't lied, but the hedgehog certainly wasn't telling the whole truth. Something else was going on; either her injuries were more severe than he was implying, or their time in the future had changed Blaze in some other way. Regardless, it didn't seem as though she had much of a choice.
"Okay," Marine took her spot next to him, "But be quick."
"That will be difficult, ten years is a long time," He ran a hand through his quills, "But I'll try my best to focus on what was important..."
"From the moment we touched down on that ruined world, it was obvious that our mission would be difficult. The land around us was frozen and barren; featureless snow covered ground surrounded us in all directions. The air was thin and the sky was grey, threatening to unleash a snowstorm- the likes of which we'd soon learn could last for weeks. Despite our ignorance, we instantly agreed that shelter was the first priority. We had warm clothes packed with us, and a tent we could use in an emergency, but the unusual conditions called for caution first and foremost.
"Blaze wrapped her arm around me as we walked; she'd noticed I was shivering before I had. We were confused as we'd intended to land in sunny Spagonnia, and nothing had obvious had gone wrong to set us off course. Despite our attempts to remain positive; her immediate assumption, that the whole world had somehow been frozen, would eventually be proven correct. The two of us marched through the tundra, only occasionally falling into deeper pockets of snow and sighting little more than the few pine trees that had managed to endure the cold and stretch above the white layer that was covering all. Rather than a sight, it was sound that first signalled change- the barking and snarling of beasts that I could barely hear through my frozen ears.
"I still regret how we approached, I've told myself countless times that I should have taken to the air, but Blaze still insists that what we did was logical and that it wouldn't have made a difference. We slowly crept over the frozen land, quickly discovering a bloody trail that led to a trio of black beasts battling atop a snow dune. We halted to watch as the three of them fought, biting and tearing at each other until only one remained. When that last monster started to eat its fallen foes, we first took it as a sign of how hostile the environment was. We were quietly debating whether it was worth attacking the beast when Blaze shoved me away, just in time to avoid a bite from a fourth hound that had snuck up on us.
"Immediately we were on the offensive, I held the beast in place while Blaze delivered a single flaming strike to the side of its head- that was enough to fell it. By the time the first had fallen however we were immediately aware that a pack had stalked us across the snow. We found ourselves flanked by at least twenty more of the creatures with their eyes set on us rather than each other. Despite the difference in numbers, we were confident after dealing with one of them so easily- but then their maws opened and green light started to shine out from within. Before I could even think, I'd grabbed Blaze and taken to the air- dodging bolts of Chaos energy fired from the monsters' mouths. We-
Marine had to pipe up, "Mate, you keep calling these things creatures, hounds and beasts, what were they really?"
Silver paused his tale, "They are difficult to describe. I'd say they were similar to wolves, but not exactly same. They walked on all fours and had thick black fur, but instead of two eyes they had six and their bodies were narrow with their spine running like a crag along their back," He pulled the cape from his back and let it spread across her lap, "I made this from one of their pelts. Their claws and fangs were both equally sharp... we ended up using them for fishhooks and blades."
The fur was soft but garment was very heavy, almost like a weighted blanket. She could very easily imagine falling asleep beneath the cloak, but also how it might be used in combat. It felt dense, like it could act as armour against the claws of the beasts... although...
"And... these wolves fired laser beams?" As Marine asked, Gardon coughed- the youngster caught a scowl from the watching Koala.
"Yes, and they could do much more than that. Frankly, we got lucky in our fight with the first one," Silver admitted, his tone was still serious, "Shall I resume?"
Sensing she'd made a misstep, the raccoon gave a silent nod and gripped the hedgehog's cape closer. The great black mass wasn't going to shield her from the difficulties they faced, but it was a reminder of their success. No matter what, even if it took ten years, they'd both made it back.
"I carried her into the sky as bolts of energy chased after us, managing to weave through them as she began to conjure a fireball. It was just as she was ready to unleash it that I saw a tricoloured flash of green, red, and blue out the corner of my eye, in the direction of the hill where the three wolves had previously fought. The moment I processed that, a great pain claimed my right leg and sent us tumbling back to the ground- I looked down only to find that a beast three times the size of the others had somehow got into the air and latched onto me.
