Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of preparation and planning… especially for the one with all the heart.

~保護者~

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Hello, MelGamingPlays! Yes, I'm doing better now, thank you. Oh, that was just a not-so-subtle reference to good ol' Malevolence there. XD Sorry for the confusion!

~保護者~

"A Warrior's Reprieve"

~保護者~

Sonic felt oddly alone and defeated as he pulled shut the doors to Jet's home, blocking out the cold and the snow once more. Sighing to himself, he turned away from where his friend had been just moments before and walked to the front room where he had left the others less than a half hour ago. Soon he discovered that, aside from Wave, everyone was still there. He approached them and called quietly, "Yo, get that box open yet?"

Surprised, Tails whirled around to face him. However, he quickly relaxed again. "Yeah, Espio knew how to do it. Apparently Jet uses things like that to store weapons a lot, and I guess he lets Espio use them, too."

"He gave you weapons?" Sonic asked, shifting his gaze to Cream.

She nodded in affirmation. "Yes. One moment." Turning her attention to the box, Cream used her incredible mental powers to reopen it. As Sonic watched, she explained, "From what I understand, magic is used to store items in these devices. This magic makes them smaller and lighter in order to better carry them around, but when you reach in or otherwise remove the objects they return to normal in an instant." She used her powers to do just that when she finished speaking. Six ornate discs, each razer thin and coated in a silvery sheen like something out of a sci-fi movie, floated up out of the box.

The sight of these made Sonic's eyebrows raise. "What are those?"

"I don't think they really have a name," Tails interjected before Cream could hazard a guess, "but to put it the mostly simply, they really are discs like they look."

Suddenly, Shadow spoke up. "Make no mistake… they may carry the shape of mere discs, but their simple shape belies their true nature. They are sharp enough to slice through mountains - and more than durable enough to survive such intensive use."

"Best part is," Tails grinned, "as she just showed you, she can easily move them with her powers. No hands required." He twisted back around to look at the young-again woman. "Isn't that right, Cream?"

A bright smile answered him. "That's right," Cream confirmed warmly. "I've never had a weapon before, but these feel quite… perfect, really."

Gradually, Sonic managed to smile back at them. "Yeah… they seem like it."

Shadow's gaze shifted to Sonic. "You left," he stated simply.

The abrupt change of subject made Sonic's ears perk up. "Wave took me to talk to Jet," he answered, shifting to look back at his brother.

That caused Shadow to frown. It was Tails, however, who asked, "About what, Sonic? What happened earlier?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. ...Well, sort of. I wanted to talk about what happened, but I didn't want to push him, you know? I just… hate doing that to him, even when I have to."

Tails and Cream traded looks. "This likely doesn't qualify as a situation where pressing for information is necessary," Cream agreed quietly.

"Agreed. So what did you end up talking about, then?" Tails shifted in his seat to get more comfortable, then settled down again.

To be perfectly honest, there were about a i conversations Sonic would have rather been having right now as opposed to this one. He didn't want to recount what Jet had been through that day, what they had talked about as a result of it, what they had seen afterward… but he did it anyway. They needed to know. "Like I said," he sighed resignedly, "I went with Wave to go talk to him. She took me to wherever it was he'd gone, then left. It was like hell there, guys. He was sitting on this small plateau-like structure, and there was nothing but endless fire surrounding it for as far as I could see."

The mood in the room, which previously had almost managed to be relaxed and lighthearted, immediately shifted to something darker and more serious. Tails's eyebrows drew downward. Espio finally started to actually pay attention to what was being said. Shadow's posture gained a note of tension and alertness. Cream pursed her lips together lightly. Sonic had their attention now, whether he liked it or not, and that wasn't going to change. All that was left to do was continue. "Once I got him talking, he told me that that world had been civilized before. He likened it to how Mobius was back during my life, except he also said that the people there were entirely peaceful and had no means of defending themselves."

Now Tails's ears drooped, his body visibly weakening a bit as understanding sank in. "And someone took advantage of that… didn't they?"

