Warnings: Unknown dad, implied child abuse, polyamory, past teen pregnancy

Chapter One - More Than Others

Sometimes, Taiga dreams of a girl with red hair. Not bubblegum pink and just as unpredictable, but something like cherries and smelling of them too. Her laughter always a little sharp and forced, her purple eyes full of something like admiration and love mixed together when looking at the person next to him, and the sheer unfiltered interest when directed at him.

He dreams of her being so small and unbreakable until he presses his hand on her shoulder and feels like a too painful glass touch on her clothed shoulders.

He remembers all sorts of things in his dreams, and often forgets most of them in the morning.

Or what passes as morning in the strange bubble pulling them slowly through the dimensional cosmos.

Akiho and Rina, curled up with the children, don't pay it much heed. "We saw all we needed to the first time," Akiho tells him, and presses the children closer. None of them seem interested in moving either. Lark seems downright lethargic, and even when he's sick he's usually kind of energetic, so seeing him only be awake to eat and use the restroom wherever it's happening…

"They'll be fine, Taiga," Yakov assures him, and the deep, gravelly voice always has. It's always made him feel welcome and safe and pleasantly comfortable in a way that only his mom has ever managed. "The digital world and those related to it tends to take the most out of children. They bounce back better some of the time."

At his side, Sayo winces.

"I said some of the time," he says in gentle self admonishment.

Taiga brushes the top of Sayo's small hand with the pads of his fingers. She smiles, tremulously, and shuts her eyes once more. She has to be able to concentrate. According to Rina, because she has the best memories of their home, so she's the best suited to get them there.

But she is still a child and her power is sealed away and the space between universes is vaster than the hope in many hearts. So the journey is terribly slow. They can easily get lost, or stranded, or far away from their goal into another world entirely with no hope whatsoever.

Taiga, however, thinks she can do it. Mirei had crossed time and space and death itself to make it to them before and then again. Going home should be no more difficult than falling asleep. It would just take time to remember the way.

The bubble around them wobbles a little and then slows to a stop Taiga glances down at Sayo, who is sagging in her seat. "Close," she says wearily. "Not now… not today. Need… Need a door now."

Rina hops to her feet at those words, a smirk of mischief clear on her face despite how heavy her eyelids look. "Finally, I get to do something."

"You've been doing things the whole time, Rina," Niko mutters from where he toys with the V-Pet app. Apparently despite being in the middle of the universe, he still has cell service.

"You're enjoying everything she does," Yuuya says without remorse, not even opening his eyes. Like the kids, it's a miracle to find Yuuya awake in general. The children when not on Akiho, have been using the smaller man as a bony pillow.

Akiho just says it's the cat in him, and every time she does, a pillow smacks into her face. How pillows exist in what only seems to have a bubble in shape is something everyone scientific had tried and failed to explain to him, so he gives up.

All he knows is that the bubble is like a dimensional space ship and can form what they need so long as there is something to provide it energy, like the children and even the adults themselves. It would grow faster if the kids were energetic and running about. But they aren't used to the drain the way Rina and Akiho seem to be.

"It's how things work at home," Akiho would say and then go silent, fidgeting with the single silver ring on her finger every time.

Rina, being Rina and not good at divulging information without force or bribery, says nothing at all.

There is a soft, sudden ripple in the bubble and the few of them dozing jolt awake, looking around as if space will suddenly become less dark.

Sayo's eyes are open and she's looking straight ahead. She breathes softly out, and raises a hand like she's grasping for a doorknob in the dark. "There," she says, with more certainty than Taiga has heard from her ever in the past six months and however long they've been here. "It's there." She pauses once more. "Get ready."

"Ready for what?" Niko asks.

Taiga, ten seconds later, really wishes he hadn't asked.

