For Our Son (Silvaze)

Alley Fight

~ 3 weeks later ~

Now back on her feet in her own apartment, Blaze was much happier. Working with Knuckles' unit and having less publicity on her was a relief. Knuckles' unit requires less of the media to be involved because taking care of Mobius should be a top priority so now her life and face appeared less and less in magazines and other media outlets. Her mental health was much better than not having to deal with it.

A knock on her office door made her look up from her computer. "Hey! You got a second?" Knuckles asked her. "Of course! Sorry if I look all serious, I finally sorted out a finance crisis!" she told him. "Eh, no worries!" Knuckles replied, sitting down in the chair in her office. "I wanted to know if you're still willing to help me with afternoon patrol? We're down about three people and having somebody with your strength is helpful for where we're going." Knuckles asked her. "Yeah, sure! It shouldn't be too difficult, right? But that area where we're going, isn't that the highest crime rate?" Blaze questioned. "Well duh, it's crazy without a daily patrol. But if you don't want to go, don't worry. I have other people with me. I don't want to drag you down if you don't want to."

Blaze shook her head as she got up from her chair. "Knucks, I'll be okay. It's nothing that I can't handle. Besides, you should've seen me at my old place. I used to take down opponents stronger than you. This should be nothing! Besides, we have others coming with us so it's less reason to be worried."

Knuckles shrugged his shoulder and stood up to follow her outside of the office. Both of them gathered their things before heading out on patrol with the others. As they did, others joined them as they already exited the premises. As they walked along the pathways, they made it to the rougher part of town. It wasn't poor, but it was a shady place for those who came into the area.

"So what exactly are we looking for down here?" she asked Knuckles. "For any kind of distress from those living here. You'd be surprised how often we get calls from this area. It's pretty sad. There's mostly people who can't afford the apartments on the outside of our main home. I love helping out here when I can though. The kids especially love it because they get to see heroes from our home. It gives them a sense of... relief." he explained cheerily. Blaze smiled, glancing at the kids who stared at her wide-eyed. They smiled or shrank back in surprise. "Don't worry, if any of them are scared, it's not against you. There's usually a conflict happening here that scares them into hiding. I can't even blame them. If something went down where I lived every day."

Nodding her head, they moved forward. Their other companions noted that they would split up and head in different ways. Blaze and Knuckles walked as far as they could towards the middle of the place. "Hey, I think I'm gonna try to go over this way. Do you think you'll be okay on your own?" Knuckles questioned. "I appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself just fine! You'd be surprised how well I can handle myself." she reassured the echidna. Knuckles smiled softly. "I think I'm gonna go down this way. Are you sure going to be okay?"

Rolling her eyes, she nodded while chuckling playfully. "I promise I'll be okay! If I do need you, I know what to do."

Saluting her off, he began to walk away from her. Blaze decided to head in the direction where more citizens were walking around. For the most part, everything was calm. She only received the occasional stare or glance. Anyone else in the area was simply going on their day, minding their business. At one point, she turned and saw a fight occurring.

It was full of punching, and kicking, and a few citizens' powers kept going off. "Hey! Cut it out!" Blaze exclaimed as she raced towards the crowd. Some of them noticed her, racing towards her. "Get her!" one shouted. Blaze scoffed, forming a series of flames across in front of her. She then created orbs, sending them out in their direction. More went around her, trying to capture her as well. Blaze set up a firewall, blocking them off from a surprise attack from behind. Jumping again, she soared over their heads, fighting each one off. Quickly, she dodged them as one grabbed onto her jacket. Blaze took off her jacket to get more room to move. "I don't think you two understand what you're dealing with here." she told them, flicking her finger at them. It released a small spark, sending them slightly off in a different direction.

As she dealt with the majority, more popped out of nowhere. Her eyes widened. Not being prepared, she sent a set of flames in their direction, having to back away in shock. A slight crack in the ground caused her to fall backward. One of the guys jumped towards her, trying to jump on her. Blaze saw what he was doing and rolled out of the way. The rest of them were coming in her direction. For some reason, Blaze felt more tired than usual. She clutched her side not knowing what was causing her sudden exhaustion. She pressed a button on her watch to signal to Knuckles. "Crap... I don't know if I can keep this up... It's barely been five minutes!" she huffed to herself.

One of the opponents noticed her huffing and sneered. "Well well. Someone's losing energy huh?" Blaze gritted her teeth, igniting her flames again in each hand. "Hardly. You haven't seen my full potential." she hissed. Fire spread on all sides, the gust of wind sending tons of them flying into objects around her. She went back to hand-to-hand combat with the main leader. She was able to hold her own. But slowly she felt herself start to slip. Someone grabbed her from behind, putting her in a tight hug. "Ugh! Let go of me!" she snapped, wriggling in his grasp. Blaze stomped her toes and bashed the back of her head on his nose. He cried out but kept his tight hold.

"Knuckles!" she shouted. Her lungs slightly burned. Air wasn't getting through her body fast enough and the guy in front of her was getting even closer. "I'm gonna teach you what happens when you interfere with us!" he snapped, holding his fist up. Right before he could land a hit, Blaze watched him fly off and hit a wall. The guy who was holding her was ripped off of her as someone else picked her up off the ground and out of harm's way. "Knucks!" she cried, seeing that he was holding her close right before some of the thugs were about to land a hit. He shielded her carefully, letting the impact hit his back. Two more helpers pulled the thugs away from him.

Each of them was pushed to the ground before handcuffs were placed on their wrists. Relieved, Knuckles let out a deep breath that he had been holding back. "Phew! You okay? That was a close call there!" he cried out. "Great now that you're here! Ugh. I hate that I let my guard down. There were more coming after us." she huffed. "Eh, don't worry. It's all over now! Why don't we get you checked out? You've been through a serious battle. Not to mention you seem very worn out."

"I'm okay. Just need a glass of water is all!" she reassured him. "I know but... Blaze you're slightly pale. I think you need to lie down, maybe even more." he told her worriedly, approaching her. "I'm fine! Look I'll show you by walking back to the entry point with you!" she told him. Knuckles was hesitant but followed her back anyway. At first, nothing seemed wrong with her. Blaze managed to keep up her posture as they walked back. Then her vision became blurry. "Knuckles?" she asked, feeling slightly disoriented. Blaze's walk was terrible as she began to wobble. "Blaze?" Knuckles wondered.

She then began going down to the ground rapidly. "Shit! Blaze!" he cried. In his arms, Blaze had gone unconscious. Knuckles felt for a pulse and it was slightly rapid. She wasn't responding and she had a slightly coldness to her.

"Shit! Shit! C'mon! HELP! I NEED HELP! HERO DOWN! I REPEAT!! HERO DOWN!!"