Reunion

Reunion

A Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction by
tasakeru828

Written for Emikochan

Chapter 2: Dreams of
an Abstraction

***

The flames…
she could still feel them, so she knew she was alive, at least. The familiar
feeling of them inside her body, inside her soul, flickering at the walls of
her inner self… in its own odd way, it was comforting. It had been this way for
as long as she could remember. She had lost count of how many times she had
cursed those flames, for denying her any semblance of a normal life… To constantly be afraid to be touched, to be held... But
as always, in her loneliness, the feeling of the flames was there for her. class=GramE>A constant source of warmth in a cold life…

That warmth
was suddenly broken by something cold and wet on her
forehead. She panicked for a moment, but then she heard the voice, choked with
emotion…

“Blaze…
You’re all right…”

Her golden
eyes slowly opened. Someone was leaning very close to her, gazing at her with a
similar pair of eyes. As the world came into focus, she saw the shape of
quills… A sudden rush of feelings churned within her, and she sat up,
whispering…

“style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Sonic…?”

There was
the sensation of someone’s hand on her forehead, attempting to push her back down.
She was grateful… a powerful wave of nausea had passed over her as she had
tried to move.

“Blaze,
it’s me…” said the owner of the hand, sounding worried now. “Lie
still, you’re hurt…”

She was class=GramE>only too happy to lie still. The lavender cat girl closed her
eyes to stop the room from spinning. Her rescuer gently took her hand in his,
and despite herself, Blaze felt a blush tingling in her cheeks. “class=SpellE>Th-thank you…” she managed, trying to smile. Feeling the
sickness pass, she slowly turned her head and opened her eyes, taking the
hedgehog in… white quills, golden eyes, worried expression. Blaze blinked, and
said three words that broke Silver’s heart.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Who are you?

Silver’s
mind seemed to freeze as she said it.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Who are you?

He tried to
will his brain into thinking that he must have misheard.

style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Who are you?

His brain
refused to listen, echoing that question in his suddenly blank mind, bouncing
it back and forth. Slowly, Silver knelt by the bed she was lying in, taking her
hand, willing himself to be calm… “It’s me, Silver. We… we grew up together,
fighting Iblis, d-don’t you remember…?”

“class=SpellE>Iblis?” the feline whispered. The name seemed… fleetingly
familiar. At the edge of her mind, a half-remembered thought that she class=GramE>couldn’t quite grasp… “I’m sorry,” she finally admitted,
after a long moment of silence. “I don’t remember...”

Silver’s
stomach sank. “Then what do you
remember?” he asked, his voice croaking a little.

“I…
remember fighting alongside a blue hedgehog named Sonic,” answered Blaze. “I
was pulled into his world… and we fought together.”

“Ah,” was
all the hedgehog could say. His insides churned. She remembered Sonic. class=GramE>Sonic. What class=GramE>kind of cruel, twisted universe would give Blaze back to
him, only to have her remember Sonic?
It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>fair… He felt himself let go of her
hand. “You should probably get some rest,” he said, trying to keep his face
blank. “Don’t worry about it… we can talk more later.”
Before Blaze could say anything else, he turned and left the room.

Blaze
watched the doorway in utter confusion. Somehow, what she had said had hurt
Silver deeply. What was going on…? She put a hand to her forehead, going over
her memories to try to find answers.

Eggman class=SpellE>Nega… it had started with him, taking the Sol class=GramE>Emeralds and fleeing into another dimension. In this strange
world, she had been approached by strangers who had
all told her not to worry, that Sonic would take care of it. Her initial
revulsion at the thought of receiving help had faded as the blue hedgehog
slipped beneath her defenses, breaking down the walls
around her heart and helping her realize that her flames didn’t mean she had to
be alone… At the thought of Sonic, her heart began to beat faster. She class=GramE>was still conflicted, still unsure as to whether Sonic was
her friend, or something more… But now she was style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>here, with someone she couldn’t remember
claiming that they had grown up fighting side by side. Stranger
still, this other hedgehog… Silver… style='mso-spacerun:yes'> he said that she had saved this world,
sealing something called Iblis inside herself. It
seemed impossible, and yet… something in his claim rang true… but if it style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>was true, why didn’t
she have any memory of it?

Blaze gave a weary sigh, lying back
down in the bed. As she stared at the ceiling, the old feeling of class=SpellE>lonliness descended on the cat. In one world, she was the
solitary guardian of the Sol Emeralds. In another, she was a fighter who had saved
the world. Where did she belong…?