"We crashed hard, Blaze fell out of my arms as we tumbled to the ground. I tried to strike at the beast's head, but it disappeared into three coloured light before I could make contact. The situation was bad, the remaining wolves had encircled us, so Blaze made the call that we had to retreat. With a wave of her hand the fire she'd been casting was spread to surround us, creating a twister of flame with the beasts on the outside. She pulled out the Sol Emerald we'd used to get here, the yellow gem, and was about to cast us back into this world to come up with a new plan. We would have escaped, all of this could have been avoided, but then another flash of multicoloured light..."
Silver hesitated, "If this is too much for you, just say and we can stop. Feel free to interrupt me. It's important that you know what has happened, but it might be too much too fast."
Marine hadn't realised how tightly she was holding his cape. She was relying on the fur of a monster that had tried to hurt her friends, she wanted to let go but found that she couldn't. She put on a brave face, shaking her head- she had to know what had happened to her friends!
"In the blink of an eye the Sol Emerald, and Blaze's hand, were claimed by the mouth of that giant wolf- it had teleported through her barrier. As she fell limp her flaming wall dropped; I grabbed her just in time to see electric yellow light consume the massive wolf's eyes. In a blink it transformed from black furred to bright yellow and simultaneously began to swell larger and larger. I saw no other option, I took to the air again with Blaze in my arms.
"I was ready to defend her body with mine, but more no attacks came. The black wolves fled as the yellow one's body mutated and expanded until it was larger than the palace we now stand in. Its body flashed pure white before it suddenly detonated, unleashing a shockwave that launched us away even faster. The force was enough that I could barely maintain flight, I had to focus all my strength to keep us from being torn apart. Eventually, what must have been miles away, that energy ran out and we crash landed at the edge of a small grove of pine trees. Seeing no other option, I dragged Blaze inside and started to tend to her wounds."
When Silver had given his warning Marine had tensed, her own gaze locked on his eyepatch. She'd expected him to explain that loss; that one of the beast's claws had caught him by surprise and claimed the eye. Instead, he had talked around a massive loss for Blaze. Did that mean things would continue to get worse?! He hadn't been explicit, Marine had to know the complete truth.
"What happened to Blaze's hand?" She dared to ask.
"The Princess no longer has a left hand," Gardon had sharply cut in before Silver could answer, "It was severed just beneath the wrist ten years ago and has healed rather well, considering the circumstances."
"You know that Blaze's flames can't usually hurt her," Silver began to explain, "But, by focusing her intent, she can cauterize her own wounds- sealing them shut."
"That sounds painful," The youngster winced.
"It is, but it was the safest way to make sure our injuries didn't become infected," He responded, parting the fur on his forearm to show a darkly crusted line.
Awful thoughts flashed through Marine's mind, "Y-You said injuries, and that she's recovering, has something else happened? Did she lose her other hand? Has she lost-
"No. No, she hasn't lost anything else," Silver quickly assured her, pulling her in close, "Listen, listen, you know that we've it back here after all that we've been through, I promise you that she's okay," His hug got tighter as he started to ramble, "You know her, she was more upset about the emerald than her hand. The moment she was conscious, she wanted to charge out and find that monster- even though we both knew she needed time to heal. I had to sleep by the tent's entrance to make sure she didn't sneak out to try and hunt it down- she only promised not to when she found me frozen to the bone one morning."
Marine could imagine it all so clearly, a truth reinforced by the feeling of hard scars that crossed the hedgehog's frame. They'd surely struggled and argued over what to do next only to realise they had no choice but to bide their time- rationing what food they'd brought and resting. Based on the injuries Silver had described, they'd need to spend time to heal... in that time, the beast that had eaten the yellow emerald could have fled across the land. If it really was as big as the palace, then it could have crossed entire continents by the time they were healed enough to hunt it...
"This is why she wanted us to talk before you see her. We agreed to give you the whole truth so you aren't surprised by anything, and so that you don't have questions left unanswered," Silver gently explained, "I've got a few more things to tell you about, then we can go and see her. I promise."
As he pulled away, Marine couldn't help but drop her gaze back down to the cape. The psychic had brought it back with him, so clearly he did not hate the mass of bark fur, but it felt strange to have it so close while hearing that tale. Maybe he'd kept it as a trophy? To mark their success? Her head was hurting, but he was telling the truth- this story had to have a happy ending, he wouldn't be here if it didn't.
"I'll listen," She accepted, concerned that the worst was still to come.
His hand had lingered on her back, she looked up to find him still looking down at her. Marine could practically feel his gaze wearing into her, as if he had somehow come back with some kind of telepathic ability to couple with his telekinetic might! He plainly knew that she was worried, but she put on a brave face. Once she did that, his arm still around her, he continued the tale.
