IF YOU DIDN'T SEE THE REPOST OF CH. 35 OR READ THE HUGE NOTE ON THE TOP OF IT, PLEASE DO SO NOW. THE NOTE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING, AND EVERY CHAPTER FROM THAT ONE ONWARD HAS BEEN EDITED, SOMETIMES HEAVILY.

Notes on the edits I did: Beyond splitting this off from the original version of the last chapter, I did nothing to this. It was left alone. Oh, but real quick. I thought that this chapter was one that focused on Ix's perspective and only after reading it again realized my mistake, hence the last author's note. My apologies.

~台風の目~

"Admission"

~台風の目~

Reappearing back on Mobius was, honestly, one of the last things Espio had expected to happen to him when the Nocturnians whisked him and who knew who else off of the Blue Typhoon. Ending up in some Nocturnian prison camp or something akin to that was more along the lines of what the chameleon had been inclined to anticipate. But being back on Mobius, safe and sound, albeit by himself? Not at all what he'd been prepared for. And, well, claiming to be safe here was really unintelligent of him, he was sure. Even on such a barren continent Efrikila, a continent of next to nothing but scorching deserts and arid savannahs, Nocturnians prowled everywhere. He held no doubts in his mind that they were even more prominent here on Yueisha, where he was. That much had been more than proven to him and his allies before they'd left for space. The enemies were everywhere... but they weren't the only ones who could effectively hide themselves in the shadows.

Utilizing everything he had ever been taught on the ways of the ninja throughout his life, Espio clung to the shadows and ran without a sound, felling any foe with as few movements as possible when they simply got too close to his hiding places. His destination was the same it had always been whenever he found himself and the world in this much danger: Hyale. The Highlands may have fallen, but his people had not. Some lives had inevitably been lost in the fires and destruction, yes, but nearly every Chameleon from every village in those mountains yet lived, and they simply wouldn't have abandoned their homes so easily. Ninjas were nothing if not protective of what was theirs, and those mountains had always been theirs, even back when said mountains had once been a part of South Island.

About midway in between Spagonia (where he lived with his team mates, nearly directly south of the mountains) and The Highlands, Espio skidded to a halt beside a gurgling stream when his cell phone began to vibrate, and he pulled it out of the small bag he had with him. It wasn't the same old flip phone he'd once owned, but instead a nice touch screen that Kanari had bought him for his birthday one year when they were dating. The two chameleons had dated off and on since the fall of Ivo, alternating somewhat frequently between being a couple and being good friends. Right now, they identified as the latter, but frequently kept in contact. He hadn't told her that he'd left or even been planning to leave the planet for the sake of this war, so the fact that she was calling him as though it was just another day didn't at all surprise him. Glancing around quickly, he determined the area was safe for the time being. Taking a chance, as he wasn't sure how much time he had to talk, he answered the call. "Hello?"

The true fear in Kanari's voice stabbed Espio right through the heart. "Espio!" she gasped out in a whisper, panting heavily. "Where are you? I've been calling and calling-" She was nearly hyperventilating, possibly sobbing.

Given his feelings for her, which had been steadily growing over the years, Espio was immediately greatly upset by the sound of her voice, which normally made him feel more happy than anything else. "Kanari, what's wrong?" he demanded, resorting to his somewhat rare use of contractions. "What's going on? Are you hurt?"

"Where are you?" she asked again, voice breaking yet further. The young woman was in a panic, not really listening to him at all.

"Kanari, listen to me," Espio said quickly. "I didn't get your earlier calls, I was too far away. I'm near Spagonia. Where are you?"

"I-I'm in West Forest," Kanari replied, now openly crying.

Not wasting a second, Espio turned completely around and began running as fast as he could. "Stay there, and stay hidden," he ordered, voice taking on a rare authoritative tone. "I'll be there as quickly as I can."

"There are Nocturnians here, Espio," Kanarai suddenly revealed, still keeping her voice down even as she cried. "My house was attacked. I don't know if I was followed into the woods."

Cursing internally, Espio forced himself to run even faster. "I'll be there soon," he reiterated. Panic was starting to hit him, a feeling he was mostly unfamiliar with. "Hide as best as you can. Don't let them find you, do you understand?"

"Yes," was the terrified, sobbing reply.

Hands shaking, Espio clutched the phone more tightly than he felt sure he ever had before. Squeezing his eyes shut for just a second, he whispered the only honest truth he could think of in that moment, four words that he had only ever uttered twice before. "I love you, Kanari."

But by then the call had already dropped.

~台風の目~

Vector was, of course, both surprised and confused initially when he appeared in Eschire Village, right outside of Vanilla's home. A quick scan of the area, and he caught sight of her garden which wrapped around to the back of the house from the left side of it. The normally lush vegetables, flowers, and fruits were beginning to dry out and suffer. An apple tree outside the garden was also showing signs of illness, as was nearly all the grass in the normally lush village. The grave beneath that apple tree stood stoic and silent amongst the familiar breezes of the grassy settlement, but the croc didn't allow his gaze and thoughts to linger on it for too long. A small smiling face belonging to a once miserable child flashed through his mind before he pushed the recollection aside.

Sighing heavily, he headed quickly to Vanilla's house and knocked in that loud sort of brash way he always did. "Hey, Vanilla!" he called through the thick decorated wood. "You home?"

A couple short minutes passed, then the door suddenly unlocked. This door was never locked. When it opened, Vanilla's wan face looked up at him without any of her usual joy and warmth. "Vector?" she asked softly, as though hardly daring to believe that he was there.

Startled, Vector nodded. "Well, yeah," he said lamely. Concern bled into his tone. "What's going on? Are you okay?" Vanilla didn't answer straight away. She took a quick look around behind Vector, then ushered him inside. As soon as he was in, she shut and re-locked the door. "Vanilla," Vector asked again immediately following this, "what's happening?"

