I've always imagined a small one shot of Sonic and Blaze having a playful sparring match, I'd love to see your take on that idea (if you want to ofc) x
ahem. this took. 7 months. im so sorry, hope this is worth the wait lol. i hate action sequences but i'm always up for a good challenge, amirite? I'll upload this on ao3 once i'm able to:/
The ending was inspired by a @hishighnesstheprincess fic that I absolutely love. Read it afterwards so that you don't get spoiled:)
playing with fire
warnings: violence, blood
It was a while since the last time he enjoyed a nice and calm afternoon like this one, surrounded by nature and its beautiful creations, like the picture-perfect painting across the sky, the colors seeping through the canvas, staining the grass, the trees, the field.
The table they were all gathered around.
He took a breath and allowed his lungs to be filled with the air that had previously been knocked out of him due to the realization that dawned upon him while looking at his friends.
That wasn’t a regular occurrence, he mentally noted, while the sound of laughing in the background was drowned out by his own thoughts. It wasn’t often that he felt overwhelmed, but of course, when he did, it was because of his friends; only they had the power to knock him down. Yet, what was also quite rare, was them gathering together like they did today, especially without being interrupted by any mad scientists and their evil plans.
A smile was adorning his expression, a small one, directed at no one in particular, as he looked into the distance, behind the pink hedgehog that kept on talking about her adventures.
His ear flicked as he picked up a different sound; a foreign one. He whipped his head to the source of it just to witness another rare moment; Blaze the cat laughing.
Well, it was more of a giggle because she tried her best not to be loud (and was successful) but that didn’t mean they didn’t hear her or that they didn’t see the joy that was written all over her face.
Sonic exhaled softly at that. The fact that Blaze was here, in his world, was a scarce incident on its own. And he was very happy that she was here, that she visited them, deciding to leave her world, lay off from her duties to relax and have some time for herself. On top of that, she chose to spend that free time, with them, with her friends. She sure has come a long way; how could he not be happy?
Gold eyes met his and he soon realized he had been staring at her, judging by the confusion prevalent on her features.
His own dumbfounded face was quickly replaced by a nonchalant and reassuring grin before he turned his attention towards Amy who was talking about… the chao races?
Okay, so, he might have been a little too happy about Blaze, but he didn’t like that everyone else could tell. He’d always hide his emotions quite well and he never enjoyed others knowing how he felt (maybe he never enjoyed dealing with his emotions himself) but in this specific case, something felt off. Out of control.
“Mr. Sonic?” Cream had called out a little while after Blaze’s arrival, when she had been taken away by Amy who was too excited and impatient to show her a photo album she made with Cream’s help.
“Hm? What’s up kiddo?”
“You seem very happy today!”
“Well, I am happy! We’re having a tea party!” he bent down to squish her cheeks, Cream escaping his attacks, giggling. “Isn’t that great?” He smiled widely.
“Yeah, but that’s not what I mean.”
A tilt of his head was enough to make her elaborate her statement and thoughts.
“You’ve been smiling…a lot. From the moment Blaze visited!”
“Huh.” He scratched the back of his quills nervously. “I didn’t realize.”
“You must have missed her.”
He tried to intervene but didn’t have enough time to.
“I’ve missed her too, so I understand! You like Blaze just like I do.” She smiled.
Sonic kept smiling, ignoring whatever weird feelings this conversation had brought up. “Of course, I like her, Cream. Same goes for you and all my friends.” He explained, refraining from opening his heart too much, his face was betraying him enough as it was.
“That’s very nice of you Mr. Sonic!”
If Cream could tell Sonic was just a tiny bit giddier than usual, then Amy would too and who knows who else, so that was a little worrisome. Especially if Vanilla had caught up, then, yep, he wouldn’t be able to save face anytime soon.
His shoulders relaxed a bit when he reminded himself that he didn’t actually care about all that because he didn’t need to have a justification for his delight, he didn’t need a reason to be happy for his friends. Why was he even so worried about it in the first place?
“So, yeah, the maze part was crazy but taking those guys down? Real trouble.” Amy’s storytelling was abruptly cut off by her groaning. “Man, just the memory of it gives me a headache.” She said closing her eyes and massaging her temples to soothe the pain. She really got into the story, huh?