"...The Tel'or," Sonic eventually replied, looking away. "I guess they started their killing spree when Jet was still here and distracted by us, because he said by the time he realized what was happening… nearly eighty percent of the people there had been killed."

Cream's eyes fully betrayed her horror in spite of the brave face she put on. She had always been strong, that one. "But he went there to save them," she correctly assumed. "Was he successful?"

Anger soured Sonic's expression. "See… that's where things get fucked up. He didn't say it, but I know he tried to save whoever was left. He even told me that saving them all was possible 'initially'."

Shadow's voice carried a low growl. Sonic understood. He wanted to do the same thing. "Explain," the darker hedgehog demanded.

"The way Jet explained it," Sonic explained somewhat irritably, "the world wasn't orbiting a star and was just drifting through space - and for who knows how long." Dawning expressions of realization started to cross his friend's faces (save for Espio's, as he was still apathetic as ever). Even Cream understood the implications, as she had already been filled in about their enemies and whatnot prior to this. At least, that what Sonic gathered by her reaction. "It drifted right into the goddamn territory of that Demonic God," he continued. "He himself went there and slaughtered everyone, civilians and Tel'or alike. He even attacked Jet - he has the injuries to prove it. And he was still hanging around while I was there, apparently. Or, at least, he popped back in to see what his demons were doing there or whatever."

Tails sat straight up. "You saw him?"

"Only a silhouette," Sonic snorted. "And a pretty distorted one, at that. He wasn't that close to us, and he was surrounded by fire. All I could really see was that he looks like a fucking person." He shifted to glare at his brother, Espio, and Tails. "You assholes could have bothered to mention that."

Looking conflicted, Tails opened his mouth to reply. Shadow, however, cut him off. "What happened?"

Now Sonic felt a chill… a creeping sense of the dread and terror he had experienced not so long ago. "He… stared at me," he remembered aloud. "He just… He just stared at me, and then started walking toward us. Jet yelled at him, though, and then the guy just grinned and left." He dropped his gaze after that. "Jet took me back here after that. Think he didn't want to stick around there anymore than I did."

Tails and Shadow traded a look that might have been significant, but only Shadow spoke this time. "Then what?"

"He left," Sonic shrugged. "Obviously."

"Did he say anything, Mister Sonic?" Cream asked him softly.

Emerald eyes searched the faces of everyone gathered in this room. "That Tein and the God of Demons still require his attention… and that he's trusting us to keep each other safe."

Slowly, very slowly, Tails's gaze drifted toward the weaponized discs that still silently hovered around Cream. The glinted lethally in the dim light. "Well... I guess it's a good thing we're all armed now."

More than likely, this comment was made to be comforting. Sonic knew that, but there was only so much relief that he could feel right now given the circumstances. Still, he forced a small smile. "Guess so."

"What is there for us to do now?" Cream asked no one particular. "Does Mister Jet intend for us to stay here?"

"Most likely not," Tails answered. "He's not even going to be here himself, for one thing. And he moved Cadora - that's his student by the way - away for now. He even took a bunch of items from here, powerful relics and the like. I think he's under the impression that it's not safe around here right now."

"He definitely seems to be anticipating some trouble," Sonic sighed.

Shadow huffed. "Not that he has said anything about it."

Tails sighed. "No... I guess he hasn't really said much, huh?"

As they spoke, Cream busied herself with putting her new weapons back into their box. She spoke up again once they were put away. "If we must leave, then let's do so. Staying here longer may be more risky than it's worth."

"I agree," Sonic said, standing up. "Let's head back to Mobius, and then we can discuss things more."

"Sounds good to me." Tails executed a long stretch and then stood up. "I've been meaning to pack up some of my weapons and things, anyway, so going back to Mobius is probably a good idea." He turned to look at Shadow and Espio. "Do you guys need to grab anything?"

"Yes," Espio responded simply. He also stood up. Shadow merely gave a brief nod in reply.

