Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this painfully emotional time… especially for the one who isn't quite finished yet.

~保護者~

"After the Fall"

~保護者~

Steam could hear his heartbeat with his head in his hands. He knew just how bad this was. It wasn't just on Mobius. The hedgehog slammed his head roughly against a wall, no longer really knowing where he was. It was the only thing offering him stability. Pain amidst the dull, distant agony and anxiety that made him feel like he was suffocating.

He couldn't quite get a grip on himself, and that much he knew for a fact. The world was so loud, yet so abruptly silent as he fought for the slightest bit of composure. Something amidst this freezing cold anxiety. It took him a second to realize that the scenery had changed. He coughed and gripped his throat tightly, gasping for air. It felt so tight and just touching it made him crawl. Slight little gasps were the only breath he could draw in, feeling tears roll down his cheeks. He didn't know where he was, and for once staring blankly into the sky was not helping at all.

The hedgehog soon dropped to his knees, pulling on his hair firmly. He'd ripped his gloves and shoes off at some point, not wanting to feel them on his skin anymore. The communicator was still on if only because he just couldn't remember how to take it off. He didn't want to break it either. His friends had helped him make it. Steam physically jumped when a sound came from the device, scrambling to his feet and bringing his hands up to defend himself. Nothing came, and he was forced to drop back to his knees tiredly. Nareish did this… She hurt so many people…

His communicator sounded a second time, almost as soon as it stopped the first time. This time, rather than simply vibrating with a message, it let out a ringtone. The Jet from his timeline was calling him. It took him several seconds to realize what was happening, shakily reaching for his communicator. He tapped at the thing multiple times, only to give up and curl on the ground, focusing on keeping pressure against his forehead.

When he didn't answer the call and it ended, tendrils of aura soon reached through the fabric of reality to coil gently around him. He was pulled through the timelines until he reached his own. Tara had likewise been snagged, and she was deposited beside him. She dragged him into her arms just as the Jet of their reality knelt beside them and demanded quietly, "What the hell happened?"

Steam immediately fought against Tara's grip, panicked by the sudden change once more until he realized it was firm and familiar, relaxing into a steady sob. He didn't mean for it to happen, but his fingers dug into Tara's back as he sought comfort from someone he trusted. She held him tightly, grimacing at the mixture of physical and emotional pain. But in spite of that, she softly replied to the question at hand. "Nareish… massacred people," she said softly. "So many people, Jet… I don't know how many yet."

Jet cursed softly. "Shit…"

"Four… eight… likely ten… Something like ten," Steam mumbled, forcing his face into the crook of Tara's neck. "Has to be… Mobius, Babylon… and… somewhere else… She's trying to hurt people."

Shit. This didn't happen in our timeline. Jet frowned deeply at nothing in particular, then glanced at Steam's communicator. No wonder a medical alert said his stress levels shot up. "Steam, focus for now on trying to calm down a bit. Focus on Tara or whatever else it is that you need to, just not this."

Steam took one long, deep breath before patting Tara's shoulder twice. "Let go." It was a thing he'd started doing long ago to let her know he was stable enough to stand. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," she murmured while releasing him. Tara got to her own feet, wiping at her own misty eyes in the process. Steam pulled away for a few seconds, only to move right back and wrap his arms firmly around her, trying to return that same comfort she'd brought him. She returned his hug tightly.

Jet let them be for a long moment before standing as well. "Steam… what do you intend to do?"

"I have every intention of making sure her realm is destroyed," Steam muttered, voice betraying a slight hiss in his tone. "I fought so hard to protect them all and she's obviously not going to let that be any longer."

"But you're going to wait until you have a viable plan, right?" the hawk asked. Or, rather, demanded.

"All I need is Privilege," Steam said, pulling his head up from Tara's shoulders. "I know good and damn well how to break things like that."

"If you think I'm giving you Privilege right now, you're a fool," Jet frowned. "I'm not an idiot, much less a big enough one to go along with this idea."

"It's simple, Jet," Steam said. "I trained with you. The process of removing something like that is easy compared to other things I've learned. Just let me return the goddamn favor."

"It isn't simple or easy. I'm not giving you an ounce of Privilege while you're like this, Steam." Jet crossed his arms. "It's not happening."

There were a lot of thoughts and words that crossed Steam's mind, but none of them were things he could actually say. Not to someone like Jet. Not to a friend. "I'm sorry…" he murmured, shifting a little more into Tara.

Jet shook his head. "Don't be." Tara, meanwhile, hugged him a bit more securely than before in an effort to comfort both herself and her partner.

Steam let out a low, long sigh, nodding softly. "I… didn't want you to have to drag me back. I wish I could control myself…"

"Hell, I probably would have stormed after Nareish, too," Jet said. "Don't beat yourself up over it." With Steam distracted, Jet decided to do something that might potentially annoy the hedgehog - once he actually noticed. He expertly slipped Steam's communicator off of him before Steam even knew it, turned away, and began typing out a message to the Sonic of the timeline Steam had been in lately. "How many did we lose?"

It took time, understandably, but a response came at some point. "Hell, I don't know. Based on all the messages I've gotten and what I saw for myself, we've lost at least Knuckles, Kayde, Kym, Ava, Tammy, Queen Saraya, Storm, Hannah, Suri, and Ten. There might be others."

