From Different Realities Chapter 1

From Different Realities

Chapter 1

As morning broke, light began to pour in through the window across Blaze's face. Unable to sleep with the light in her eyes, Blaze moved the covers aside, and stepped out of bed past the canopy drapes. Still in her tights, Blaze pulled her coat on. As she buttoned it up, she began to think about how monotonous her daily routine had been for the past year. "Every day's the same thing...get up, get dressed, check the Sol Emeralds, eat breakfast, guard the Sol Emeralds, and only breaking from the latter for lunch, dinner, and sleep. It sure is boring here...".

It had been about a year and a month since Blaze first met Sonic the Hedgehog in her quest to recover the Sol Emeralds from the notorious Dr. Eggman. Back then, Blaze had never known the true power that the Sol Emeralds posessed. It wasn't until she learned firsthand from Sonic and Cream how to open up and trust others; how to make friends, that she knew how to use the power of the Sol Emeralds. Together, she and Sonic saved their worlds from certain demise. With that, they parted, pledging that they would see each other again someday, and just as they predicted, they did.

A month later, she had run into Sonic and his companion Tails while trying to protect the Jeweled Scepter, a magical instrument of insurmountable geological power, from being raided at the hands of the Whisker Pirate Gang. They were unsure as to how Sonic and Tails had managed to make it to her dimension, but it was definetly a pleasure to see them again. When they had to leave, however, Blaze felt lonely. Sonic was a very good friend to her, and he had to leave her, alone if it weren't for the friends they had made together, among which was Marine, the hyperactive raccoon girl. With that, she returned to her post, diligently guarding the Sol Emeralds from those who would seek their power for impure purposes.

Roughly 10 months later, Blaze returned to Sonic's dimension, delegating her duty as guardian to her royal guards, to attend Sonic's birthday party. It certainly was a relief that she was no longer the most important person in the room, but all was not well for long. Dr. Eggman had ruined the party for everyone by harnessing the power of an evil entity that consumed time, and distorted space. She was trapped by the monster's wicked designs, but was ultimately freed by Sonic, who later defeated Eggman with the help of his past self. After the celebration was over, Blaze had to return to her world, and take up her post once more.

"How did I put up with it for this long...?" Blaze thought to herself, "Sonic leads a life of excitement and adventure, but I lead a life of stillness... How did two people so different ever become friends?"

"Miss? Who exactly are you talking to?" Blaze heard through the door. She was embaressed. "I must have started thinking out loud" Blaze retorted, "Think nothing of it". Blaze slipped her boots on, and began to head for her bedroom door.

Emerging from her bedroom, Blaze turned to notice Guardon, the captain of her royal guards, kneeling to her in the traditional manner, acknowledging her as royalty. "At ease" she spoke. Guardon stood. "Any activity?" Blaze asked as she descended the winding downward staircase leading from her room at the peak of the tower to the rest of the palace.

Guardon followed behind her. "Nothing to report. The Sol Emeralds have remained safe whilst you slept" he spoke. As they reached the bottom, they began walking through the marble hall to the room where the Sol Emeralds were kept. Blaze opened the door, casting her gaze upon the Sol Emerald shrine, a large stone circle remniscent of a doorway with circular sections where the Sol Emeralds rested in slots cut perfectly to the shape of the mystical stones.

"The cameras haven't caught anything?" Blaze asked, looking about the room at the cameras stationed in the corners of the rectangular room.

"Nothing at all. We experienced a brief power shortage, so we weren't able to record footage for the duration of time we didn't have power" Guardon said.

"How long is brief in this instance...?" Blaze asked, glancing over at the doorway.

Guardon thought for a moment, and said,"We estimated about an hour without power, but we're sure nothing went wrong in that time frame".

Blaze narrowed her eyes at a camera mounted above the doorway. "It would appear as if an hour is all the time they needed..." she spoke, moving towards her target.

"They...?" Guardon began "Who do you-"

He was cut off by Blaze, who leapt up at the camera, grasping it by the arm, and studying the camera. "Impecable accuracy..." she thought, "Whoever mounted this here definetly was hoping to stay as inconspicuous as possible..." Blaze stared observantly at the mount for the camera, noticing something strange about it. "This isn't how we mount cameras..." she thought, attempting to pull the camera off the wall. Many of her attempts were unsucessful. It was not until she sent a wave of flames behind the mount that she was able to break it free. She landed perfectly, stood up, and handed the counterfeit camera to Guardon. "This camera is not wired into our security system. Send it down to the lab for analysis, and have the rest of the guards flouter the palace for any more of them." Blaze ordered. Guardon nodded, and promptly carried out her orders.

Blaze looked over at the Sol Emerald shrine before her, slowly advancing towards it. "Someone's after them..." she said to no one in particular, "But why? What could they hope to accomplish without knowledge of how to use them? It has to be someone with prior experience..."

"Talking to yourself again, miss?" Guardon said, reentering the room.

Blaze blushed. "It's a particularly irritating habit of mine, but yes, I was" Guardon walked towards Blaze, gazing at the shrine.

"Who do you suppose is after them?" he asked, glancing over at Blaze.

"It has to be someone with knowledge of the Sol Emeralds' power. They were able to cut our electricity from the emeralds themselves. This being said, they know how to harness their energy for the use of electrical power. It has to be someone of great intelligence..." Blaze said.

Guardon raised an eyebrow. "Who could it be...? Eggman Nega hasn't shown his face for a year, and the Whisker Pirate gang was exterminated with Sonic's help..."

Blaze snapped out of her trance-like focus on the emeralds when she heard Sonic's name mentioned. "Whoever it is, they're not going to get into my palace without a fight" Blaze turned to the door. "Tell the cooks to prepare my breakfast; I'm going to bathe." Blaze ordered "If the analysis on that camera is sent while I'm bathing, hold onto it until I head to breakfast" With that, Blaze started towards the tower again. Guards were buisy scouring the walls for any more of the mysterious cameras that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. So buisy were they that they did not have the time to kneel to Blaze in chivalry. She ignored this insignifigant act of insubordination, and instead climbed the tower to her room once more, this time entering the room opposite hers at the top.

The royal bathroom was glorious. The walls were lined with pearly tiles, and the bathtub was carved out of a large granite block. It was not until now, when she remembered the simplistic pleasure of adventure in Sonic's presence, that she realized how luxuriously she lived. As she drew the bath, Blaze began to wonder, "What would Sonic think of this place...?" She figured Sonic would be impressed by the vast, regal palace, but she also wondered if he might think that she lived too upscale. She unbuttoned her coat. "I wonder what Sonic thinks of this world in general" Blaze thought, fumbling with the zipper on the back of her full-body tights, "He was hardly here for a week, and even then, he only got to see the ocean of my world."

Slipping out of her tights, Blaze glanced in the tub. It was half full. The water coming out of the gold faucet was mixed with theraputic salts and minerals that made the water appear blue. "I guess I really do live in the lap of luxury" she thought, noticing the expensive tub, and the blue water. "It almost reminds me of Sonic's fur" she thought, skimming her fingers across the surface of the warm water. By this time, the bath was full. "I wonder if I ever will see him again..." she thought, her eyes drooping, a melancholy look spreading across her face. Blaze quickly shook it off, thinking, "Only time will tell, I suppose." With that, she slowly slipped into the tub, and tried her hardest to relax.