Accepting the hand Espio had offered her, Cream finally also stood up. "How are we meant to return there?" she asked.

Sonic jerked a thumb at Tails. "He's got a teleporter that can get us back."

"Well, this one's not mine. I snatched it from Jet, but I don't think he cares." Smiling, Tails simply activated the device and sent the group on their way before anyone else could say anything. They reappeared in Espio's house with the simple explanation of, "I figured you'd be the fastest, Espio." No reply came. Espio simply walked out of the front room and disappeared down a dark hall.

While he worked on grabbing... whatever it was that he was grabbing, Sonic turned to Cream. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask... do you have any idea what happened earlier? What caused us all to see those memories?"

The young woman blinked once at him. The everlasting sweetness and innocence in her eyes belied the true wisdom that she carried, and he had to consciously remind himself in that moment that she was no longer the child that she had once been. She further proved that by saying, "It's a complicated matter, Mister Sonic, involving the brief mixture of powerful energies and powers. But, to put it most simply... I, as you know, possess Clairvoyance. Mister Espio possesses a unique form of Clairvoyance that some call 'backward Clairvoyance'. I was leaning against him, and then my hand touched Mister Jet's and a powerful connection was made." She looked straight into Sonic's eyes. "This connection was... unintended. I think Mister Jet was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to even notice that it was about to happen."

It probably wasn't the best explanation. In fact, Sonic was pretty certain of that. Still, he suspected that if she were to go into more detail he wouldn't understand it, anyway. So he let it go. "...Okay." Turning his head back around, he looked at Shadow. "What do you need to get? Besides guns."

Crimson eyes blinked. "Medical supplies."

Now that threw Sonic for a loop. "Huh?"

Tails piped up with an explanation. "Remember how Marthal was trained to tend to wounds and illness and stuff without powers? Shadow knows how to do that stuff, too, now. He can use the traditional stuff like Marthal used to, like herbs and the like, but he also knows a lot about modern medicines."

Unable to think of much else to say, Sonic just asked, "But... why?" Shadow acting as a medic is just... just... god, I don't even know.

His half-brother merely shrugged, but in the end it didn't matter. Tails, after all, had all the answers. At least... he did often enough. "Well, we don't have any healers anymore. We had to do something about that, you know? Besides..." Tails glanced at Shadow and then back to Sonic, eyes taking on a note of sorrow. "It's a pretty good way to keep the memory of your mom alive, too."

Shadow said nothing. He didn't even so much as blink, choosing instead to simply turn away. Sonic, however, felt his ears drop a bit. However, he was quick to correct himself and straighten his ears back up. That ancient pain was as raw as ever, but now wasn't the time to start getting depressed. "Yeah. I get it." He cleared his throat. "Makes sense."

Espio chose that moment to return. If only to distract himself, Sonic focused on what the ninja had grabbed. He was armed now with a very simple katana and matching dagger, both of which were sheathed at his side. Strapped to his back was what looked like a backpack-sized leather-bound book that was closed with a black latch of some kind. No one offered any sort of an explanation about it, though he was very curious, and even Cream didn't ask. By her demeanor, Sonic guessed that she had seen this odd book before.

They teleported again. Upon arriving in his house, Shadow started to walk off. He caught Espio's eye and jerked his head slightly in an invitation for the other man to tag along. Figuring Shadow wanted to have a word with the ninja about something, Sonic didn't question it. He simply waited with Tails and Cream, idly listening as the two talked about Shadow's isolated home (specifically, about all the security measures protecting it). He zoned out a little after a few minutes, but refocused when Shadow returned. It immediately became apparent why Shadow had taken Espio with him, for he was now using some of those strange storage cubes to carry his things. That's right, Espio uses those things, too.

"What all did you grab?" Tails asked somewhat distractedly as he worked on calibrating the teleporter to get them to his workshop. Shadow named off a few different weapons (which Sonic guessed were modern guns) and held up a cube. "And the medical supplies? Are those in that other cube?"