"Let's jump to two years later. We hadn't found a way home, but melting through the snow had taught us a lot. Almost kilometre beneath us was Spagonnia in its entirety, marred by signs of turmoil from prior to the great freeze but filled with evidence of when and how the apocalypse had begun. We learned that Eggman had stolen all of the Chaos Emeralds and snatched the Master Emerald from Angel Island- flooding the planet. He'd used the gems for some kind of scheme, but had lost control of what he had created. In the wake of that failure, he'd abandoned the planet for space. As he left, he'd triggered an ice age to ensure that if he couldn't have the world, no one would.
"By that time, we'd also adapted to some of the difficulties this world imposed. We could never linger in the same place for too long, it risked both starvation and being discovered, so we became nomadic. After no more than a week camped at any location, we'd pack up our things and travel for a full day before making camp again. We kept to the coast as, beneath a certain depth and beyond the edge of the ice, the ocean was not frozen. We survived on fish and what little vegetation we could gather, going hungry often.
"Unfortunately, despite learning to fight them better, we still understood little about the beasts that claimed this world. We'd fought many, harvesting their pelts, teeth, and claws to make clothes, bedding, and a much warmer tent- but butchering them was where our knowledge ended. On one occasion we'd see them fight each other, only to then work as a group against us the next. We were confident that Eggman had created them, but how they could freely harness Chaos energy was entirely unknown- all we knew for certain was that there were hundreds of them, and that they could all use that power. Despite taking risks to search for it, we hadn't found so much as a hint of the giant wolf that had taken Blaze's hand. We were nearing the end of our wits, but some hard truths would finally reveal themselves during a Summer afternoon.
"With all of our kit packed up, we were headed south toward the ocean. Our stomachs empty, and our spirits low after a month spent unfreezing one of Eggman's bases had revealed nothing of note. We were aiming to return to a fishing spot where we'd had success in the past, hoping to recuperate in advance of ventures further afield.
"Things were relatively normal, we'd picked a slightly overcast day to reduce the risk of going snow blind and were making good time- that was until Blaze stopped in her tracks, entirely unprompted. I turned to find her staring back the way we'd come, her ears stood tall and tail spiked. When I tried to ask what was wrong, she'd just shushed me and shut her eyes- brows furrowed. Eventually she'd raised her arm and pointed in a direction ever so slightly skew from the path we'd come- she told me that it was faint, but that she could sense the Sol Emerald. The energy was weak, the gem was surely far away, but she could tell that it was getting closer.
"That first hint of escape in two years made us both of us forgot how tired and hungry we were. I bundled her against my chest and took off into the air. Expecting to come face to face with that massive glowing yellow monster, we struggled to put together a plan as we rushed toward it- hiding behind the clouds in an attempt to maintain the advantage of surprise. We'd just about come up with a plan when Blaze stopped me, but something was wrong. Despite being directly beneath us, the Sol Emerald's energy was weak.
"We descended just beyond the cloud layer, revealing three wolves atop a snowy knoll. From the scene it was plain they had been locked in combat- one was dead and the other two were bloodied. It looked as though the surviving two had been fighting over their slain counterpart but, bizarrely, one had stopped to stare up at the clouds- when we emerged, it was staring up directly at us. Almost immediately yellow light filled its maw, it loosed a blast of energy that we barely dodged in time.
"Blaze was confused, she was certain that she could sense the Sol Emerald in the wolf that had attacked us but the energy didn't feel right. Keeping our distance, observing in an attempt to understand, we dodged volley of energy as the other living wolf set to work burying its teeth into the dead one's chest. We'd seen this activity before though, in hindsight, always taken advantage of the moment to attack the beasts rather than wait and see what they did. This wolf tore the heart from the dead one's chest and, in a single manoeuvrer, swallowed it whole.
"Bright purple light briefly cloaked its form, flashing out like crackled lightning. When the light faded the beast had doubled in size, it immediately set upon the monster that was distracted by us. In a single quick movement it knocked the smaller monster to the ground and snapped through its ribs with a single bite. Yellow light flashed across its body, Blaze shouted that she could feel a shift in the Sol Emerald's energy. All of a sudden, that monster was as big as the one that had taken Blaze's hand- immediately I understood that the first large wolf we'd encountered had surely cannibalised the other two it had defeated to gain both size and power.