Damn, that was horrible news. Ah, hell. This didn't happen here. The idea of losing all those people, especially his own children and distant modern-day descendent… Fucking hell. Taking in a deep breath, Jet typed a reply. "Hang tight." He sent the message off and turned the screen off.

Steam fixed Jet with a bit of a look, narrowing his gaze. "You know, I've lived around you long enough that I would notice that. You could've just asked, ass."

"This was faster," Jet shrugged, tossing the communicator back. Then he grew more serious. "Steam… the other me's kids are among the dead. Saraya, Tammy, and Storm, too."

"Fuck, I thought that was the case," Steam muttered, wiping at his eyes. "Jet is no doubt going to experience a Void state." With those words out, he immediately messaged Sein, Alana, and Wave. "Don't follow Jet. Do not engage with him if he's found."

This timeline's Jet frowned at the lack of response. "Get the feeling that you might be a bit too late there."

"It's better to be a bit late than never send it," Steam said. "They're the three that might blindly follow."

"Dad's the most likely to. And on that note, you might need to go intervene." Jet went ahead and opened a portal back to that timeline, but didn't force the couple through it.

Steam glanced to Tara, eyes glowing with concern. "Do you need time?"

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "No," she murmured. "I'm ready when you are."

The hedgehog gently pulled her close and kissed her forehead softly, holding the woman. "Okay. I'll need your help." Tara nodded softly in agreement.

Steam looked back to Jet, taking in a deep breath. "I'll message you when I've got things… somewhat cleared up. Nareish will pay for this."

"Yeah. Do what you can. Don't be rash, or I'll do worse than drag you around next time." Jet crossed his arms and nodded toward the portal. "You'd better get going."

"Asshole," Steam managed to murmur, smirking slightly to the hawk before jumping through the portal. Tara offered a more respectful farewell before following her husband. The portal shut behind them.

~保護者~

She wished she'd been dead asleep when it happened, but she wasn't. Hearing her name spoken from partway across the planet was enough to wake her up initially. She'd dealt with Pyrun and left, only to be forced to return by subsequent events. Now there was no chance of her relaxing anymore. Silver and Blaze were justifiably in pain, and she hated that. Kym and Ava were dead. Her head was pounding at the thought, and she could feel her hair as it dangled between her fingers cradling her face.

Knuckles was also dead. Rouge was hurting. Her eyes became unfocused and breathing turned to crying. Screaming. All this pain was leaking out and she just couldn't take it anymore. All she could feel right now was her subconscious screams telling her to get up and help them. To do something. But she was numb, and her thoughts weren't there.

Eila eventually got to her feet, stumbling to a bookshelf. Reaching behind an illusion, she grasped a book and yanked it out, throwing her door open with a wave of her hand. She trembled at the sounds of tears dropping to the floor, but she had already made her mind. She could fix this. She could help everyone. Not just be a nuisance or a reminder. Flipping the book open brought on painful memories, but it was a necessary evil to bring back those that were lost. Her mind began reciting the words within, gathering her magic to fix what Nareish had done to her few friends.

However… her spell was interrupted without any warning. Saran appeared in front of her. The book she'd been holding was just as suddenly in his possession and tucked under an arm. "No," he told her softly. "This is not the way."

Unsteady eyes refocused and she stared at him for a moment, one long, painful moment. "Give it back. Now," Eila demanded hatefully, growling at Saran. "I can fix this."

"I will not. And you cannot. This is not a viable solution." The blind sorcerer made the book vanish to places unknown. "I will not permit you to do it."

I'll fucking kill you. Eila raised a hand, more than ready to draw up her spells. "Leave. My. Sight."

Saran raised his own hand and canceled out her building magic with his own. "I will not," he said again. In an effort to draw attention to them, he let his aura flare. This no doubt caught attention, and so now all he could really do was wait for someone who knew her better to show up.

Seeing as her magic wasn't getting her anywhere and her rage at the man who dared to stop her from helping her friends, she instead shoved at his mind with psychic energy, trying to buy herself time to find where her book had been sent. Though Saran winced a little, he remained steadfast in his refusal to let her get her way.

He didn't have to hold out alone for very long. Sonic rushed over not a full minute afterward and stared at the pair. Who is- Nevermind, gotta focus. That was much easier said than done in the wake of his own personal grief, but he did his best regardless. He shifted his attention away from Saran and let it rest firmly on Eila. "What's… What's going on?"

Eila paused a bit, letting up in her assault on Saran for a brief moment to look over at Sonic. "Go away."

"Yeah… not gonna happen." Sonic edged a little closer, ever mindful of her psychic powers and the potential danger they posed. "Seriously, what's going on?"

"I want to bring back Kayde, Knuckles, Kym, and Ava," Eila muttered. "Saran is stopping me. I want him out of my goddamn way. Make him leave."

Stunned, Sonic's gaze swung back to the stoic hedgehog before him. No way is this dad's sensei. However, he did his best to reign in his shock and disbelief for now. He really did need to focus. "Eila… Eila, what were you planning to do to bring them back?"

Eila was suddenly reminded that Saran was even present, throwing a wave of energy at him to push him away while staring at Sonic. "I was going to revive them myself. I can do it. I've done it before."