Both Cream and Blaze looked a little taken aback by the whole story and Sonic couldn’t blame them; either of them is used to dealing with robots or having these types of adventures on a daily basis just like he did. In fact, part of why Blaze was here to begin with was that there was no threat in her world, she told them that much. Which was ironic at best, since his own world never seemed to be at peace, they were somehow always fighting against mad scientists who only caused chaos—
Sonic bit his lip as he remembered the one thing that almost destroyed them all: the metal virus. He glanced at Cream as the image of her broken form, of her lifeless eyes, inched into his brain, the way she had lost all hope the moment she lost her mother. It was painful to recall, (guilt still taking the best of him sometimes) but he couldn’t imagine how Cream was handling the aftermath of that—now gone—threat or how hard it would be to handle any other hurdle that life threw their way after that one.
Even now, she looked hesitant, sinking into her chair slowly until half of her face was hidden. Sonic raised a brow at that. Was she…scared?
“Amy…” she squeaked, everyone’s attention now on the youngest of the group, “…that sounds like real trouble. What if you couldn’t beat the robots and get out of there in time?”
Amy cringed visibly at that, Sonic’s eyes widened in surprise and the two hedgehogs were silently sharing the same thought. They knew where this question, this hesitation, was coming from, why Cream was afraid of them losing.
Because they almost did, not too long ago.
But Blaze didn’t know what their shared glances meant and didn’t care to understand at that moment as she only paid mind to Cream’s visible fear, carefully rubbing her shoulder without thinking twice about it.
“I’m sure it was nothing spectacular.” She smiled reassuringly. “They had it under control. They’re both safe, see?”
Cream peaked at the hedgehogs, gaze finally settling on the blue one, on the famous hero who everyone relied on. Sonic’s eyes flicked between the people who were staring at him, Cream and Blaze, like they were waiting for him to confirm that they were indeed safe. Because he was Sonic, he had to be the one who could make that confirmation, right? He was expected to.
The world always fell on his shoulders.
But as the thoughts multiplied and the words dried out in his slightly open mouth, Blaze took it upon herself to take his role.
To help him carry the weight he so desperately tried to carry alone.
And he was thankful for her help.
“They’re right here with us.” She tilted her head closer to the bunny in an attempt to gain her attention, to allow her eyes to communicate whatever else she wanted to add but wasn’t able to say through words.
Cream gulped and nodded slowly, registering what she meant.
“Besides,” Blaze bent backwards. “I didn’t lie before. I’m sure these robots were nothing spectacular. I could have taken them all down by myself no problem.” She smirked cockily as she crossed her arms.
Maybe this was her trying to sound confident enough to convince Cream that no one was really in danger but the way her lips curved upwards, made Sonic think otherwise.
Especially when she popped one eye open to directly look at him.
He knew this was a challenge.
So, he acted without thinking twice. He got up and walked next to Blaze who hadn’t flinched an inch despite having heard him alright. His footsteps on the grass were all that could be heard along with the occasional howl of the wind because everyone else had gotten silent. Was it the look on his face that caused this? Was the excitement too obvious? He wasn’t sure and he didn’t really care.
“So,” he speaks once he reached her side, hands planted on his hips. “you’re sure you could have taken them all by yourself?”
“Oh yeah, I’m most certain.”
Getting cocky, are we? “Then, I don’t think you’ll have trouble taking me down?” Sonic countered, jabbing his chest with his thumb.
“Where did this come from?” Blaze side-eyed him, unable to fully conceal her grin.
“I just wanna see how high you think of yourself princess.”
Blaze scrunched her nose at the nickname. “Are you suggesting we fight?”
“I wouldn’t call it a fight.” He crossed his arms. “Battle is a better word, to decide who is the…better one.”
“We did ‘battle’ the first time we met, Sonic, and it ended in a tie.”
“Yeah, but I was going easy on you. Right now, I can win no problem.” He closed his eyes as if that settled it, with a satisfied grin plastered on his face.
“Oh, a bit overconfident, aren’t we?”
“Uhhh, guys?” Amy interjected, suddenly feeling like she was covered in cold sweat. “You don’t have to—”
“Oh, don’t worry Amy, we just need to settle this, it won’t take too long.” He popped one eye open as he bent closer to his challenger. “Right, your highness?”
Blaze inched closer as well, almost making Sonic stumble back. Thankfully, almost. “If you keep calling me that, it certainly won’t take too long, yes.”
Sonic stepped back as his grin widened, cocking an eyebrow at the equally overconfident cat. “Huh.” He exclaimed in amazement. To say he was excited with how things have turned out would be an understatement.
“Whatever you say—” he bowed, still holding her gaze, “your highness.”