"Before the energy had fully left its body, its attention immediately snapped to us. The yellow light that cloaked its form shifted to include both purple and cyan, we immediately understood. Before it could teleport, I cast a tight barrier around us. Its jaws sparked as they met with psychic energy, piercing through far enough to give it purchase and hang in the air. Without hesitating I inverted the shield to throw the monster to the ground, while Blaze grabbed her left wrist and pointed it toward the falling beast...
A weak smile crossed the hedgehog's lips, "Blaze losing her hand was difficult, there were things she struggled to do at first, but she spent years training to cast fire from what remains of her wrist. She'll probably still complain about it being too explosive..."
"Explosive?" Marine parroted, cocking her head.
"I felt the kick through her entire body as fire rocketed toward the ground as a spread of missiles, curving and crossing each other. If the beast had been smaller then the shot might have missed, but flames detonated further on contact with the beast and its surroundings. Following a glance from her, I used my power to aim and then launch her straight at the monster before it could recover. She charged like a meteor, crunching the beast deeper into the slush as she bounced off of it to stand tall. I got closer but continued observing, ready to intercede as required- when the monster rose it didn't look as burned as it should have, but it was certainly injured.
"Blaze cast her fist in flame as she charged in, by now we'd learned that her fully unleashing her flames all out usually meant ending up trapped in a puddle or sinking to meet whatever lay beneath the ice. As mixed light filled the monster's maw I redirected its head with a psychic push, causing its blast to completely miss as Blaze closed the distance again. She peppered the monster's side with punches, putting distance between them again before it could retaliate. It howled as it spun to her, opting to rush her with its maw wide.
"The mindless beast had sealed its own fate. As it charged forward she leapt into the air- at point blank range she unleashed a blast at the centre of its back that detonated with enough force to launch her up to my skyward postilion. I caught her in my arms before she could descend, but it was unnecessary. We found the monster was a crumpled heap, but Blaze did shoot it one more time for good measure... either to make sure it was dead or let out her frustrations, maybe both.
"She could still sense the shard of the Sol Emerald, so we approached the carcass. I won't describe in depth how we did what we did, but we were skilled at butchering these creatures by now- their meat was too tough to eat but we'd made soup from their bones in times of need and were constantly harvesting their pelts, teeth, and claws. Anyway, Blaze identified the creature's heart as the source of the Sol Emerald's energy wavelength. After retrieving it, she burned that massive organ away until all that remained was ash and three shards that of coloured gemstone- one purple, one cyan, and one yellow."
"Pieces of Chaos Emerald, along with a bit of the Sol Emerald," Marine realised aloud, "But that means..."
"We presumed that, when it exploded, it had also surely separated into hundreds of individual wolves- each with a yellow shard in their heart," Silver confirmed, "Eventually that was confirmed when we found a massive wolf that had just eaten the heart of a fifth wolf. When it turned to attack us, it seemed to lose control of its body- different colours of light shifted across its frame before sparking outward with explosive force. Six different wolves were sent flying in different directions- we confirmed that each contained a different shard."
Marine understood, "No wonder it took you guys ten years to get back."
"It was mostly bad luck that we didn't encounter any wolves with Sol Emerald shards for two full years," Silver mused, "But based on the eight further years it took to gather all the pieces, I suppose that's not too surprising. That, and we did spend most of those first two years recovering and trying to investigate what had happened to the world," His brow hardened, "Once we learned the truth though, we did gain some further problems- they sort of appear in that story, do you want me to spell them out?"
Marine nodded, tightening her grip on the cape again- he still hadn't mentioned how he'd lost his eye.
"Not only could the wolves with Sol Emerald shards in their hearts sense Blaze, we quickly learned that all of the monsters could sense exposed shards of gemstone- and the more we gathered, the further away they could sense its presence. That was why the large wolf had been so fast to claim Blaze's hand- it had surely been a beacon, calling out to all the wolves across the world," He quickly explained, "As a result, we became even more nomadic- eventually camping in one spot for no more than two days. During times of recovery, we had to retreat to floating glaciers far out on the ocean- which naturally left us more exposed to the elements, and made the act of resting more difficult than it had been on land... wasting more time."
The young raccoon's gaze drifted to Gardon; he was still stood at attention near the bottom of the stairs. His eyes had gone glassy, he was looking at them but also not- she'd seen him trapped in his own head before, when planning or panicking, but this was worse than that. Surely Silver and Blaze had already told him all of this, he didn't have to be here for this again- it was hurting him.