Taking in a breath, Vanilla exhaled with a sigh and said, "The Nocturne Clan has been poisoning the area since you all left for space."

"Why?" Vector demanded before she could even begin to explain.

"They tried to attack the village, the same day you departed," Vanilla told him quietly. "The Chao from the Hidden Meadows protected us with their magic, but given that they're all so deeply tied to nature... The Clan is trying to kill them all, so that they can then kill us. The Chao won't survive this toxin for long, Vector."

The Hidden Meadows. That area was among the purest patch of nature in the world, positively blooming with life energy, hence so many Chao calling it home. The meadows were just outside this small village, Vector knew, and Cheese himself had come from there. The Chao in the meadows loved Eschire, and the people of Eschire loved those Chao. It made sense that the Chao would want to protect the village, and it made sense that villagers like Vanilla would be so full of fear for both themselves and for those beloved Chao. Vector understood all of that. But he didn't understand why the Clan was suddenly targeting Eschire. What did such a lonely, peaceful village mean to such a dark and wicked Clan? "What do they want from you guys, Vanilla?" he found himself asking, even though he doubted she even had the answer he sought.

Her eyes were really and truly troubled, not warm and loving as they normally were. "I don't know, Vector..." she answered softly, shaking her head. "I really don't know..." Outside the nearest window, Vector couldn't help but see as the plague spread just a bit deeper into the village. A freshly rotted apple fell from the tree and bounced off the grave, coming to rest in the dirt. The Village of Life was dying.

~台風の目~

Somewhere around two in the afternoon, Soren's lovely nap on the shore of the Great Lake, directly to the west of the uppermost portion of White Jungle, was interrupted by a blast of evil energy that sent him flying. He was tossed like a rag doll through the air, then crashed back onto the ground and skidded across the sharp gravel. Coughing and wincing, the young hedgehog scrambled back up onto his feet. Immediately, he saw his attackers. Five Nocturnians, and they were no wimps. These weren't ne'er-do-wells or idiots, but instead willfully violent and clearly trained individuals. And there were five of them. Soren had no training, he had no allies. He wasn't an idiot either, but he made no claims of being above average mentally. He certainly wasn't violent. Actually, he hated fighting. He was damn good at it, but he hated it. Still, if fight he must, then fight he would. It wasn't like he would ever just let someone attack or kill him. To do that would do nothing but shame the memory of family.

One of the Nocturnians spoke. "Well, someone's rather far from home, isn't he?"

Recalling the portal that had dragged him from his timeline into this one, Soren scowled. "And who's fault would that be, hm?" he asked testily. Having not slept well in nearly three full weeks, he was in a very poor mood right now. Seeing young Lia kidnapped and terrified that one time hadn't helped his attitude much. Plus, he was fifteen, so he acknowledged that he could be moody, anyway. That was beside the point, though.

"Ooh, feisty," a second Nocturnian sneered. That sneer gave way to almost random irritation in about a second. "I recommend you hold your tongue, boy, lest we rip it out."

Stormy grey eyes rolled, then he proved to himself something that he had long already known to be true. As much as he was like his father, he was also very much like his uncle… the one who had for a period in Soren's early life raised him in his timeline, if memory served. "Right, and then you'll give it to a cat, won't you?" he remarked sarcastically. As expected, they didn't get the joke. "Oh, come on, you guys don't have senses of humor, either? Sheesh, no wonder I never liked your kind." All further jokes were immediately cut short before they could be voiced when the second Nocturnian and one of the others lunged forward to attack him. Dodging, he spun and kicked one of the attackers in the gut and the other in the shin. Both doubled over, the second victim howling in pain when the bone audibly snapped. Soren winced and was tempted to just run away to avoid injuring anyone anymore, but knew already that that wasn't a viable option. They would catch him. He was sure of it.

A third Nocturnian attacked him, and Soren retaliated by knocking the dagger out of the person's hand and hit them with a short Homing Attack. The fourth attacked was taken down with a Spin Dash, an attacked Soren almost never used. With both of them unconscious, Soren turned his attention to the attacker he'd hit in the gut. The person had recovered by now, and was drawing a powerful gun. Gritting his teeth, Soren did a daring martial arts move he'd seen depicted in a book once. Books were a very, very rare thing where he came from, as the Nocturnians there had destroyed each one they found. Because of that, Soren had guarded and memorized that martial arts book to the very best of his ability. That was knowledge he utilized now, in spite of his lack of any sort of training. It paid off, and the gun was sent flying away. Upon hitting the ground, it went off, and the attacker was shot straight through the chest.

There was no time for him to go into shock or even to grimace. There were two enemies left, and they were coming straight toward him. A series of kicks and punches served to knock out one of them, and a single Homing Attack knocked out the other one. Casting a very nervous glance at the dying Nocturnian then looking over the four unconscious companions, he turned and ran away. There was a reason why he hated to fight. There was a reason why deaths bothered him. He didn't regret taking the lives of those who dared to harm or kill the innocent. He felt no remorse for harming those who had no qualms about doing the same to him. His nerves came from one thing and one thing only: spirits. When one could see, hear, interact with, and be harmed by the souls of the dead... Well, that was certainly cause for alarm, was it not?

So much for getting any sleep.

~台風の目~

2,293 words this time. Posted on the same day since as the last one since they're both relatively short. Also, I don't say it nearly enough, but thank you so much to everyone who continues to read, follow, and/or even favorite this story even after my lengthy disappearance. It means the world to me that some of you guys stuck around, or even climbed aboard after I resumed posting. Thank you all so much, and I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed this installment. Posted (at about 6:00 p.m.) 08-31-17.