"Yes."

"Good." Since there was no further point in sticking around here, they went to Tails's workshop as soon as Shadow answered. There, Sonic quickly reclaimed the music box Jet had given him during their last mental communication, and which Sonic had unintentionally abandoned here when they'd all gone to see Cream. He and the others then proceeded to follow Tails around (since he had started talking to them again) while he grabbed whatever it was he needed from this place. "So, does anyone have any idea where we should go? Staying here is obviously an option, of course."

"Is it safe to?" Cream queried, eyes roving all over Tails's many inventions.

Sonic and Shadow traded a look. "Erm... maybe?" Sonic answered slowly. "I don't really know. I mean, I'm pretty sure that our enemies know where this world is."

"Leaving will not make Mobius less of a target," Shadow pointed out evenly. "No matter which of our enemies comes here if and when such an event takes place, they will quite happily kill everyone and destroy everything simply because they can... regardless of whether or not we are here."

Tails sighed. "Shadow's right. If we do leave, we'll have to make sure Mobius is well-defended. We don't want a repeat of the carnage that the Nocturnians carried out on the citizens here."

"That was different," Cream murmured. "Those enemies were already here. These enemies aren't. If we act now, perhaps we can simply block these evil forces out."

An idea struck Sonic like a slap in the face. "Wait. What if we did what the Babylonians have been doing since practically the dawn of time? You know, encase the planet in a self-sustaining barrier that won't let anything in or out unless specifically allowed?"

Judging by his expression, Tails was already thinking hard about Sonic's suggestion. "That... could actually work. I don't know how we could pull it off, but if we did-"

"Perhaps Jet has something that will aid us," Espio said simply.

"Yeah, yeah he might." Tails quickly grabbed the teleporter again and tossed it to Shadow. "See if you can find something, will you? Given the circumstances, I think we can get away with borrowing some stuff from him without asking." With a curt nod, Shadow activated the device and disappeared.

Sonic pursed his lips in further thought. "So let's say we pull this off and everything works properly. Will we just stay here, or should we still go somewhere else?"

"That's not an easy question to answer." Tails picked up one of his old radiation guns, one of the ones he had used during Sonic's time, off a cluttered table and examined it carefully. "What Shadow said is true, after all. But at the same time, us being here could very well but what drives our enemies to enter this solar system in the first place."

"Our absence could just as easily have the same affect," Cream added with a sigh.

"Right. Which is why I'm not sure what we should do. Leave and hope the barrier holds? Stay and risk drawing dark forces straight to us? I just don't know." Finally, Tails tucked the gun under his arm and resumed walking.

I hate situations like these. I hate them. Ears somewhat lowered, Sonic trudged after his old friend. Anything we do might be wrong. For that matter, everything might be wrong. It feels like there's no right answer. When Cream passed him by without any effort at all, Sonic picked up the pace a bit and made an effort to focus more on what he was doing as opposed to what he was thinking. Still, he couldn't quite keep one thought from entering his mind. But I don't know if there's anything left that we can do to protect anyone... We're out of options already.

Tails's voice broke into his thoughts with quiet firmness. "Sonic, stop worrying so much. We'll figure this out, just like always. Okay?"

Emerald eyes blinked, refocusing on the fox before him. "...Right..." He looked away again. "Sorry."

"What is it that you're looking for?" Cream interrupted, clearly just trying to change the subject.

"Aw, nothin' much," Tails answered lightly. "I'm mostly just looking for some little stuff at the moment. Emergency tools and the like. I just... seem to have misplaced them in this mess." Pursing his lips together, he rummaged around on a square of cluttered tables that had been pushed together to form one larger table.

Leaning over, Sonic peered at the mess. After a moment, he pointed. "Is that little box it?"