"Gardon, mate," The koala flinched as he came back to reality, "Could you go check on Blaze? I-I know Silver said she'd be sleeping, but if she's still hurt, she should probably have someone there to look after her when she wakes up, right?"
His attention shifted to Silver, the guardsman stared in a way that was usually reserved for taking orders from Blaze under difficult circumstances. The psychic gave a quick nod; that was enough for the koala. Without a word he climbed past them up the stairs, quickly disappearing down the hallway to Blaze's royal bedchamber.
"Being with one person for ten years tends to impact your social skills," Silver awkwardly tugged at his chest fur, "I noticed it more when we went to the past to prevent that future, they've really..."
"Become rubbish?" She failed to put delicately.
"They've certainly degraded. I've already got so much to apologise to him for, that's another thing added to the tally..." He glumly agreed, "These past few days I've spoke more than I think in the whole year prior, it's exhausting," Silver slumped against the stairs, "When we came back I barely spoke a word. I was like Blaze had always been; more prone to thinking and action than talking things through aloud..."
A gentle smirk crossed her muzzle, "I think you've picked up her vocabulary though mate."
"Have I?" He seemed to consider that for a moment before smiling, "Well, at least I've got that going for me..."
His posture seemed to have changed with Gardon out of the space, she hadn't noticed that he'd been tense too. Something else was going on between the two of them, that much was obvious, but Marine had no idea what. Maybe they were on worse terms than she thought; the time traveller had effectively reduced the monarch's life by ten years and surely gotten in the way of countless plans. The public didn't know about this either, how were they-
"I've got one more event to explain to you, just so that you understand all that has happened. Then we can go and meet with Blaze," Marine immediately felt giddy, "It's probably the one you've been waiting for."
She jumped to her feet, "How you lost your eye?!"
"How we managed to get back here," He responded gently pulling her back down, "But... yes, that too."
It was probably wrong to be this excited, but the success in his last tale had sparked the youngster's sense of adventure. The two made it back and he'd promised that Blaze was okay, so what he had left to say couldn't be that bad... could it? With a soft squeeze of her hand, he began to speak again.
"Over the eight years that followed, we managed to retrieve much of the yellow Sol Emerald and piece it back together. Blaze's ability to sense shards of the gem was naturally instrumental; it meant we knew which wolves were worth fighting and when we should save our energy. As I mentioned before though, as the emerald neared completion it attracted the attention of wolves across the land; its signal could be sensed over greater and greater distances. We intentionally kept it smaller than we could have, for fear of increasing its range before the time was right. Once again, we went from hunting wolves to being the hunted- but we found a way to use that to our advantage.
"For months we crossed the land, pursued by the monsters but as such able to control their pathing. Every so often we'd burry shards of the other Chaos Emeralds death beneath the ice to buy time, knowing their presence would distract the beasts and cause them to dig for extended periods. Often times we'd use those distraction periods to recuperate or investigate, gathering and crafting the tools we needed to finish this fight. We'd also take opportunities to thin the herd; as practice for what was to come, I'd separate from Blaze and the emerald shards, harness their inability to sense me in order to get the jump on them.
"After years of criss crossing the snow, we finally found ourselves in the ideal position. Split between what we had in hand and the hounds pursuing us, Blaze could sense the full presence of the yellow Sol Emerald. The day was warm but overcast, granting good visibility across the land. We found ourselves exactly where we'd lain our trap for the monsters.
"On that ideal day, after we'd packed up camp, Blaze left for a nearby hillside with the broken Sol Emerald- I stayed behind, intent on ending their pursuit of her once and for all. I stood at the midpoint of a great white valley with my attention focus on its south end. Moments after my preparations were complete, a great flood of dark fur, fangs, and claws came pouring into the canyon.
"I remember clawing my hand and spreading my psychic might through the snow, grasping the goods we'd buried in preparation for this day. With a thrust of my palm I must have sent thousands of their stolen teeth flying like a swarm of living blades- they sliced through some from head to tail, others managed to burry themselves deep into the wolves flesh. Few of the beasts fell to that attack, but it was just the beginning.
"They continued to charge, some pulled away from the pack to burrow for the shards of chaos emeralds that we'd planted as distractions. I couldn't sense which of the monsters held the Sol Emerald, but I'd made the assumption it would be those that kept running for Blaze. Regardless, I knew I would have to kill them all.