The ship is suddenly so in motion Taiga can't waste energy standing up. It's all he can do to curl around Sayo, at least in what he thinks is a protective manner, even as she stands like nothing is happening at all. It then lurches to the side and Taiga has to give up on that too. He settles for shakily moving his way over to Lark. His eldest son's tiny fingers curl around his arm, almost protectively.

"'m sorry, papa," he mumbles.

Taiga almost laughs. He knows not to but he can't help but think he's given the kid his own worrywart personality. "Not your fault this is a bumpy ride."

Lark manages to shake his head and it's impressive due to the sheer pressure of the moving ship. "No. I took your attention away. He'll be sad."

He dreams of pink hair that's almost red.

"I'll be fine," Taiga tells him.

For once, it's not very reassuring.

Some time later, Akiho wakes them up with a choking sound, a muffled sob. Taiga looks up and sees through the multicolored swirls of space, something floating. At first it looks like a bubble, one that dwarfs their own like the sky dwarfs a person. She's staring at it, watching the blurry shapes solidify into buildings and a strange fizzling sky and water that seems to appear and disappear before their eyes.

Akiho lets out another broken, awful sob. It's different from when she led him home with the baby, different from the girl who spoke plainly about the inhumanity she'd been reduced to doing to not die, different from the happy joy of holding Madoka or dragging Vladi out of a cabinet or racing out of every class known to man because she can.

Though she's crying, ugly tears splashing little stains into the floor, she's smiling, her eyes are alight. Rina reaches over and squeezes her hand. Akiho winces, then laughs. And the tears spread over the floor and she laughs harder.

Niko and Yuuya twitch in unison but Rina stares at them so hard Taiga half expects to find lasers coming out her eyes. Thankfully, none do, but it's close. He wonders if she could get that function somehow. Rina's eyes bore into him and he looks away with a burning face.

"I know what you're thinking and no I can't." But she's grinning at him despite the dryness of her voice and so he knows he's safe for another day. "And no they thought about it but we decided not to see if we could."

"Sounds like a challenge," Niko mutters, rolling his eyes at the both of them.

Akiho lets out a choking laugh again as their transportation finally begins to slow and as it does, the their bubble begins to turn opaque. Ivory white 'walls', if you can call them that, slide over like automatic doors and the view of space that for the first stretch of time had terrified the living shit out of Taiga for some reason fade away, leaving only the city in view. Well, the city the size of Brazil at minimum and one other bubble, followed by a much bigger almost perfect sphere. And a moon, of course. And if he squints, something else blurs in and out of sight and goodness, that's not a headache inducer, no.

Earth is the same no matter what universe you go in, Taiga figures.

"What's that other bubble?" He directs his question to Yakov, who shakes his head.

"Sanctuary," Sayo replies, the word bursting out as if she'd been waiting to be asked. Not that it made anything any clearer. "Binary knows me there. It's easier than diving right in. We might punch a permanent hole in their structure and that could end badly."

"The nanomachines in the air could probably fix it but we shouldn't take any chances," Rina says as if she'd just described the weather. Taiga will grill her later. He swears it. Her voice is a bit shaky as is and he doesn't need them both crying it will set him off and that's a bad first impression on other earthlings. Or something. He has no idea.

So he… doesn't reply to it. "So how do we get in the Sanctuary then?"

"Father Time should let us into Sanctuary," Sayo replies, still steady and almost a little reproachful, like he should know these things. But all he gets are vague dreams he doesn't remember too hot in the morning. And he'd rather not know if her knowing makes her so terrified of sounds and seeing people bigger than her. "He knows me. He'll let us in."

Her legs wobble as she speaks, but Sayo raises her hand anyway and waves it to the left. The float down, which is infinitely less gross and numbing as when it had been like, not too long ago. Their stuff isn't tumbling around anymore anyway.

When they'd left, it'd been with things, locked away in their bags that Rina had somehow designed to be like hammerspace or something and they'd not opened the whole time but Taiga is not looking forward to seeing the state of it all when they get out and have to unpack somewhere… at some point.