"Hm?" Tails turned around and immediately brightened. "Oh! Yes, that's it! Thanks!" Smiling happily, he grabbed the box and tucked it away in the bag he had been carrying around to hold his things. Sonic shook his head a little, equal parts amused and still nervous. For now, though, he opted to let his amusement overpower his nerves. Tails started walking again, meanwhile, but quickly stopped. "...Hey, where'd Espio go?"

Surprised, Sonic quickly started looking around. "What the he- I didn't even notice he was gone!"

Cream giggled merrily at the both of them. "That's the point, sillies. He's a ninja, so when he disappears he really does mean to."

Sonic rubbed at his temples. "Urgh... I got that much, Cream. But why the hell did he disappear?"

Though she executed a delicate shrug, there was a knowing look in those warm eyes of hers. "He prefers the outside, Mister Sonic. Being underground... bothers him, I suppose. At least, it makes him restless."

Tails interrupted before Sonic could formulate a reply. "Well, whatever. Anyway, c'mere, both of you. I've got something to show you before we head out."

Both hedgehog and bunny exchanged brief looks of curiosity, then turned back to Tails. "Show us?" Cream asked.

"Yep!" The fox declared cheerily. "Follow me!"

He took off without further ado, forcing Sonic and Cream to jog after him so as not to lose him in the maze of inventions, tables, shelves, and so on. They followed him to a distant part of the workshop, one that Sonic knew had once doubled as a hangar for the various ships and planes Tails had once built. Including the Blue Typhoon... and the new Tornado, and even the X-Tornado.

They reached an invention covered by a large sheet. Tails spun around, positively beaming from ear to ear. "Sonic!" he called happily as Sonic and Cream slowed to a halt. "This is something I've been working on for years... something I've always held close to my heart because of what it means to me - to us. We built the first X-Tornado together, do you remember? It was one of our first acts together as friends."

Unable to close down his own expression, Sonic openly gaped at the young fox. "...First?" he echoed softly. "Tails, what-?"

Reaching back, Tails took hold of the sheet. "I don't have a fancy new name for this invention, Sonic, and I couldn't keep the original look of it no matter how true I tried to stay to our first design. Still... I've put all my heart into this." His smile opened up into a bright grin. "Hopefully it's to your liking as well."

No further time was wasted. Tails ripped the sheet away... and revealed the glory of his invention for all those gathered here to see. Unable to speak, Sonic merely stared in a mixture of shock and awe. Emotions flooded him, none of which he was able to make sense of at the moment. All he could make sense of, all he could understand, were the beginnings of one simple thought. This is...!

Tails stepped away so as to stop blocking the full view. "Sonic, Cream... This is the new X-Tornado... the Tornado-Z."

~保護者~

It was late into the night when Kaden finally, finally ended his work for the day and laid back to rest a bit. The sky he stared into was dark and bleak, the landscape desolate and nearly lifeless. Still, he felt no sense of danger or isolation. Long had he been used to such places. And these days, he preferred no company more than his own anyway. The silence and lack of anyone or anything to interact with didn't bother him in slightest.

Something did bother him, though.

He is on his way here... again. Emerald eyes drifted across the blank sky, contemplating truths that simply weren't there to see. The issue is... what to do about it this time. This opponent was like none other he had ever faced. Exceedingly intelligent, vastly powerful, virtually unkillable... this was indeed a true threat. Something of that nature was so rare in his life as to be nearly unheard of. He could count on the fingers of one hand, as cliche as that was, just how many such threats he had ever faced. Truly, these circumstances were unique... but that didn't mean that they were desirable in the slightest.

Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes and then let the air out of his body slowly. So much for relaxation it would seem... He shifted, pushed himself up, and stood. Gradually, a smirk began to form on his face. It wasn't as though he truly needed the rest, after all. He was feeling too restless to sleep, at any rate. There was far too much energy left in his system that needed working out. Who knew? Maybe a good fight was just what he needed to end his day.

~保護者~

4,139 words this time. This took longer to complete than I had intended, but I got it done in the end and that's what counts, I guess. Hope you all enjoyed! Posted (at about 10:15 p.m.) 01-06-19.