Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this ominous time… especially for the one whose music box plays.

~保護者~

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Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yeah, he sure was (or at least he was among the fastest mortals alive). But he definitely needs some training and such these days. XD

~保護者~

"Once Upon a Dark Night"

~保護者~

Several hours later found the group (sans Cadora, who was still studying) loosely gathered in the front room of Jet's extremely isolated home. With all the reunions and whatnot over with for now, the lot of them had settled down for now and were relaxing while they could. While the others, even Jet a few times, participated in their own conversations, Tails had focused on providing Sonic with some more information on demons and similar creatures. None of the information especially important, but even just learning these basics helped Sonic to understand more about what they were up against.

He was gearing up to ask a question about this apparent god that he now knew was out there when a clatter of wood on the stone floor startled everyone into momentary silence. Every eye turned to the source of the noise, an object Sonic had vaguely noticed earlier but barely paid attention to. It was a box of sorts made to open down the middle. The box was small enough to fit easily in the palm of a person's hand and it was square in shape, though where a normal square had corners this one had sharp diagonals instead. It had fallen off of the table where Jet's sword and robe still rested.

The group had fallen oddly silent. Jet bent down and picked the box up, then set it back down on the table beside his sword… only for some unseen force to fling it back down to the ground. With a noticeable frown, Jet again retrieved the box. A bit more firmly this time, he set it back down on the table. This time, nothing. But, though the spectacle was apparently now over, Sonic was left rather confused. "What just happened?" he found himself asking.

Wave sighed. "That's a cursed object, Sonic," she explained. This didn't seem to be new information for anyone else. "And, no, I don't have know specifically what curses are placed on it." A slight pause, then, "That sort of thing just happens around and to such objects sometimes."

"Who would curse a box?" Sonic asked dubiously, eyeing the unassuming wooden object.

"Music box," Wave corrected, "and who knows? It and the curse are both a lot older than any of us, so there's no telling who cursed it or exactly when or why."

"And… why are you keeping a cursed object around?" Sonic questioned, gaze shifting to Jet.

Jet, eyes focused on the apparent music box, gave a slow blink. "Because…" he admitted just as slowly, "...it was your father's."

"He owned it for the vast majority of his life," Wave confirmed with a nod. "Not sure why or anything, of course. I - well, we - just know that it only opens, and thus only plays its tune, when his life is in danger."

What Jet had said hit Sonic hard. So hard that he barely even heard anything Wave had just said. Much harder than he would have anticipated, really. "...Dad's?" he whispered. Jet just nodded. Sonic felt numb. He hadn't seen or heard anything about either of his parents since they had been killed during the final fight against the Nocturne Clan. He'd come to understand since then that they were semi-Immortals, but no one had ever been able to tell him whether or not their deaths on that day had actually been permanent or not. But if they revived, wouldn't they have come back by now…? Or at least called or something? He wasn't sure if anyone here had any answers for him, but he found himself desperately asking regardless, "Is dad… still alive?" Tails's gaze dropped straight to the floor. Shadow was suddenly scowling at nothing. Sonic pressed on. "And mom? Is she…?"

"We… don't know about your mom," Tails answered very slowly. "No one does. We're as in the dark about her fate as we were in the past. ...Not that we haven't tried to find her, though." He met Sonic's gaze earnestly, eyes pleading for understanding. "We tried, Sonic, to find out anything about what happened to her. Anything at all. We really, really did."

Sonic couldn't decide how to react to that right now, so he just asked again, "And Dad?"

It was Shadow who answered this time, though it took nearly a full minute for him to do so. "Father lives."

The answer made Sonic sit straight up. He's… he's… alive?

"But… Sonic… It's not so simple," Tails cautioned. He was pleading for understanding again, this time through his voice, though he didn't outright explain what he wanted Sonic to understand. Instead, he told Sonic, "And, before you ask, no… we can't go see him or otherwise contact him."

"Why not?" Sonic demanded, voice almost breaking. He was already feeling emotional, though he was doing his best to curb it. He suspected he was on the verge of failing.

"Because he doesn't have a communicator on him anymore, or anything else we can use to contact him," Tails murmured.

"And the world on which he now reside," Jet added simply, "is so vastly dangerous that venturing there for any reason at all is a fool's errand." It honestly startled Sonic to see his friend's gaze suddenly so distant… and so dark. He spoke, it seemed, from experience… awful, awful experience of a sort that was often better left unexplained. "Setting foot on that world would be the only way to contact him, but to do so would be to invite death itself to try its hand at ending you."

"But why?" Sonic heard himself blurt out. "Why would he be in such a horrible place, let alone live there? It doesn't make sense."

"Let's just… say he lives for danger these days," Wave answered with another sigh. "Trust me, it doesn't bother him at all."

Sonic didn't understand. Not fully, not yet. "How could you know that if you can't get anywhere near him?"

"We have still run into him a few times," Espio suddenly said, speaking up finally. "We know enough from those encounters."

In the process of trying to, well, process this, Sonic was unprepared for it when the music box was again flung off of the table. This time when it hit the ground, it snapped open. It skittered to a halt sitting upright, a simple yet ominous tune now emanating from it. All eyes locked on it again, then Jet and Wave traded a sharp look. Jet broke the eye-contact quickly, grabbed his cloak and sword, and vanished.

Still feeling numb, Sonic got up and walked over to the music box. Though Wave cautioned him against it, he bent down and picked the box up in one hand. Gazing at the sun-dial normally covered by the lid, he took in the unfamiliar markings… and the fresh knowledge that this song meant his father's life was again in danger. He swallowed hard and started to stand, only to freeze when the song suddenly cut off and the lid snapped shut. The clap of wood on wood was almost deafening in the newfound silence. Heart pounding, Sonic looked up at Wave. The fear in her eyes reflected his own. And yet… somehow he suspected that the reasons for her fear were different than his.

Choosing not to ask for now, Sonic stood and slowly set the music box back onto the table.

~保護者~

1,273 words this time. Short, but nevertheless important. Hope you all enjoyed. Posted (at about 10:25 a.m.) 11-02-18.