Saran's boots skidded on the floor, but he managed not to let himself be moved much. "And I said that I will not allow it," he told her. "Attack if you want, but you are not going to do this."

"I'm with him on this one," Sonic was quick to say. "Eila, you're talking necromancy, aren't you? That kind of magic isn't something Light magic can do without involving black magic. You can't do that."

Eila lashed out at Saran again, eyes glowing bright purple. "Shut up! It's your fucking fault they're not alive right now! I could have fixed this!" she snapped, tears streaming down her face. "All I wanted was to help them! Silver, Blaze, and Sonic have given me a chance to live my fucking life again! I can't let them down when I can finally fucking help!"

"Eila!" Sonic cut in over her yelling. His own emotions were at a breaking point already, and so he kept yelling even once he had her attention. "You can't try to help us by putting yourself at risk again in the exact same way that you did in the past! I get that you want to do everything you can, but I won't fucking let you do it like this!"

"I would kill myself if it meant protecting any of you, Sonic!" Eila returned, baring her fangs again at him. "You bastards mean so fucking much to me!" Her voice cracked and sobs nearly took her voice from her. "I love you guys and I want to help!"

"You can't help us like this!" Sonic asserted again. "I will. Not. Let. You! You matter to people here, too, don't you get that?! If you throw yourself back into your own life because of this, it's just going to hurt people more!"

"You all have no reason to care about me," Eila bit out. "I hurt your closest friends and allies, and I would have killed every fucking last one of you if Jet didn't purify me. I was going to destroy this universe and make the Faein erase me!"

Sonic took in several shaky breaths in an effort to calm himself. His hands were balled into tight fists at his sides. "You don't get to decide that," he muttered. "You don't get to decide who we care about and who we don't. We know you did bad things in the past. We know that, Eila, but our choice to care about you anyway is just that - our choice. You don't get to try and take that away from us, just like you don't get to throw away everything you have now just to try and help us."

If only because she still didn't want him nearby, Eila made one last strong push against Saran to get him some distance away, stumbling toward Sonic to wrap her arms around him tightly. "I'm so sorry, I'm so fucking sorry," she sobbed, pulling herself as close as she could.

Sonic was quick to hug her back, his grip tight but not painfully so. "Don't be," he sighed. "I know you just… you just wanted to try to make this better. I understand. I promise I do." While he spoke, Saran turned and walked away, disappearing around a corner without another word.

Eila cried into his shoulder for some time, desperately clinging to him for some sort of comfort until the sobbing died down. Fuck… I fucked up so bad again. I can't believe I did that…

~保護者~

Getting up after the damage Nareish had dealt to him was difficult. Marthal forced himself to do so, anyway. Unable to stand, he had to fucking crawl to where his daughter's motionless body lay. Though he was shaking with rage and grief and couldn't force himself to sheath his claws, the touch of his fingertips on her tiny head was nothing but gentle. I'm so sorry, baby… You didn't deserve this. I'm so sorry.

Marthal turned his head away, both because he couldn't bear to look any longer and so that he could cough without getting anything on her. Conjuring up his yokai fire, he created an instantaneous funeral pyre, as was customary for his kind. Within seconds, there was nothing left and he put the flames out. He then dragged himself back over to Tyria and shook her. He could barely speak past the growl building deep within his chest, but he managed it. Somehow. "Wake up. Tyria, wake up."

Tyria's eyes suddenly snapped open and she threw herself to her feet, eyes shifting around wildly to examine the area. It didn't take her long to know what had happened. "Marthal, are you okay?" she asked quickly, moving closer to him.

Growling loudly, Marthal bristled at her. "No, I'm not. Why the fuck would I be okay?" He growled again and made an effort to reign his temper in, but ultimately was met with very little success. His pupils began to narrow.

"I was asking for your physical state," Tyria murmured, kneeling in front of him. "I do not expect you to be okay emotionally. Focus on me and nothing else."

Marthal glared at her. "Easier said than fucking done."

"Try," Tyria replied, holding out a hand to him. "What will be gained from reacting with blind rage? What will you accomplish?"

His pupils narrowing further, he suddenly found himself struggling to give her much in the way of a logical reply. "I don't care what it accomplishes," he snarled, tail lashing from side to side.

"Then what would her death be for? For you to raze things blindly in rage?" Tyria asked. "I have lost a child and made this mistake myself. I will do everything I can to protect you from the same." What answered her was a louder snarl as Marthal dragged his claws through the dirt. Fiery sparks laced through his fur, but thankfully none of the grass beneath their feet lit up with flames at this point.

Tyria let out a soft sigh, staring at him. "Marthal, please. I understand the pain you are in, but you must try to stop yourself. You will do nothing but hurt yourself further." Marthal turned away from her, continuing to growl but also vying for some degree of control over himself. He had never been this angry before. But, at the same time, he'd never watched one of his children be murdered before, either.

The woman moved closer and sat down. "I know how you feel. Try… to calm yourself. I can help you grieve, then we will bring death upon those who follow the one who killed her."

Marthal suddenly whirled on her, hurling harsh words from a yokai language at her in his rage. Then he spun back around and bit out, "I'm not waiting." He vanished in a burst of flames.