"With a flick of my wrist buried blades- axes, saws, knives and sharpened wooden stakes- burst up through the snow to impale through their underbellies. As those wolves died, they became irresistible to those behind them in the flood- the pack slowed even more as many set about trying to rend hearts from their deceased allies chests. Finally, it was time for me to face them head on; I threw myself into the crowd and the real fight began.
"I took the blades in my hands and mind. I spun and threw them without even really looking, knowing all that stood before me was my enemy- that if they made it through me, they would soon be upon Blaze. I sliced and pierced with reckless abandon, I didn't have time to think and paid for it with my body. Bolts of crackling energy, bites from jagged maws, and rending tears from awful claws all tore through my body. Adrenaline surged as I fought through the pain; my attempts to grapple the beasts psychically instead resulted in broken backs and crushed skulls.
The hedgehog touched his eyepatch, "Truth be told, I was so lost in it all that I don't really know which wolf took my eye or when it did- I was certainly knocked countless times, and their claws reached my head just as often," Marine could feel the psychic energy thrumming in his palm, "I only realised something was wrong when my powers started to fail me. I would psychically reach for a blade but the grasp would fall short and I'd miss, leaving me exposed to even more attacks. I quickly went from being black and white to black and red."
"I adapted to the loss, physically grabbing a pair of axes we had restored. By that time, many of the wolves had managed to consume further shards of the emeralds to bolster their might. That made them larger targets. Casting the weapons directly from my hand gave me a greater degree of control- I would send one blade to strike an incoming foe while defending against another with that which remained. I hacked and sliced, butchered and diced but soon found myself surrounded.
"I took to the air, striking the hounds down as they leapt and snapped at me. Soon I was high enough that the wolves were teleporting to catch me; I used my power to shield me and catch their open jaws, dealing killing blows as quickly as I can. One caught me off guard by teleporting above me and dropping from above. It sank its teeth deep enough that I think a canine is still lodged in there somewhere; I started to fall but managed to spin and catch myself. With my head toward the ground, though my bloody and blurred vision I could see a small pack of the beasts had ignored me to keep running- heading for Blaze.
"I didn't even think- with that monster still on my shoulder, I threw myself face first toward them. Crashed into one, burying it into the snow and sending the beast on my shoulder flying. I only then realised I only had one axe to hand, the other must have fell when the monster first bit me."
The hedgehog paused, rolling his shoulder, "That last stretch of the fight is even more of a blur. I must have picked up all kinds of things and used them as weapons, I think I even used one of the bigger wolves like a giant club at one point."
"I did eventually return to my senses, when I found myself face to face with the last of the wolves- a gigantic beast that held four chaos emerald shards in its chest. For a moment we locked eyes from across the battlefield, a mess of bested wolves and broken weapons between us. I think it was running out of psychic power that truly brought me back to consciousness- my arms felt heavy, and my shoulders weak. I had no weapons left.
"It ran for me, I swung my arms. If I had been just a fraction slower it would have all been for naught. Both of my golden cuffs crashed into the top of its head and it fell without a sound."
It was a terrifying description, but Marine was amazed, "So you did it? You killed all the wolves?"
"Not all of them, but a lot. All the ones we needed to kill," He frowned to himself, "Well, most of the ones we needed to kill."
"I gathered their heats into a heavy sack, a process that took until sunset, and made for where I'd planned to meet Blaze. Through the dark of night I saw a fire on the hillside; I stumbled toward that light for hours. Upon growing near I smelled a familiar scent in the air- I came upon the charred husk of a monster, proof that some had made it past me. Adrenaline returned, I rushed for the flames only to stumble and narrowly avoid a thrown fireball. Between the blood and my furs, Blaze had mistaken me for a wolf."
Despite that, Silver was smiling, "Well, she confessed that afterwards. I'd fallen unconscious the moment I hit the ground. I woke up in our tent with her watching over me, the completed Sol Emerald in her hand," He finally let go over her hand, tugging at his chest fur, "To shorten this already long story- we went backed to the past to recover and prevent the world we'd experienced from manifesting. As soon as we could stand, we came back here- to the very day we left. It took three days more for us to get ourselves ready to meet you."