They continue to float, and then pause. The wall goes blank ivory like the rest, all but for a single blue screen floating at the 'edge'.

Sayo wobbles again, but stumbles forward a step, and then another, and then like there is no end she runs and leaps forward at the screen. It doesn't shatter like it ought, but the wall ripples like water as she disappears through it.

Taiga makes to get up and race after her but Yakov lets out a noise to wait. And they're left alone in there in the silent white. Their hearts make so much noise, because no one else dares to speak. Then the bubble lurches forward, and continues to move. A sensation like skin stretching on a broken bone, but not painful, passes over them until something pops in their ears. Taiga looks around and their white bubble slides into shades of soft grays, lights on the walls, a ceiling that slopes up like hills. Green light passes under his feet as he picks himself and Lark up from the floor.

"Welcome," says a soft, familiar, painful voice from a man that dwarfs all but Professor Yakov and Taiga's own mother. The voice is rich and warm and kind and the speaker's red-violet eyes look down on them with curiosity. He's dressed only in a great red robe and long possible slacks, dark skin clear through the tied golden string. Not too surprisingly, Sayo is sitting on one of his arms and he seems to have no trouble carrying her. Taiga's pretty sure even Yuuya wouldn't struggle to carry Sayo, in his defense. Her fingers are in one part of the fabric but it seems more for balance than anything. She doesn't react in the slightest to them. Her breathing is slow.

"My name is Rekushin," he says to them, and Taiga feels his heart swell with something familiar and heartbreaking. Granted he doesn't know what it is but it makes his eyes water. "God of time and progress. My wife and daughter and I reigned over the digital world together once upon a time, but I am afraid it is only me now." His fingers brush against Sayo's cheek, and the girl sighs in her sleep, utterly peaceful even through the bruises. "Well, myself and a guest and her family. And this one now."

"You're not her father." Akiho's voice cracks like a whip. "I've met her father."

"I was," the man says in that gentle tone that brooks no argument. "Not anymore, of course, but she was pleased to see me either way. Now come, you must be exhausted after your long journey. We will get you fed and rested." He turns slowly and begins to walk away

Yuuya twitches but takes Akiho's hand in his. The hair starting to poke up red falls flat slowly and Rina pushes past them with a sleeping Vladi.

"Rina, slow down," Niko complains, trying to smooth down his stuck bedhead.

"I want a shower," she tells him with a huff. "And these little ones need baths."

"She wants to keep up with the new ass," Akiho mutters.

Taiga chokes and glances at the children. The oldest ones don't even react. Even Lark, who loves asking not-so-innocent questions now just trots on in slow, exhausted steps. Taiga pauses, makes sure everyone is accounted for. Yakov is grinning weakly with pride and pats him on the shoulder as he passes. There's something else there, something sad and longing and other that he can't identify.

Mama meets his eyes and nods, gently, ever gently, and takes his hand.

"Come now, she says. "Let's freshen up."

It should be embarrassing to be tugged to do the smart thing by your mother, but he's tired and confused and now his stomach is starting to hurt. So he goes.

Hours later, Taiga wakes on a bed softer than any futon he's ever seen in life. He's pretty sure even Yuuya, the richest person he'd ever known (his family owned the internet and he still left, hardcore) had never slept on things that comfortable.

He'd dreamed of the redhead again, dreamed of her confusion, her sadness, her exhaustion, her acceptance. Her mouth pressing clumsily against his cheek. Arms steadily wrapped around someone else's neck.

Taiga gropes around in the dark of the room for a clock and makes a face. "What time is it?"

"17:39 GMT."

"Thank- what the hell?"

Taiga looks around and nobody is there. Nothing is there. But there's a little cackling bark, a sound dogs never make.

After weeks and weeks of traveling, he's finally losing it and hearing things. Great.

The cackling bark comes again, and in the dark, that's enough to make a shudder run down his spine.