Tyria let out a long sigh, standing. "Fuck." The woman traced his teleport and followed quickly, readying a blade in her hand. Marthal had reappeared in a random stretch of unpopulated forest, where he had already begun lashing out with his fire and claws at the massive trees. It was the only damn thing preventing him from giving in to the urge to take off and try doing the same thing to Nareish herself right this very second.

Seeing that he hadn't gone after people, Tyria stepped back and merely watched. In truth, it was better than him being more rash. Seconds later, one of the trunks snapped and crashed violently to the ground. It narrowly missed them both, but Marthal didn't care. He simply moved on to a new tree. Tyria didn't bat an eye, but ultimately what became more of a surprise was the appearance of a familiar black cat amidst all of this. More emotions to add to these flames…?

"Marthal, what the hell is going on?" Ylden demanded, gripping the handle of his scythe firmly. The yokai amongst them didn't answer with anything more than a borderline feral snarl, his pupils almost entirely narrowed into enraged slits. "Marthal!" Ylden said more firmly. "Talk to me!"

Snarling some more, Marthal bit out, "Go the fuck away!"

"No!" Ylden responded just as firmly as before. "Tell me what the fuck is happening! What has you so out of control?"

Marthal whirled and lashed out at another tree. Vast cracks raced through its trunk, each one filled with fire that began burning the trunk from the inside out. He did this several more times until the aforementioned trunk blew apart into massive chunks and splinters that began raining down upon them. Only then did he finally snap a sort of partial answer. "Mei!"

Ylden snapped his fingers and the entirety of the tree vanished, the man's tone softening. "She was killed… wasn't she?" Another vicious snarl, this one mixed with a harsh hiss, answered him. There were no words this time. Ylden sighed a bit and dropped to the ground, holding out a hand to Marthal. "Focus. We both know what happens when you lose control of yourself."

This earned him another hiss, but Marthal didn't attack him. He didn't even attempt it. Marthal just watched him, breathing harshly and struggling to get any degree of self-control back. His anger had never felt like this before. Not ever. He wasn't sure he even could get a handle on it. I just want to kill something. I want to kill her!

Ylden walked closer and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him in close with a firm grip. "Focus yourself." Marthal growled and struggled in Ylden's hold, but wasn't able to pull himself free. Ylden wound up getting clawed up a bit in the process. "Focus." Ylden repeated this, more firmly than before. "Focus or you will be killed."

"I don't care!" Marthal snapped. Suddenly, a few tears formed and fell from his eyes. "I don't have any fucking reason to anymore!"

"Yes you do," Ylden corrected, holding him tighter. "There is a woman standing here. She is waiting for you. I can see that she cares, otherwise she would not be present." Marthal shook his head vehemently and tried again (more weakly this time) to get out of Ylden's grasp. Ylden held firm, keeping Marthal close. "Focus."

Something finally shifted. Marthal's anger completely shattered, giving way to nothing but grief. He finally went limp in Ylden's arms and began to cry hard into the man's shoulder. He'd now lost his daughter, watched her die, not just once but twice. That wasn't something he could handle quietly anymore. Ylden shifted to make room for Tyria, who gently took one of the yokai's hands into her own. No words were given, only silent attempts at comfort.

For now, these efforts were working, finally. Marthal sheathed his claws and stopped calling forth his flames, just leaned up against Ylden and cried. This was all too much…

~保護者~

He had to admit. This wasn't something he was quite sure how he should do, but he knew it was important. As such, he briefly locked eyes with Rose while walking toward Kial, only to suddenly pull her along with him. He needed to speak to them both.

Kial was quick to notice as always, standing up to address Saethrim with a slight sort of bow. What he didn't expect was to be wrapped up into a hug by the da Asani. "Fuckin' hell, kid. I'm sorry about what happened. I didn't know how big of a deal that really was for you."

The bobcat's blind eyes blinked and he turned more fully to Saethrim within the man's arms. "Yeah. I figured that was the case. You've never been the best with emotion, but I'm not the only one you need to apologize to."

Saethrim let out a soft sigh and nodded. "Yeah, but… I did the worst to you. I didn't mean what I said, either. About you fucking up…"

"Didn't think you did. What made me upset was that you wouldn't apologize," Kial murmured, wrapping an arm softly around his mentor. "I'd never believe you said something like that on purpose. Not you."

With those words out, Saethrim looked to Rose. The woman was quiet, eyes carefully veiled. He could smell her anger, though. She wasn't likely to forgive as easily. "Look- I'm sorry for hitting you… and attempting to hit Kial." He glanced away, uncomfortable with that thought suddenly. "I… I'm very glad you protected him. It means a lot that you would care for my student like that."

Rose softened immediately and wrapped an arm around him. "Thank you. You are forgiven, Saethrim."

Huh… didn't expect that to go over so easily. Saethrim soon released them both, rubbing at his chest to ease the unusual feelings gathering there. "Hopefully… that doesn't happen again."

Kial nodded a little, sighing. "No kidding. That was a very unpleasant time."

The lightening atmosphere of the room was interrupted. Calypso suddenly appeared several feet away, only to collapse down onto her knees. The normally strong and composed woman was trembling and sobbing, hugging herself with a painfully tight grip in an effort to bring herself some measure of self-comfort. It wasn't working.