His added wink only infuriated Blaze more. She jumped out of her chair, not wasting another look on the hedgehog as she headed towards the open field not that far from where they had been spending their afternoon. Sonic snaked his hands between his spines before following her, his attitude exuding relaxation and assuredness.
They took their positions opposite to one another, a good 10 feet apart. They locked eyes as they prepared themselves, taking the same pose without really intending to do so. Besides, everyone knows bending your left leg forward and stretching your other one far back is the best way to get a good head start before boosting.
“Hey Ames, do me a favor and count down from 3 for me.” Sonic spoke, without taking his eyes off of Blaze.
Amy on the other hand, flicked her eyes between the two of them, waiting for either one to back off. Her hesitation was short lived though, upon seeing as none of the two moved away or towards each other. They were really waiting for her. So, she gave up and did as she was told, grabbing ahold of Cream’s hand to direct her behind her. Yet Cream tilted her head on the side to be able to look at the oncoming fight.
“Fine,” Amy sighed. “3, 2…1.”
Blaze was the first to get on the offensive, wasting no time to lunge forward, her fist directed right at Sonic’s face. Sonic understood her intentions and knew he would be able to outpace her, so he stayed there with a confident smirk plastered across face, waiting to evade at the last moment.
To his detriment, his confidence was predictable.
Blaze retrieved her fist and began sliding on the ground, aiming at his feet with her own. Sonic’s eyes narrowed at the incoming danger as he jumped just before she reached him, avoiding Blaze by a very small margin.
Using the momentum from his leap, he turned around with his right leg raised, aiming right at her, only for his kick to be blocked by Blaze’s arm.
How did she—?
Her other arm charged a punch at him which he easily avoided by landing a backflip. It seemed like he didn’t have much room for mistakes. But he didn’t have to worry about that if he started his offence right now.
And that’s what he did.
He boosted off at her direction with a very clear target. If his smirk had faded away, it returned in no time, especially when he witnessed Blaze dash as well, right at him. Just at the moment they were ready to crash, Sonic dodged by side-stepping, readying his kick at the back of her head.
What he was unable to predict however, was Blaze’s powerful kick that she delivered before he even had the time to comprehend her moves; bending her body forward and pirouetting with an outstretched leg, sent him flying at the bark of a nearby tree. He heard it crack as he slid down, his hand bracing his abdomen in an attempt to soothe the sudden pain that he definitely hadn’t accounted for.
He closed his eyes as he winced, trying his best to pull himself together as quick as possible but that was until something else caught his attention. A hunch. As if on instinct, he ducked, only to witness a punch landing just above his head, one which left another crack on the tree trunk behind him. The severity of it was obvious and Sonic found himself to be very lucky that this specific hit didn’t land on his face.
He shook his head and faced forward again, straightening his legs and launching himself at her feet with his own, using his entire body weight without thinking twice about it, giving little time to his opponent to react.
Next thing he heard was a thump. He craned his head to find Blaze lying on her back.
That was it. That was his chance to deliver the finishing blow. This fight was truly fast after all.
But just as Sonic readied his attack, Blaze raised her legs and gained significant momentum, using it to do a handstand and then land with a back flip. Her attempt to also kick Sonic in the process was in vain, as he was able to evade the hit this time around.
Well, to be fair, he wasn’t expecting such a recovery. Maybe she even faked that fall to trap him. He grinned at that thought as he playfully wiped his nose, watching her back away from him, possibly planning how she should attack next.
“Oh, I see you’ve gotten faster.”
A smirk spread across her lips as she skidded to a halt by planting one hand on the grass, her free arm stretched outwards in an attempt to keep her balance. When she sat up straight, still wary of her opponent’s movements, she turned her head to face him while the sunset in front of her illuminated just the outline of her features with a bright orange hue, making them glow like the flames on her palm.
“Or you are just too slow.” She said as he was approaching dangerously.
Sonic stumbled mid-air, feeling as though time had slowed down and for a short span of time, for a mere millisecond, he was overtaken by hesitation, unable to directly land the punch on Blaze and he didn’t know why. Maybe it was her comeback or that damned smile that accompanied it, but despite it all, it was exactly what Blaze needed to duck out of the way unharmed. Sonic’s fist met the ground not long after, eyes widening as he felt blood rush to his cheeks all of a sudden.
Battle. He reminded himself as he realized he had his back turned-on Blaze (bad decision), quickly side-stepping to narrowly avoid the incoming attack he had predicted with ease.
