Chapter Text
A heavy rain prevented most of the physical labor around the farm.
The new livestock would have to wait a little longer for their breakfast. But at least the crops would be watered, and the inhabitants got to sleep in for a few more hours. Well, all except for Tonya. Raised to be an early-riser, she found it difficult to sleep in–even with her spouse at her side. She’d silently gotten up, bathed, dressed, prepared for the day, and occupied her morning with a meal she prepared and watched the rain fall from the sliding door on the house’s backside.
It ate up an hour. Yet, she was the only one to stir.
The distant grandfather clock chimed its announcement of 8 AM. The consistent yet soft hum of the kitchen’s refrigerator lifted the silence around the brown-maned vixen. She heard a cough or two from the distant bedrooms, then all went still once more. Rain pelted the outside world, their clouds blocking out the rising sun. Tonya despised these moments of solitude. She detested being the only one up and moving, left with the quiet as her only companion. She dared not risk making a commotion, not wanting to prematurely wake the family before they were ready.
Still, the silence was deafening. She really didn’t want to be alone. Was her mate up, by chance?
As if suddenly reminded of his presence in her home, she quickly turned from the glass door to ascend a nearby stool and grab an empty mug from off the counter’s rack. It was placed among their smaller coffee maker, its tank filled with water and a few scoops of coffee grounds. She left it to warm up, wandering on bare paws to sneak her way up the stairs to her loft. The sound of rain was more evident, up there. It pelted the skylight, decorating the outdoor-proof glass with a spectacle of splatters. Her room was barely lit with natural light, but from her peeking corner atop the stairs, she could tell her partner was no longer sleeping. His dark-furred form remained at rest on her pumpkin-shaped bed, face-up and staring blankly at the skylight with partially-lidded eyes. He’d long since removed his shoes and gloves, a bare hand at rest on his stomach. It barely moved in tandem with his breathing.
‘The rain must have disturbed him,’ she thought. Tonya said nothing in her observation of him, noting the chain and ring still bound around his neck. He hadn’t taken those off since the ceremony. Ignored, for now. He appeared swept up in another memory. Perhaps occupied by a past experience? Revisiting an old conversation he’d once had? She couldn’t help but let her ears fall.
Fluff, did he look TIRED.
It had been five days since the chat with her mother by the lake. Four of those days, Shadow had been gone. He’d only returned to her the night prior–and it was late. He hadn’t eaten anything since his return, she remembered. Despite the family’s offering, he’d declined, stating he just wanted to sleep. The two of them hadn’t conversed much that evening. All she recalled was the way he embraced her. Like he’d lose her if he let go.
Her mother’s words rang true in the corners of her mind. He was willingly enduring all of this for HER. And knowing this made her feel guilty. Her “dragon” was defending his treasure from those who would no doubt seek to steal it, should they discover where it was hidden. And ironically, it was the same culprits who had stolen from him once before! She understood how enslaving this arrangement must have felt to him. But…what could SHE do to remind him of its worth?
The coffee maker beeped downstairs. Blue eyes flitted over the loft’s floor in thought. She then had an idea.
Her ears perked just as she turned on her paw pads to hurry back down the steps, heading not for the coffee, but for the living room. From a cabinet door among the family’s entertainment center, she pulled a gray laptop, then allowed her clawtips to wander over an assortment of DVDs before fishing out the one case she sought. Up the stairs, she ascended once more, failing to explain herself as she began setting up the computer and inserted one of the case’s disks.
Her spouse silently watched all the while, at least tugged from somber memories by a cresting interest. He eventually pushed himself to sit up, his chained ring falling back into a hanging position. “Alright, I’ll bite. What are you doing?”
Tonya finally cast him a smirk as the computer finished warming up and displayed the movie’s title screen. “Did ya’ll ever watch movies on the Ark?” she asked, adjusting the movie’s volume so that it wouldn’t drown out their conversation or wake those who still slumbered. His mouth closed in a firm frown, but his perked ears and curious red eyes supplied all the answers she needed. Without another word, she rushed back down the stairs as silently as her padded paw-feet could carry her. Shadow did not follow, intrigued by the film series she’d picked out. A bare hand clutched the case and held it so he could inspect it.
A brown-haired boy on the back of a black dragon adorned the cover, along with its title in red letters: ‘How to Train Your Dragon’. It was apparently a trilogy.
His mate soon enough padded back up the stairs with the coffee mug in one hand, a plate of meat-and-cheese-filled bagels in the other, and a milk bottle tucked under an arm. “We’re gonna have to be careful not to make a mess. I’m not really supposed to have food up here,” she said, setting their breakfast on the floor at the foot of her bed before making herself comfortable beside him. “I’m surprised you didn’t dole out another of your wizarding films,” the hedgehog commented.