Saethrim shifted away from Kial and Rose and immediately warped the woman into his arms, holding her tightly. "Woah, woah, hey. The hell happened?" Calypso attempted to answer him, only to wind up proving that she couldn't. She was crying too hard to get any comprehensible words out. "Calypso," he repeated more firmly, pulling her up a bit to press his forehead into hers. "Calm down for a second. I can't understand you."

The breaths Calypso drew in were ragged and shallow. It wasn't really conducive to speaking. Still, she eventually managed to choke out a single word between her sobs. "Trekk…!"

It didn't take Saethrim long to understand what she meant, wrapping an arm firmly around her and warping the both of them away from Kial and Rose. "What happened-" Saethrim's gaze fell on the destroyed home and he paused. Fuck. Calypso just dissolved into further tears, unable to cope with the loss or her emotions.

Rather than make her look on at the sight any longer, Saethrim warped away with her to a remote planet. She was maneuvered to sit in his lap as he leaned on a tree, rubbing her head and back quietly. "I'm so sorry, Calypso… This should have never happened." As with before, she couldn't really answer him.

While he spent his time keeping his love close and (hopefully) comforted, Saethrim quietly plotted how he was going to get back at Nareish for this. I'll start with that pathetic army of hers. I'll blow those fuckers to pieces and take down every last bastard that supports her until I get my hands on her.

~保護者~

Mere seconds had passed since Nareish had released her vice-like grip on Kaden and Zareil's throats. He was still coughing and panting as he stared at the bloody remains of their children. No thoughts were running through his mind. Just emotion. Just fury. Grief would inevitably come, and he knew it would, but for now it wasn't there. He felt nothing but anger on the behalf of these three. They hadn't deserved to die, especially not like this. Not so bloodily and so full of fear.

For a second, his blue fur turned black. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to take a breath and calm his Darkness. Clenching his fists, he stood and teleported Saika to himself. It wasn't rational, what he was about to do. He knew it wasn't, but he didn't fucking care. "I'm leaving," he muttered to Zareil. Nareish had to fucking pay for what she'd just done.

"Don't you fucking dare," Zareil bit out, kneeling over the remains of their children. She couldn't sob, if only because she (like Kaden) was brimming with hatred. "If you get yourself killed, then what the fuck am I going to do?"

Kaden gritted his teeth more tightly together and let out a low growl. "I'm going to make her pay for this."

"No!" Zareil snapped, whipping around to actually face him. "I won't let you leave! I'm not losing the only god damn thing I have left in life!" Kaden muttered a curse and stalked several feet away. He was shaking with a mixture of emotions that he could barely contain right now.

Zareil stood up fully and walked over to him, her breath shaky. "I am willing to help you make them pay, but you have told me how foolish it is to act without thinking. Neither of us can think. I need you right now because I can't fucking think straight. All I know is that I'm left with nothing if you're killed."

More curses escaped Kaden, but in the end she knew she was right. This wasn't a good idea. He forced himself to release his grip on his sword. It clattered to the ground while he turned to face her. Taking hold of her arm, he teleported them both a short distance away from the gruesome scene and then pulled her into a tight hug. It was all he could think to do.

Zareil was shaky, but ultimately the hug was returned tightly. "We'll fucking kill every last one of those bastards, multiple times over if necessary. Nobody will get away with taking our children from us…"

Kaden could only give her a stiff nod in reply. Nareish will fucking pay.

~保護者~

Jet had woken up from his latest sleep in his hospital bed. His parents were both there with him. Alana had just finished filling him in on Kath's return to normal and T'alo and Laralei's subsequent awakening, and now they were on to a lighter subject. More specifically, Alana was looking over a book Jet had been reading before she and Sein had joined him. "Where did you get this?" she asked him. "It is very old. Older than my own great-grandparents, if I had to guess."

"I klepped it off some guy," Jet shrugged. As he spoke, Wave wandered in. She'd been resting in a nearby room, but was apparently awake now. "He was looking to sell it to someone who would have just let it rot in storage 'looking pretty' somewhere. I took it from him before the deal could be made."

"And he did not notice?"

"No. Not until I was long gone, anyway."

Alana huffed but then smiled at Sein. "He most certainly is your son."

Sein snickered a little, shrugging. "One of these days, I'll tell you guys about how I stole a guy's ship from him."

"You'd better," Jet said, "because now I'm interested. I'll hound you until you give me the story."

There was a grin on Sein's face. "You know it, bud. But, not right now. Maybe some other time."

His son huffed at him and started to reply, only to suddenly grow stiff. Then, before Alana could caution him against it, he threw the blankets off and stood. He had disappeared into the hall in an instant. Wave, who was no longer even remotely sleepy, widened her eyes and ran after him. Alarmed, Alana threw a glance at Sein and followed suit. There wasn't an ounce of hesitation, Sein flashing forward and taking Alana with him as he took after Jet.

The four of them reached their apparent destination in a near-instant. Wave fell to her knees at the sight of two deaths before them. "Tammy, Saraya… Oh, no…" Jet was utterly silent. With his mask firmly in place, he was unreadable and still as a statue.

Sein walked forward and gently lifted Saraya's lifeless body in his hands, eyes narrowed with unconcealed pain. Fuck… What the hell happened?

