The first thing Blaze heard when she awoke were the voices surrounding her.

Well, not really the voices. They seemed far-off, muffled. There was some continuous ringing sound in her ears. As the cat's eyes fluttered open, she saw that the world itself was just a huge blur of colors. It was mainly dark, but as Blaze continued to blink, the world became clearer and she saw a few lit candles here-and-there.

While her vision gradually cleared, Blaze noticed that it was somewhat difficult to breathe, that there were several beads of sweat forming all over her body, that she was very hot, and that her throat hurt. Her arms and parts of her legs This was Blaze's first clue that something had happened. For a moment, she brushed it off and temporarily concluded that she was sick today and was staying home in bed. But as she studied the room, she noticed that, this was not her bedroom, nor any room in her house.

Anybody would have lost their cool here. Blaze certainly did, but she didn't quite show it. Instead she just stayed in the current position she was in, surveying her area.

There were two empty beds to Blaze's right; they both had flimsy blankets upon them and both had one flimsy mattress to each of them. Patches were scattered about the covers and mattress, and Blaze assumed that she was in a bed somewhat identical to the other two. The walls of the room were rotten and weak, most likely infested with termites. There were three figures standing in front of a shattered window to the far left.

Blaze jerked out of her reverie. There were others here? Perhaps they knew where she was, why she was here, and hopefully where her mother was. Excited, Blaze attempted to get some words out of her throat, but this only ended in discomfort for her throat, and she let out a loud, ragged cough.

That'll work, she thought.

Her cough got the attention of her comrades (hopefully comrades, at least). Eventually, Blaze caught the silver eyes of a middle-aged female, yellow mongoose staring down at her.

The woman's eyes brightened when she saw that the purple cat had awoken.

"Well! Finally awake now, are we?" Her voice was rich with a thick British accent. "We was afraid that you'd gone up to high heaven for a minute. Oui," she yelled, turning her head to the two others. "Get over here! You boys are going to be livin' with this here lass once she's all better, so be proper gentlemen and introduce yourselves.

When the white hedgehog walked over, Blaze nearly fainted.

It was the boy of whom she saw every day.

Their eyes met. He smiled at her.

Back to the Present

"I was quite shocked," Blaze snickered.

"You really were," Silver replied. "You looked like you had just seen the face of Iblis himself."

Blaze clenched her fists. "I swear, if I see that low-life monster again, I will destroy him…"

Silver rested a hand upon her shoulder. "Easy there, kitty."

Blaze wiped some sweat from her brow. "It's bad enough that he's plunged us into this hell that we're forced to call 'home,' but he killed our families, Silver…" Tears began to well into her eyes.

"I know," Silver whispered, wrapping his friend into a hug. "Do you want to stop talking?"

"No. Come on, keep talking."

Silver smiled and rubbed Blaze's shoulder. "Well, when I saw you…"

0o0o0

"Alright, you lot, out! No botherin' patients in the Medical-Wing. Go do your chores!"

Lola, her accent emanating irritation, shoved Silver and Flash out from the room.

"B-But, Lola," Silver stammered, "can't I just talk to-"

"No! The lass has asthma! Now get out!" Lola gave the door to the Medical Wing a swing, and with a loud SLAM, Silver was separated from the girl by a thickly cut piece of charred wood.

Silver sighed. Exasperated, he sat down upon the dirt floor and rested his head in one hand.

"I'm telling you, Flash," Silver murmured, "I don't even know her name! If I could just talk to her for a minute, maybe even less, I'd be set for life!"

Flash sat beside his friend. "Well," he replied, "can't you go visit her?"

"Lola barely ever lets me near a window! It's a miracle she even let us look out of the one in the Medical Wing."

"She needed to survey the damage of Iblis's attack, even if just from a distance. She probably let us see it to educate us. In any case, Lola may let you see her after she's made progress. Look, Jack has asthma. Remember that attack he had a couple of months ago? He had a high fever for a couple of days, and by then his pals were allowed to visit him."

Silver didn't reply. He just sat gazing at the door.

0o0o0

"Sorry you had to see that, lassie. Anywho, I'm Lola, and I run this 'ere place."

Blaze watched as Lola quickly closed the tattered window curtains and dusted off her dress. "Do you have a name?" Lola asked.

Blaze opened her mouth to talk, but this proved to be alike to her last attempt to speak.

"Oh, that's right," Lola said, mentally scolding herself. "Listen, dearie, You may be wondering where you are and who we are and where your family is, but I have a policy. Policy is: you can't know 100% of the story until you are 100% yourself. We clear, love?"

Blaze nodded. Lola strolled over and laid a wet rag over Blaze's forehead.

"Need anything, dear?"

There were a few heartbeats of silence before Blaze managed to croak out, "Water…"

Lola chuckled. "Alright, sweetheart. You stay, and I'll be right back. And remember, no info until you have got a clean bill of health!"

Lola stepped outside the room, and silently let the tears flow. Because honestly, she was just stalling so the time to tell the girl what had happened to her family.

Back to the Present

"Despite Lola's snappish attitude," Silver said solemnly, "she really did love us all."

Blaze would never let others hear her cry. She simply would never give them that pleasure. But Silver knew he must be trusted, because he could hear her quiet sobs and her tears dripping upon his chest. Silver ran his fingers through her silky fur, whispering words of comfort and that everything was okay.

"Blaze," he whispered when she had calmed down. "Maybe we should stop talking about this."

"No," Blaze sniffled. "It's true there are a lot of sad memories, but there are a lot of good ones, too. And I want to remember at least a few until we go to sleep."

Silver smiled, letting Blaze free of his hug and handing her a piece of the bag to use as a tissue. She gratefully took it.