“Ah, that can wait until the next ‘Family Friday’. Besides, I think this series would be more…relatable.”
Relatable? To HIM? Besides her insistence to consider him a “dragon”, how could these possibly relate to him? Well, he’d watch. And as soon as the downed dragon in ropes appeared on the screen, Tonya finally spoke up with a nudge to his arm. “That’s you,” she stated, pointing out said dragon. She then gestured to the frightened boy brandishing a knife, “An’ that’s Maria.” At first, her claims perplexed him. But he didn’t need to ask. He quickly figured it out: she was establishing parallels. Pointing out the similarities between this boy and his dragon to his own situation with Maria.
As the film progressed, he began to understand more and more of such parallels, how the vikings saw dragons in the same way the scientists viewed HIM. The leading viking became a stand-in for the professor, and the giant dragon near the end? Well…it represented Black Doom. But that left him with one question. “Where are YOU?” Shadow suddenly asked as the first disk was removed and replaced with the second. Tonya exhaled through a smile. She knew what he meant. “I’m not there yet.”
The second film progressed with fewer parallels, save for the dragon-trappers acting as a stand-in for the military. That changed when a mind-controlled Toothless snuffed out the boy’s father. The horrid memory flared back to life, forcing Shadow’s eyes closed. He’d watched his sibling die. He’d heard his creator meet his demise before he was put into stasis. He couldn’t save them…
The movie was paused. He felt a clawed hand against his back, gentle as it shifted beneath his back spikes. Her voice was but a mere whisper. “It wasn’t your fault,” she spoke. “None of it was your fault.” It still hurt him, she knew. A pain he’d been forced to endure and stew in for a number of decades without the space to grieve. SHE had to convince him that it was okay to display weakness, that he didn’t have to be strong for every waking moment of his life. She knew this was a bizarre way to do it, but if these silly films of hers helped him grasp the parallels and come to terms with the past, maybe it still meant there was hope for their future?
The two remained in comforting silence until he’d calmed. The movie resumed. At least it ended on a happier note. And then came the third installment. When a white dragon resembling Toothless appeared in a cage, Tonya hesitantly spoke up again. “That’s me. Along with…I guess the folks who oversaw my creation.” She didn’t seem as cheerful to introduce her dragon counterpart–and he could see why. Her creators weren’t as eager to have her as his had been for him. Like the dragoness in the cage, she’d originally but one purpose to serve. And like with Toothless, it had to do with HIM. Now, the budding romance between the two dragons was something Shadow nearly scoffed at, but resisted. THAT wasn’t something he shared with the black dragon, although he HAD been curious about Tonya upon initial meeting. The courting sequence was…awkwardly embarrassing, to say the least. In his honest opinion, HE should have been the Light Fury in that instance, since Tonya had taken it upon herself to initiate the flirting stage. Nor did he think Tonya shared that much with the Light Fury in terms of personality.
The white dragon hated Hiccup’s presence. Tonya wasn’t that way with Maria.
But then came the sequences involving both Furies’ capture and the final face-off with the primary antagonist. “Save him” reminded him of his near downfall to Doom’s hands, and it was because of both Maria and Tonya that he was spared that fate. Also, the Light Fury’s decision to rescue Hiccup helped redeem her in the hedgehog’s eyes. By the time they’d reached the final scenes in which Hiccup and Toothless had to say goodbye, Shadow had to hide silent tears from his mate. Not because those scenes were “too emotional”, but because they reminded him so much of what he’d fairly recently experienced.
He had to say goodbye to someone he cherished as well.
The film was paused again, and she permitted him a moment of weakness and grief. Patience, she learned, was going to be key in their newly-established marriage. He carried an emotional weight for a number of decades, and was never allowed a moment of solace to mourn what he’d lost. It was HER task now to prove to him that he could be weak around her. Even if it meant strictly in private. Silver-lining there was, the third movie ended on a positive note, much like its predecessors. Neither would admit to it, but they both appreciated the nod to a future family via the Night Lights.
“...I know it's not exactly one-to-one with your history, but I had a feelin’ you’d appreciate how akin Toothless’ story is to your own,” Tonya said as the credits rolled. “Another reason I call ya a dragon. An’ I know what you’re goin’ through now may weigh heavy on those shoulders. But I just wanted to let ya know that, just like Toothless, we’re on our way to findin’ our ‘Hidden World’. We’ll make it.”