Staring between her and the woman apparently named Tammy, Alana couldn't find any words to speak. She could only watch as Wave suddenly leapt to her feet and vanished. A second later, the swallow returned and clutched one of Jet's arms in both hands. "Jet, oh god," she moaned, eyes full of tears for the first time that Alana had ever seen. "It's Storm. He's gone, too…!" If it was even possible, Jet seemed to grow even more still.

"Jet," Sein suddenly murmured, laying Saraya down softly and looking to his son. "Talk to me. Please."

His son was utterly silent. Jet simply stared for a long, long moment at the two dead women before slowly pulling away from Wave. His intention initially seemed to be heading outside, but he abruptly stopped again when something new reached his senses. He instantly started to teleport, but was forced to stop when Alana managed to block him - though she was just barely fast enough to do so. "Jet, you cannot take off," his mother insisted. "Where are you even planning on going?"

The Aether spoke up, obvious concern in the thing's eyes. "Wait, please don't go. Don't go alone. I'm begging."

When Wave again took hold of his arm, Jet suddenly wrenched himself away and snapped, "Let me go, Wave! Stop touching me!" He vanished almost before he'd finished speaking. Wave was overtaken by her tears at that point and couldn't follow.

Sein attempted to follow, but the Aether stopped him itself. "Don't. What's about to happen is something that could kill all of us. His kids… she killed them, too."

Icy shock lanced through Alana. "She what?" she asked, voice barely a whisper.

"She killed his children," the Aether mumbled sadly. "And… he's going to suffer because of it. If you approach him, you might get erased by the Void, or rather… him being influenced by the Void's energy."

Sein was quiet before standing up fully, taking a deep and shaky breath. "I won't let him suffer alone… I can't."

"We can't just follow him, either," Wave choked out, shaking as she also regained her feet. "He'd never forgive himself if he unintentionally hurt any of us."

"I'm his father." Sein said only this before completely vanishing, using his speed to reach Jet rather than teleporting there.

Due to that speed, he reached the scene very shortly after Jet did. The younger hawk floated stock-still in front of the three headless corpses of his children, his back to Sein. His fists were still clenched, his body just as tense as it had been before, but the unspoken shock and white-hot fury from moments before on New Babylon was inexplicably gone. What fury remained was cold and dark. The ethereal purple energy of the Void swirled visibly around him.

Sein didn't dare move closer, watching the energy around his son. "Jet… Please. Whatever is going on in your mind, whatever you're thinking, it's a bad idea. Please listen to me. I can help you."

"I don't need your help." Jet waved a hand. Void energy slammed into Sein and batted him away like he was little more than an insect. But though this certainly did damage, he didn't go so far as to try and erase his father or simply kill him. Still… this wasn't normal behavior. It just wasn't.

The older man winced and forced himself upright again, taking a few deep breaths. He received a message from someone, but he couldn't be bothered to read it. "Jet, please. You're not thinking clearly. Talk to me."

Jet turned to look at Sein, his gaze cold and hateful. His eyes were glowing purple with Void energy. "I have nothing to say to you. Leave me alone."

Sein raised up a hand and opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted when the Aether's yellow energy surrounded him and whisked him back to New Babylon. Alana and Wave were immediately by his side, checking him over for injuries. The former was the only one to speak right then. "Sein, are you alright?"

Sein was careful about it, but he used his strength to push them both back. His hands went to his face and he sobbed. I couldn't help my boy. Realizing what must have happened, Alana did her best to steel herself so that she didn't also break down. She focused instead on trying to calm her husband down. There were several seconds of grief before all of his pain morphed to anger. Nareish you fucking bastard. You've hurt my son again. My grandchildren are dead. I swear I'll fucking end you. Sein shifted when he sensed a portal, then allowed himself to relax a little when he sensed it was Steam. Through teary eyes, he could barely see the other man. "H-hey-"

He was cut off when Steam very suddenly hugged him, shocked out of his emotions long enough to just wrap his arms around the hedgehog. "Shit… you alright?" Sein asked. Meanwhile, Alana wiped at her eyes silently, relieved that some form of help had come. Wave, meanwhile, just sort of sunk down to sit against the wall with her knees hugged up to her chest.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Steam murmured. "Wanted you focused. I was worried you'd do something rash… and it seems like I wasn't fast enough to stop you from following him."

Sein took a long moment before he understood what happened, managing a weak smile to Steam. "You're a sneaky bastard, acting like you need help," the man chuckled tiredly. "But that was the plan, huh?"

Alana considered this turn of events, and in the end only had one thought about it. Very clever.

Steam pulled back and nodded to him, managing a small smile. "You're the most emotional here. Figured getting you… kinda stable would be a big deal." Suddenly, the hedgehog walked away and sat down by Wave. "Hey."

"...Hey," Wave sighed, not looking up.

"Talk to me," Steam said gently, watching her carefully. "I know a lot has gone down, but I need you. At least try to vent to me."

"I just… I don't know," Wave admitted. "Storm and Tammy are two of my closest friends, you know? And now they're both dead. Again. Hell, Tammy wasn't even alive for a full day. And then Saraya… Steam, Jet and I helped raise her for a long time. I helped raise Hannah, Ten, and Suri off and on, too. And now they're all dead, and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it."

"What you can do is live for them," Steam replied gently. "Your friend Cyril would probably think something similar, yeah? Making sure that you stay alive for their sakes? We can fix this if we keep fighting forward."