Marine's head was spinning way too fast. She had never seen the apocalyptic futures he and Blaze described, the mental image of the fluffy doofus she knew going wild like a viking against an army of dark wolves was just too much! After all that talking, after all the bloodshed and injuries he'd explained, he was still Silver- and it sounded like Blaze was still Blaze. They'd taken the time to get ready, he'd waited to tell her all that had happened so that she wouldn't panic. Despite the time they'd spend apart, the two of them still cared about her.
"W-Well, yeah. You guys probably hadn't had a proper bath in years. It's a good thing you took your time!" The youngster yelped, not sure of what to say.
"What? No, Blaze could boil the snow to..." He seemed to catch himself, "Are you okay Marine?"
She struggled for the right words, "Are you?"
His brow hardened, he seemed to take her quick deflection very seriously, "Despite it all, I think so."
How could he say that? Had he even considered what would happen next? Would he go back to the future again, to see if their work had achieved anything? Surely Gardon wouldn't let Blaze go again, not after all that had happened. How could he?
No, they'd had ten years- the two of them had to have discussed that at some point. They'd have had all the time in the world consider what to do upon returning. After the day was saved, the first things they'd done was set up this meeting. She couldn't ruin that by asking when he'd leave again; she wanted them to stay!
"Then I'm okay too," Marine huffed, jumping up and grabbing his arm, "Come on, let's go see Blaze!"
He stumbled to his feet, "Are you certain? You don't have any more questions or-
"Nope! I want to see my mate!" She tugged him after her, "Do you think she'll let me make her a hook? You know, for her hand?"
"I think she'd be surprised if you didn't," He caught up, a smile in his tone.
As they arrived at the entryway to the royal bedchamber, Silver brought them to a halt before she could burst through the door. He gently knocked and gave a pause, Marine could hear shuffling inside. How long had it been? Surely Blaze was awake by now? The door was opened, Gardon gave them a nod and stepped aside to let them see the room's interior. The youngster's eyes immediately fell upon her best mate.
Blaze's fur was perhaps a half shade darker, her ponytail had grown much longer and been styled into a braid the rested on her right shoulder. The cat was lying in bed, but rather than a blanket she was positioned beneath a great pile of black furred pelts. She looked exhausted, but she was smiling as they locked eyes. The raccoon couldn't help herself.
"Blaze!" She screamed, running across the room.
She went to jump from the foot of her bed, hoping to land on top of the furs, but wide cushion of psychic energy caught her before she could land. From that position above, she looked down to her best mate. She saw the stump where her left hand should have been, the end of that limb was covered in a dark compression bandage. There were marks on her face, a couple of scars, but none as severe as Silver's. She couldn't tell why he and Gardon had been so worried, Blaze looked tired but she was fine, right?
"Be careful, Marine. Her highness is in a most delicate state," Gardon sternly chastised as the youth was gently plopped down next to the princess, by her head.
"Delicate? Come on mate, it's not like she'll shatter. What..." It was only then that Marine noticed.
The furs weren't piled as high as she thought, she'd held Silver's cape, they were thick- but not that thick. Silver had become even more gaunt (even if his fur hid it well), but Blaze's form had filled out. There was a sizeable bump beneath the furs where the princess' midsection was supposed to be. Suddenly, it all made sense- she'd been a little confused why Silver and Blaze hadn't fought that last battle together, this had to be the explanation!
"Mate, are you pregnant?!" The youngster looked to Silver, bewildered, "I thought you told me everything that happened, you know, to avoid surprises?!"
"Well, the truth was, we didn't want to panic you with too much at once," Silver professed, closing the distance to arrive at Blaze's other side, "Or distract from what was most important."
A hand found Marine's cheek, her attention was pulled back to Blaze. With the gentle aid of Silver, she sat up in bed to meet her on eye level. Marine felt tears finally flood through as the feline's arms wrapped around her. She could feel the bump pressed against her, an impossibly tangible manifestation of all the time Blaze and Silver had spent away from here.
"I'm sorry that we left you for so long," Her voice was different, she'd always sounded mature but this was different, "I missed you so much, Marine."
How was she already so motherly?! The raccoon could hear herself sniffling, she could feel the tears streaming down her cheeks. Silver had told her a tale, but it plainly wasn't the full story- just enough to make this moment manageable. Ten years was such a long time; they still had so much catching up to do, but the shipwright didn't care. All that mattered was they were back. She wouldn't let them go again, no matter what ludicrous self-sacrificing mission lay ahead. They were a family, now more than ever!