Unshed tears urged his eyes closed as he sighed his agreement. She may have been ridiculous in her methods sometimes, but…it was a relief to him that she DID have the means of understanding his plights, as plentiful and long-lasting as they were. Even if they DID come in the form of animated movies. He’d have to thank her for her efforts. She was at least trying. For now, he’d settle for planting a kiss to her closest shoulder and indulging her with a nuzzle.
Downstairs, the family had begun to stir.
**********************************************************
Soleanna was nothing like Tonya had ever imagined a city to be.
It was like a pure oasis in a desert. A lava-filled one, but a desert nonetheless. Whereas the environment surrounding the city was of barren land and treacherous canyons void of any plantlife, Soleanna was the polar opposite. A city of water, its many rivers having carved their way along the streets, passing below bridges to be cycled within distant facilities. Clean stone made up most of the pathways, structures mimicking castles of old actually crafted from the latest in building materials. Most of the local businesses shared building space, sheltered by awnings of varying materials. Floral vines acted as decor for many of these structures, concentrated bundles of it offering shade for the warmer days. Nature hadn’t been the only contributor to the city’s beauty, as numerous gold-adorned water fountains dotted the city’s plazas.
From what Tonya was told during their meal, the city was established less than 200 years ago and had been purposefully structured around bodies of water leading into the distant ocean. A design choice that was once purely aesthetic, now served a crucial importance of providing a major resource: clean drinking water. From what Blaze had explained, Soleanna primarily did business through trade. Water in exchange for other goods. While other water sources beyond the city were contaminated in the aftermath of Iblis’ emergence, the rivers running through Soleanna were specially filtered by an enhanced system installed by their residing “brilliant mind”.
Someone they’d assured her she would meet in time.
But what caught the vixen’s attention most was the vast transparent shield that covered the expanse of the city. It allowed in what daylight that could breach Iblis’ ominous dark clouds, although her self-assigned protectors had claimed they hadn’t seen the blue sky since infancy–according to their caretakers. Artificial lights had taken the place of the sun in terms of growing their crops. The energy shield in particular acted to keep the lava beast out and defend those who lived within. It sourced from the city’s heart, and was supported by what appeared to be modified versions of…Chaos Drives? At least, that’s what Tonya was reminded of, having seen them posted atop the perimeter walls. She would have to inquire about that shield.
Right now, she was more taken aback by the fact that–
“Whoa–you’re ROYALTY?!” she practically gawked, out and about on a casual stroll with her appointed guardians. The news came off as a shock to her own ears, as she’d never imagined ever being in the presence of a princess! Blaze wasn’t emboldened by her title, satisfied with simply shrugging it off. “A status I was merely born into. I’ve chosen not to let it define my character. Or overshadow it,” the feline humbly smiled. “Yet, as princess, I’ve still a duty to my people. Should they ever be in need, I will be there to serve.”
“Does that imply Silver here’s a prince?” Tonya light-heartedly joked, motioning towards the hedgehog in a playful manner. Her suggestion caught him off guard, causing him to stumble over his words. “No, no. I-I don’t believe we come from the same family, heh. We’re just really close friends,” he corrected.
“Have been since we were children,” confirmed Blaze.
“Ohh…so it’s more like the king an’ queen just trust ya,” Tonya then assumed.
“They’re probably the closest I have to a family, so…I guess you could say that,” Silver continued, the three of them merely conversing as they wandered the city streets. “Fluff, now ya’ll got me wonderin’ why you’d bother wastin’ your time with a plebeian like me,” the vixen joked, at least earning herself a few chuckles. “Well, because you were in need. And even though you don’t hail from our city, it was still our duty to defend the defenseless,” the apparent princess replied.
“That still begs the question, though,” Silver carefully interrupted. “Why did Iblis target you? And why did he need a spatial rift to do it?”
“Like I mentioned before, it wasn’t originally ME he was after. His target was supposed to be my brother. Someone his summoner sent him after. But I got in the way, an’ the portal closed before he could patch his mistake,” Tonya explained.
“Wait–somebody summoned him?”
“Yep. A madman who escaped captivity. An’--OH! Oh, fluff. HE got pulled through that rift as well. He’s probably still lurkin’ ‘bout out there, an’ he had one o’ the Chaos Emeralds with him!”
So THAT was how the rift was opened to begin with. Someone on HER side had partnered up with someone on THEIR side. And perhaps the guilty party from HER side wanted to be rid of her sibling, but it backfired. “Sounds like our next mission will be to go and apprehend him, then. Especially if he possesses a Chaos Emerald,” Blaze stated. “It’s what we’ve been searching for, when our paths crossed.”
“Wha–ya’ll are lookin’ for Emeralds?”