"We can't fix murder," Wave argued quietly. "Just fighting isn't going to help Jet now, either."

"That's not the point," Steam countered. "We're fighting so these people can have a chance to come back and live their lives in peace. His kids didn't fucking deserve that, and they sure as hell should be allowed to live with their families. The same goes for everyone else."

Wave was quiet for a long time before letting out a sigh. "What do we do, Steam? About all of this, I mean. But… especially about Jet."

"I'll figure it out," Steam replied. "Call Cyril here. I'll handle everything for you guys. Focus on recovering."

"Yeah… okay." Wave reached over and gave Steam's shoulder a small squeeze. "Thanks." She got up and walked a short distance away to call Cyril.

The Aether poked up through the floor, phasing through the material. "You're gonna torture yourself, Steam. This isn't good for your health."

Steam turned away and nodded. "Yeah, but I won't make grieving parents and friends shoulder that burden. They… they shouldn't have to take another look at what was done." During this exchange, Alana focused again on comforting her husband. She didn't pay the conversation taking place here any mind.

"Fine… but take care of yourself. I can tell you're the kind to make a mess of yourself that you try and clean up. Nobody is gonna like seeing you in pain."

Better me than them. Steam thought to himself, moving off to begin taking the bodies away from here. Besides… I've got some revenge to plan. Nobody hurts my friends and gets away with it.

~保護者~

Although Nareish was deeply satisfied with her spree of killings and the pain she had caused, she soon came to a simple conclusion. She wasn't ready to be done just yet. She still had more she wanted to do. So, naturally, she left her realm and resumed her hunt. First, she sought out who she deemed to be the most useless of the deities: Ynder. This wasn't someone who could fight. Indeed, she didn't even have any powers beyond assigning fates to mortals on rare occasions and observing existence from afar. Such a worthless person has no place in this existence.

Finding Ynder wasn't difficult. Pinning her down with nothing more than a bare hand was even easier. "You have the look of one prepared to die," Nareish purred. "Shall I test that theory?"

Ynder blinked once, turning her attention from her thoughts to Nareish. "I knew you would come here. It was only a matter of time. Tell me, why waste your time and energy on me?"

"Because it will be entertaining to cause death, even to one as weak as yourself," was the amused reply.

The goddess tilted her head somewhat, raising an eyebrow. "I suppose for one such as you, the lack of stimulation would be maddening. In that case, perhaps I could entertain you for a moment before you release me from the mortal coil?"

"Oh?" Nareish smiled. "Keep talking, little deity. You have me temporarily curious."

Ynder managed a soft chuckle and summoned a book into her hand. "I have spent many years living, as you know, and I documented many things. One thing of interest has been you, but you've eluded many of my attempts to survey you."

"I do rather doubt that," Nareish said, shifting her hand toward the woman's throat. She didn't attack just yet, though.

"Why doubt it? You've resulted in the deaths of many allies and Immortals. I have grown curious about you… what you truly want with all of this death and destruction. I cannot quite come to a conclusion on it all."

"I have made the overarching goal no secret," Nareish pointed out with a chuckle.

"It's not like you've ever discussed it with me," Ynder shrugged. "Regardless, I suppose you may appreciate my cluelessness, but your attention will not last forever. I have tea prepared. Help yourself, but please do not stain my floors. I have a desire to return to a clean home."

When she was finished with Ynder, Nareish teleported. She didn't know where in the everloving hell Jet and his allies had hidden their children, but one of them had made the unwise decision to come out of hiding. Cadora had emerged and begun heading toward Jet. She caught up with the boy first and snapped his neck, then beheaded him - just as she had done with Jet's biological children.

With the main body in one hand and the head in the other, Nareish teleported to A'latria. She dumped both of her prizes at his feet. The lack of care in his eyes pleased her immensely. His cold hatred did so even more. But she teleported away before he had the chance to say or do anything in retaliation. A second confrontation between them was going to have to wait until he progressed further.

There was only one more specific individual she felt inclined to kill for now. The Messenger was last on her hit list. It was a being who could offer Kaden and his little girlfriend some degree of help with various things while they tried to recover from the deaths of their children. She didn't want that. Therefore, she tracked it down and wiped it out. Intangible though it was, that didn't matter. Her energy-based powers were more than enough to eradicate the demon.

Finished now with her killings, Nareish moved on to her next idea. The first step of it required her to track down Locke. He turned out to be at his own, the Temple of the Sun. It used to be Althea's home, she idly recalled. It would have been her grave, too, had Malevolence not beaten her to the punch back then. Not that it mattered now.

Locke was sleeping inside. Word of the devastation wrought upon his family clearly hadn't reached him yet. As much as she would have delighted in waiting to see him learn of what she'd done, she had other plans for him. Ensnaring him via her usual method was enough to awaken him. She grinned at him and wound some energy around his mouth to keep him from wasting her time by speaking to her.

He struggled against his restraints. Nareish chuckled. "Now, now," she pretended to soothe him. "This will only take a moment." Before she could do anything more, he suddenly transferred his role away to someone else. Well, no matter. She put her hand on his forehead and began pouring corrupted energy into him. It wasn't the usual kind, however. This was demonic corruption. She'd stolen the power from another version of Tianak in another timeline. Sure, it had doomed the demon to die, but it wasn't as though she cared.