Taiga gets dressed as quickly as he can and bolts out of the room. In his defense, he'd barely managed to be escorted to said room before running and flopping. His children had been ushered into their own, where Sayo had been placed. Their favorite place, especially Lark's, has always been curling up beside her like a bunch of multicolored kittens. So wherever that is, that's where they'll be.

"Hey barky voice," Taiga begins. There's a croon soft against his ears. "Which way to my kids?"

There's a chirp in response of all things, and the little lights embedded onto the walls on his left turn a soft green, while the others remain white. He blinks, shrugs, and goes.

"Thanks!"

He'd arguably like to find the others first, but Lark has always been his top priority, has been for years. That can't change now, no matter what.

He keeps walking, and as he prepares to make a turn, a child exits one of the doors.

Taiga stops and looks at them. Soft golden brown skin, barely Lark's height, dressed in something covered in so many ribbons and frills the kid looks like a Little Red Riding Hood. Only their hair is red. A familiar shade of red, tied up with a ribbon.

Hazel eyes blink up at him. Taiga notices, somewhat absentmindedly, that they too are flecked with red. Taiga smiles, and makes it his usual friendly good to meet you there being kids here means his son could finally make some friends. He's only had half-siblings and other kids in the group and Sayo so long. The socialization would do him good. "Hi there," he says, and a part of him winces at the way the child seems to shrink into themselves a little. What is it? His bedhead? His being a little lanky? Did he stop too fast or speak too loudly? He's not sure. "My name's Taiga. What's yours?" Best to plug ahead anyway.

The child shrinks a little more, fingers curling into the fabric of their dress.

Shy, Taiga thinks and puts his question to the side. "Your dress is cute on you," he decides to say.

The child looks at him with something, something like longing, like hope. "The elves made it for me," they say, shyly scuffing a foot. "For my birthday. I'm five."

"Five's a good age," Taiga tells them with sincerity. "That's the year I pelted my mom with mashed yams."

The child giggles and it's so tiny and hesitant and all Taiga can wonder is who hurt them?

Still, maybe he can help. He starts to take a few steps, and slowly the child follows. The spirit croons. "That was also the year I decided I could fly and jumped off the monkey bars onto the slide. It hurt, but it worked."

Another hesitant giggle. It's a little louder, and Taiga has hope he'll get a full blown laugh before he gets where he's going.

But before he can find another funny story, someone else turns the corner and the child goes stiff. "Robin," says the other person and their voice is full of relief. "You're all dressed. Good! I thought you wanted me to do your hair."

The child stops, blushes shyly and looks away. "I forgot."

The person laughs. "Don't grow up so fast, Robbie, you're too cute." And for some reason, Taiga finds himself unable to look at the person even as "Robin" scurries over to them. He just keeps seeing-

Red. His fingers running through red hair, wet skin warmed by the bath, two girls laughing and full of something fond, nervous squeaks and soft wings so fine they could have broken if he twitched his hand wrong.

Pink eyes, harsher than Akiho's, weighed down with centuries of something he'd never asked about.

A simple, wavy spread of layers of clothing, that had been annoying that night in shelter. An oversized hat that almost covered her ears.

"Rhythm," Taiga croaks because suddenly the girl in his dreams is not that girl. She's very real.

The woman looks at him, up at him and sighs. So tired. "Taiga," she says, and the little child shrinks into her arms like she'll protect him. From him. "This is your son, Robin."

"Hi," Robin whispers, meek and small and hurting.

Well, now Taiga has his answer and it really, really freaking hurts. He had hurt this kid, unintentionally, and he'd hurt this woman, intentionally.

What does he do with this?

A/N: Hey, hey. This is a birthday present. That's why it's up. Fight me. 40 chapters of me telling canon to take a hike. This is a part of cyber sleuth, mind, but like: I am not gonna cover as much of CS as I usually do, mainly because this is here for drama. enjoy the drama Onix, you giant teddy bear made of cotton candy. Have fun everyone!