“A bit of a side-mission, you understand. Self-issued. My parents aren’t yet aware that Silver and I have been undertaking our own endeavors. Last we were told, his parents departed years ago on the hunt for them. They’ve yet to return.”
“An’ ya’ll need ‘em, because…?”
“They were once used to stop the tyrannical reign of a world-ending monster, alongside an identical set of stones known as the Sol Emeralds. But both have since been lost. And to ensure Iblis never gets ahold of them, search teams were formed and sent out to retrieve the stones. Neither team has returned. Silver has been hoping to uncover the truth behind his parents’ disappearance, and we’ve agreed the best course of action was to go and find the Emeralds ourselves. We were led off course, though, and brought to find you.”
“Sooo…does that apply to the shield ya’ll got overhead? Is it bein’ powered by either o’ the Emeralds?”
The trio glanced up at the protective green glow, far above them. “Not exactly,” Silver picked up. “I mean, it IS being powered by an Emerald. Just not any of the Chaos or Sol Emeralds. Our shield’s energy source was basically donated to us by its previous guardian, just to free him so that he could embark on the Emerald hunt as well. Or at least, that’s what we’ve been told.”
That sounded ominously suspicious. “Uhh…might I ask what kind o’ Emerald ya’ll got?”
Her companions exchanged glances, sharing an unspoken conversation that basically questioned whether or not it was safe to trust her with such precious information. They’d had an agreement they’d keep watch over her, which also meant she’d never be alone to conduct anything sneaky. They chose to tell her.
“Are you familiar with the Master Emerald?” Blaze inquired. Her words struck Tonya cold. Of COURSE she was familiar! “Hold up a sec. You mean to tell me…Knuckles gave up the Emerald so he could go treasure-huntin’? That shouldn’t be possible. Last I heard, he was the only one to know o’ its whereabouts,” the vixen clarified, making it apparent that her knowledge clashed with theirs. All three had momentarily gone silent. Tonya didn’t like the intensity in the air.
“...May I ask for just…how LONG ya’ll have had the Emerald?” she tested. Maybe THIS was where Knux had left it, and he just didn’t tell the family anything?
“At least for the last twenty years. It was offered up as a safety precaution against Iblis,” Blaze answered her.
That…that didn’t add up. Knuckles didn’t trust ANYONE with the treasure of his people! That’s why he was the only one to know its hidden location–it was at HIS insistence. So how and why did the inhabitants of this city have it? For TWENTY years, at that? Now that she thought about it, there weren’t any humans in this city, were there? Just human-like animals like herself and her younger brothers. Unease began to weigh heavily in her stomach.
“This…IS Earth, isn’t it? I mean, I didn’t hit my head THAT hard out there, did I?” Tonya attempted to play off, hoping to lessen the tension falling between the group.
“Earth?” Blaze repeated, rather incredulous. “I think you meant ‘Mobius’. But the confusion’s understandable; the doctor did say you’ve been inhaling a prolonged–”
“What…year is it?”
“Um. It’s the year 2226. Are…are you still suffering from the side effects? Do you need a seat?”
The words felt like a gut-punch. She was not only in a different timeline…but on a WHOLE OTHER WORLD?! Had that creature taken her through time AND space?! Did anyone back home even know she was HERE?
Oh. Oh, no…
“Fluff–Shadow!” she expelled under her breath. If HE knew she was missing…
Her legs then felt weak, forcing her companions to draw up the nearest chair and help her sit. Their words of reassurance were lost on her. She was TWO HUNDRED YEARS in the future?! And on a distant planet?! How was she to get out of THIS predicament? She struggled to find her voice. “I…I, uh…I-I shouldn’t be here. I need to get back to my own time period. I need to get home…!” she rambled.
Both of her guardians caught her words.
“Your time period?” Silver repeated.
“So he DID drag you through time. Both you and the culprit who summoned him. And you’re not from Mobius. ‘Earth’, you said it was?” Blaze carefully resumed, hoping to get some answers. Unfortunately, the news WAS difficult to digest. Tonya had to claw at her own mane to keep herself from breaking down. How was she to get HOME?
“This might be greater than what we can handle on our own, Silver. Maybe we should give Miles a call? See if he can manage an appointment to see us,” the feline suggested.
There wasn’t much the cloud-colored hedgehog could do but nod. “I can stay with her while you take care of things. Maybe she’ll tell us more when she calms down?”
It certainly was a sensitive situation. Their “guest” didn’t even hail from their world, much less their city! And they still had a “rat” to round up…
They couldn’t proceed alone. They’d need to call in the cavalry.
Blaze revealed a watch-like device from below a furred cuff as she stepped away, leaving Silver to sit beside Tonya and attempt to cease her nervous breakdown.