Once finished, Nareish turned away. The demons needed more powerful individuals to bolster their ranks to avoid destruction. Locke was certainly powerful, with or without his role as a deity. Not enough so that she was terribly interested in keeping him for herself, though. Demons were part of her vision of how she wanted existence to be. Having them die out would not do. They would need more than just this one person to help them sufficiently.

She had plenty of ideas for who to grab. For now, she focused on just three others. Amy, Blaze, and Tara were all restrained and teleported straight to her. Yes, these three will do nicely. One by one, she corrupted them just the same way as she had done with Locke. Then she teleported to Tianak with her captives in tow. Though she had corrupted them, the nature of their corruption meant they would be subservient to him. She was fine with that.

"I've brought you a little present," she told the God as she dropped Locke and the others onto the ground. "Like it or not, your kind is currently in trouble. Sonic, Steam, and their allies are always quite keen to kill your demons whenever possible. Malevolence seems to be seeking your destruction as well. You need better warriors, so I have brought you some. These four are special, in a way. They can't be purified as easily as normal demons. Until you die, they can't be purified at all. And I'm not particularly inclined to simply let you perish, as it happens."

Tianak blinked once and raised an eyebrow after a moment. "Mortals. You brought me mortals?"

"They are mortals no longer, and their strength is not something you should be scoffing at." She gestured to Locke. "This one in particular was a deity not five minutes ago."

"Yes, I am aware of who he is, but you took his role from him obviously," Tianak pointed out, crossing his arms. "And I've made it abundantly clear that I want nothing to do with you at this point. Much of the army is missing or dead already. Four will not make a massive difference."

"I did no such thing," Nareish chuckled. "And believe you me… these four will do more good for you than you seem to think. I will be bringing more 'proper' demons from other dying timelines as well soon. Your armies will soon be restored."

"Get the fuck away from me," Tianak bit out. "I am not interested in whatever plans and thoughts you have for me. I'm sick and goddamn tired of your presence."

"All I demand of you is that you and your kind survive," Nareish smiled. "Let's see if you can manage that." She decided to take her leave.

Finished now with Tianak and his new demons, Nareish departed his world and decided to hide herself. She did so very thoroughly. No one would be able to see her, smell her, feel her aura, or hear her. They wouldn't even be able to accidentally touch her, due to her activating her phasing power. Thus prepared, she headed back to Mobius for the second time that day.

Nareish appeared within the home of the fox, Tails. As with before, she had no interest in him right now. Instead, her sights were firmly on Cream, Silver, and Saran. Cream had powerful mental abilities and even more powerful clairvoyance. Since her own clairvoyant, Amani, had been killed… Well, she was in need of another one. And then there was Silver, who was a true force to be reckoned with on the battlefield with his psychokinetic abilities. As for Saran… of course she wanted the sole child of Kathros to work for her.

Approaching them without slipping up and revealing her presence was child's play. Cream was actually close to Silver at the moment, doing her best to comfort him and his son as they grappled with the loss of Kym and Ava and the disappearance of Blaze. Now that she was close enough to her targets, it was easy to corrupt them. It was equally easy to prevent others from noticing any changes in their demeanors, minds, auras, or scents, and to continue doing so going forward. She intended to do the same with all her upcoming targets as well. Once she was finished, she issued the same sort of order that she once had with Sein. Live your lives as normal until I contact you next.

She went to Saran next. Like his father before him, he sought to avoid both the indoors and the crowd found therein. He was outside, sitting just a short distance within the woods. Nareish did the same thing to him that she had with the other two and issued the same order. Then she teleported straight to New Babylon. There were two more people she wanted to take to her side. Or, in the case of one, to take back.

Laralei was the first one Nareish came across, and thus she was the first to be corrupted. Once more, Nareish did it the same way and issued the same order again. She started to leave, but paused when she saw Sein, Alana, Cyril, and Wave. Her attention focused on Sein, and soon she had an idea. You will have no support from your family, Sein. Your heart affects you deeply. I will make you regret that. Reaching a hand out, she directed her efforts to Alana and grinned. In an instant, she had erased her heart. Alana suddenly had no emotions within her. Not one. Nareish chuckled to herself and continued on her way.

Her final victim was Kath. In forcing his powers to act up and reverse his age for a short time, she had kept him and his potentially pesky abilities out of her hair. But then Cyril had come along and successfully guided Kath's then-young mind into working out how to better control his powers to an extent. Nareish's interest in him had been renewed as a result. As such, she intended to take him back. This time she wasn't going to be thwarted, either.

It was in a wintry forest within an isolated mountain range that she found him. Yareish was there, too, as was Azerel. The pair of them were spending time with the wolf packs, something they seemed to be enjoying. Nareish snuck up to Kath and repeated the corruption process yet again. Her control over those corruptive energies was such that not a single wolf detected even a hint of change in his scent or aura. Not even his personal companion, Azerel, noticed that anything was amiss.

Nareish issued her order one final time, and then left the scene. Her work here was done.

~保護者~

9,189 words this time. Another shorter but no less important chapter. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support and I hope you enjoyed. Posted (at about 3:10 p.m.) 11-08-22.

P.S.: Here's to a happy day of playing Sonic Frontiers!