Of course, it’s getting hot, he tried reasoning with himself, I’m running around trying to take her down, I knew it would not be easy, she’s tough. He grinned at the ground before getting up and turning around, ready to keep up the fight.
And that’s the fun part of it.
“I can’t catch a break, can I?” he flicked his nose, grinning at her.
Blaze answered with a smile of her own, using her flames to boost herself towards Sonic at unprecedented speeds.
Sonic blocked her attack with an air cancel, a trick that helped him use the air to his advantage, by raising dirt from the floor with his feet. That would be enough to mess with Blaze’s sight for a little while. But as he was upside down, not yet stopping his “attack”, his head was momentarily close enough to the ground to notice fire shooting from underneath Blaze’s shoes. It was minimal and if he weren’t in that position at that time, he wouldn’t have noticed it. So, he steadied himself by landing on both his feet.
He witnessed Blaze shooting upwards with her makeshift rocket shoes, in an attempt to avoid the debris. This gave him a few seconds to think about it as he relaxed his body, the realization hitting him like a brick.
“You’re holding back?” he asked, not sure if she heard him.
She hadn’t used her flames to attack him or even restrict him yet. She was giving him a hard enough time as it was so maybe it was because she knew her powers wouldn’t contribute much to stopping him or slowing him down. But she also knew he liked to play with fire. If anything, he was concerned.
Blaze kept looking at him, the hint of a smile she wore until now suddenly gone as she extinguished her flames and used gravity to her advantage by doing another back flip. As she descended, she aimed a kick right at Sonic, clearly never letting her guard down. In order for him to be able to block the attack, Sonic had to use both his arms and even that got him pushed a couple feet back, planting both his feet firmly on the ground so as to prevent his fall.
A series of kicks and punches followed all of which were avoided by Sonic. Though, each time he evaded, he found it increasingly harder to get out of the way in time for the following attacks.
“Does it look like I’m holding back?”
Well, she was right to an extent. She wasn’t holding back physically. Heck, here he was hyperventilating, trying his best to keep his breathing in check.
However, he smiled, closing his eyes.
“Where’s the fancy fire then?”
Blaze blinked, lowering her fists, just a tiny bit. “I don’t need to use fire to defeat you.” She said expressionless.
It reminded him of that cold-blooded girl he met a long time ago. That expression; her way of hiding her emotions. Sonic didn’t like that. He didn’t like what that implied. Blaze was one with her flames; without them, she wouldn’t be the same. Her being hesitant to use it in this battle only meant that she hadn’t fully come to terms with her powers yet. Or even worse, she was afraid that she might hurt him and that’s why she was holding back.
“Come on Blaze, give me everything you’ve got.” He winked, smirking at her and her surprised face.
----------------------------
A punch sent him flying backwards. His eyes widened in realization when he saw what was in front of him and managed to curl himself into a ball to minimize the damage from the unavoidable hit. When he hit the rock, he couldn’t do anything but allow his body to land on the sand, thankfully a few feet away from the sea water.
The damage wasn’t that bad. But it didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt.
He kneeled on the ground as he coughed, holding one hand around his abdomen to support himself.
He looked up through blurry vision to find his opponent looking back at him, waiting for him to get up.
That look… A sense of déjà vu washed over him.
He suddenly recalled their last battle. The one where he was worried about her holding back.
He huffed a short inaudible laugh at that while mustering whatever energy he had left to stand on his feet, wiping his sweat with his forearm. He remembered how, if he were being honest, that he himself was also holding back during that battle, lest he hurt her.
The situation right now was similar, at least on his part; he was still holding back against her. Then again, he always had. From the very first moment they met.
But she wasn’t. And she was more ruthless than the first time they got into that fight.
She was burning everything around her to the ground, leaving nothing but ashes in her wake. No hint of fear could be seen on her emotionless expression. No remorse. No hesitation.
Her dark eyes were piercing through him, as he was focused on her glowing form, glowing brighter, more fiercely than the sun rising behind her. The sun that overtook the darkness, that started painting everything beyond the hills, except for her form, as her fur remained white, that unfamiliar color on her which he had learned to despise already. He wished the sun had the power to paint her fur back to its normal color. He wished her real self, the one that wasn’t affected by the fake Sol Emeralds, would come back to him.
And Sonic silently wished, if nothing else, that she would hold back against him, even a tiny bit, just like she had back then.
Or that he could find it in him to not hold back himself.
Sonic forced a grin as he spat out blood. “Come on Blaze, give me everything you’ve got.”
He was always up for a good challenge.
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